Tag Archives: Malvern

no people, malvern is not the main line and never will be.

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So someone posted in a Malvern Facebook group about “is Malvern the Main Line?”

Eyes rolling, not this again.

No people it’s Chester County and always will be and that is totally fine and accurate to the history.

Saying Malvern is the Main Line is merely realtor/developer marketing by those who don’t know any better and/or don’t care.

The “Main Line” got the nickname from the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad mid-19th century. In the early 20th century it was attached more kind of socially and socioeconomically to the area beginning at the city line of Overbrook and ending in Paoli for social and historical reasons .

Malvern is part of the train line headed west but no more a part of the Main Line than Thorndale or Lancaster and Harrisburg are, which are also part of the same line that headed west.

It is like saying Downingtown and the edge of Coatesville is Chester Springs, which is also part of current day developer and realtor spin. And like Malvern should just be proud to be “Chester County”

Another example? People from Northeast Philadelphia don’t say that they live in Chestnut Hill do they? Or confuse Society Hill with West Philadelphia? Or say South Philadelphia is Rittenhouse Square? All of these places, including the Main Line and Chester County have their own unique history.

Those who didn’t grow up here also like to misstate the history, especially where the Main Line is concerned.

I grew up on the Main Line and lived there as an adult until I moved to Chester County to be with my husband, so I actually know the history and FWIW would rather be in Chester County because the Main Line isn’t what it used to be.

Of course for my efforts in attempting to explain this some turdsticker in that group called me a Karen. That is not a pejorative term that can be applied to me except by someone who is pig ignorant, but it helps him get through his day as an angry mansplainer.

I am glad Malvern and Chester County have their own identities and towns in Chester County can and should have their own individual and unique identities and don’t need to be plunked into inaccurate Stepford real estate marketing.

How come we have to keep discussing this?

People. Learn your railroad history.  It is how these towns were built.

The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and socially pretentious and ridiculous region of suburban Philadelphia, as freaking created by old railroad lines. These towns became more cohesive along the Pennsylvania Railroad’s once prestigious “Main Line”, which ran northwest from Center City Philadelphia parallel to Route 30 (Lancaster Ave to some Lancaster Pike to some Lincoln Highway to others.)

The railroad first connected Philadelphia to the Main Line towns in the 19th century.

They became home to sprawling country estates and hotels belonging to Philadelphia’s wealthiest families, and over the decades became a bastion of “old money”.  People built their summer homes out here at that point.  In the 18th century wealthy Philadelphians summered in places like Fairmount Park.  In the 19th century the railroads moved them further west.

Seriously, don’t forget there were grand hotels too.  One is what is now the Baldwin School was once the Bryn Mawr Hotel. 

The Main Line has this fabled history. I lived there until coming to Chester County.  My parents moved us there when I was about 12.  So yeah, I know the history.  In some regards I think I lived there in the sunset of it’s greatness.   The Main Line as it exists today I find distasteful and gauche sometimes because well, the nouveau Main Line neither gets nor appreciates nor really cares about the actual history.

Until the railroads, the Main Line was a lot of country. Farms, quarries, mills, even factories.  It became genteel versus rural/copuntry living by it’s very history.  The Pennsylvania Railroad and 19th century real estate developers and speculators truthfully get the credit here.

Like Wayne, PA which was essentially a developer planned community of it’s day.  Don’t believe me? Visit the Radnor Historical Society Website.  

When this topic of what the Main Line actually is and what the actual historical boundaries are crops up on social media, someone always leaves a conversation feeling offended.

Sorry not sorry but Malvern isn’t and never will be the Main Line.  As I have said before, it’s Chester County and everyone in the Malvern area should be ok with it as Malvern already has a wonderful identity and history.

One of my dear friend’s grandfathers was an executive with the Pennsylvania Railroad.  He moved his family from the city to Haverford near Merion Cricket Club.  The road they settled on had several homes built as a direct result of the railroad.  Like many of the homes in Wayne, it was desirable because one could walk to the train station.

Growing up, we never thought the Main Line was one centimeter past Paoli…because we knew the history.  Today it’s like saying you are from Greenwich, Connecticut or similarly affluent and storied suburbs… when you are not.  Or even what defines Manhattan, versus living in the other boroughs of New York City but saying you live in Manhattan.

( see: Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Philadelphia’s Main Line: It’s Not Just a Place – It’s a Lifestyle  By Casey Murray, Spring 2014 )

When we were growing up there was this little thing we did to remember the order of the train stations.  Old Maids Never Wed And Have Babies. Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr.  You can find this mentioned here on this blog which I find amusing because they say they think the ditty ends with Bryn Mawr Station because it was thought of possibly by a Bryn Mawr College girl. This blog is called Philadelphia Reflections and I love it because they write about the most interesting stuff!

Growing up, we never thought the Main Line was one centimeter past Paoli…because we knew the history.  Today it’s like saying you are from Greenwich, Connecticut or similarly affluent and storied suburbs.  Or even what defines Manhattan, versus living in the other boroughs of New York City but saying you live in Manhattan.

And just so we are clear, I am not some old Main Line trust fund baby.  We lived there because my parents decided to move us there as we got older for access to better schools and a way of life that included being able to play outside whenever we wanted.  However, where I grew up was close to where one of my great-grandmothers was in service.  Rebecca Nesbitt Gallen.  She was a summer housekeeper for the Cassatt family(think Merion Cricket Club) at their Cheswold Estate.   Of course Alexander Cassatt was also famous for his Chesterbrook Farm in Berwyn.  We of course know Chesterbrook today as the giant development that popped the cherry of suburban density development.  It’s hard to believe that Chesterbrook today was once a glorious 600+ acre farm, right?

