No Mental Health Services Coming To Don Guanella Property: Officials
While the county said it is not aiming to host mental health services on the beloved tract, it is still challenging Marple's zoning change. The Delaware County has decided not to use a building on the Don Guanella property as a Long-Term Structured Residence for mental health treatment due to its physical condition and the costs of renovation. Despite this, officials have stated they plan to challenge Marple Township's rezoning of the property and continue to consider other locations in the county to address mental health issues. The county has also made a request to use other existing structures on the property for administrative offices, according to Save Marple Greenspace, an addendum to the county's filing seeking to retain the former zoning on part of the tract. The group argues that using an existing building for a L-term StructuredResidence would not have impacted the open space use or the plans to create a county park.
Publié : il y a 10 mois par Max Bennett dans Health
In a statement Wednesday, officials said they abandoned the idea after learning more about the building they sought to use as a Long-Term Structured Residence for mental health treatment. "The County has determined that the building located on the Delco Woods [Don Guanella] property is not a viable option for an [Long-Term Structured Residence] due to its physical condition and the costs of renovation," the statement reads. "The County continues to look at other locations in Delaware County to treat community members and address the mental health crisis in our community."
Despite the change of course on mental health services, officials said they still plan to challenge Marple Township's rezoning of the property. "The County intends to pursue the other challenges to the zoning ordinance to maintain its rights to the property as purchased," the statement reads. "The County, however, is willing to work with Marple Township on amending their open space zoning to avoid further litigation and ensure zoning for the property meets the needs of the County in creating a park that serves all of Delaware County for generations to come."
The county appears to have made a request to use other existing structures on the property for administrative offices in an addendum to their filing with Marple Township as it seeks to retain its rights on the property. According to Save Marple Greenspace, a local group that was instrumental in keeping the property from being commercially developed, an addendum to the county's filing that seeks to retain the former zoning on part of the tract mentions using two buildings there for administrative offices.
In total, it would be about 64,000 square feet of office space, per the addendum. "We're way beyond inappropriate now," Save Marple Greenspace co-founder Ken Hemphill wrote in a newsletter. "Having the largest two buildings on site used for office space would be an arrow to the heart of the promised park hub and may even violate the law by failing to adhere to the stated purpose of their condemnation ordinance in 2021."
The county's statement says the council was "vocal and transparent in its position to potentially use three existing buildings," which included the Long-Term Structured Residence and two administrative buildings. "Because our work was still in very preliminary stages when Marple Township announced a special zoning hearing, it was still undetermined if and how we would use the existing buildings on the property, so we included several buildings in our use permit," the statement reads.
The statement affirms the county's position that it has always been committed to using the beloved tract of land to create a park and preserve open space and claims using an existing building for a Long-Term Structured Residence would not have affected the open space use or the plans to create a county park with many amenities.
Les sujets: Social Issues