And yes, Chesterbrook Farm was in Berwyn…yet Chesterbrook the development today has a Wayne post office zip code. Yup even Chesterbrook wasn’t o.k. where it really was, was it? Again, real estate/developer marketing.

The fight over the Chesterbrook Development went all the way to the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. Chesterbrook is I think actually over 800 acres if you count the other land parcels that went into it.  I still view it as planned development at it’s worst.  My late mother in law was one of the many, many residents who fought it for years.
(See from the Lower Merion Historical Society) Chesterbrook retells the story of Wayne for the 20th century
Finding homes for people drawn here by technology isn’t anything new)

Yeah, I know this has been quite the ramble. But I just don’t think Chester County needs to be completely annexed to the freaking Main Line. It’s preposterous.  Stick to the history. It tells you the boundaries.  And yes, there are several towns (and townships) that have parts of themselves which are part of the Main Line historically, although not in their entirety. Like parts of Chester County.  Chester County has a rich history that is far more interesting than the mere history of the Main Line which was created by the railroads.

Thanks for stopping by….writing today as always from beautiful Chester County, PA. (NOT the Main Line.)

Yes, Virginia, there may indeed be a Santa Claus, but Malvern will always just be Chester County and not the Main Line. This is another example why actual history matters, not what revisionists wish to reimagine it as.

2025 is 8 years anna maciejewska is missing

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Anna with her son Andrew

In April, it’s EIGHT years. I have been writing about this for eight years. I don’t even know how many times I’ve written about Anna Maciejewska at this point.

Eight years of nothing much. This case has gone through and has seemingly been forgotten by now three District Attorneys in Chester County.

Eight years of wondering what the Pennsylvania State Police are doing or have done.

Eight years of her husband Allen Gould being a person of interest unless the police have released him from that category?

I mean, I know the wheels of justice are slow, but do the wheels of justice even give a shit about this anymore? And yes I cursed.

This is also eight years of a little boy not having a mother in his life and he’s probably forgotten her voice by now don’t you think?

I’m writing about this again because there’s a new video out about it. I’m not sure how I feel about the video because one of the things that this podcaster mentioned is that Anna was jealous of her son and that was a reason for a bad marriage? I think that’s a bit of a reach. The woman sadly also is probably not familiar with the area because she conflated Malvern in Charlestown Township where Anna lived with Malvern Borough.

Malvern is a name assigned to areas in multiple municipalities which is separate from Malvern Borough. She conflated all of that into Malvern Borough. Also, we’re not a suburb of Philadelphia we’re Chester County. Development being what it is we have become more of a suitcase, community for major metropolitan areas, yes, but there’s plenty of business out here in its own, right. Anna Maciejewska lived in Malvern Charlestown Township. Malvern also exists in Willistown, East Whiteland, and Tredyffrin.

It’s now been eight years and this has gone through three district attorneys and the same old state police. It’s like nobody cares anymore.

Do I think like this woman seems to think the visits to Poland were unusual? Well, maybe if she had former Polish natives as friends she would see how normal it is my friends go once a year for a fairly long chunk of time usually in the summer, they take their children. They take their spouses. Sometimes they don’t take their spouses, but they go home to spend time with family and to give their children exposure to their Polish heritage.

Do I think that she was going to run away with her child to Poland to escape a bad marriage? No, I don’t at all. This is a woman who owned two houses. And people said early on that she was the money in the relationship. The properties are still in her name.

And the new podcaster seemed to leave the fact that Anna’s s parents had to fight to get visitation with their grandson. There’s a court record. So I wonder how often Anna‘s Polish family has been able to see her son in the last eight years?

so even if I don’t really agree with everything in this new podcast, I am grateful that the woman did it because it keeps Anna Maciejewska’s name out there.

Anna is still missing and I can’t even think of how long it’s been since we’ve heard from the Chester County District Attorney’s office let alone the State Police. Because Anna still had a property in West Whiteland Township, I wonder if their detectives could take a fresh look at this? Do the State Police have other investigators who could take a fresh look? Outside forensic investigators? A profiler of some sort?

Again, I never knew Anna. But she’s someone who belongs to all of us in the community out here at this point.

I am thinking of devoting my time on the Barry Dee show All Politics are Local on WCHE next week on this. and the funny thing is Barry and I had talked about this before. I saw this new podcast. She’s just been on my mind because we know the anniversary of her disappearing is coming up.

Anna deserves justice and her family deserves closure. Say her name.

Anna Maciejewska is still missing.

don’t these dog owners want to keep their dogs safe?

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These dogs get out far too often. Maybe people are going to think I’m being harsh but these are dogs that live on a street off of 401. What’s with the humans in the equation?

These pups wander far and wide. They are very friendly, loving dogs. But the owners are being irresponsible because they keep getting out, and I am allowed to have this opinion. If the dogs on an electric fence, maybe they need new collars with longer prongs? Maybe their collars need batteries? Maybe they need to be trained to the electric fence properly? Maybe there’s a break in the electric fence ?

This is of course, assuming there is an electric fence because you don’t know if there is or not. It could be a regular fence. They are getting out of a property which could be completely unfenced.

There could be many reasons why they are getting out but why are their humans not keeping a better eye on them?

Whatever is going on here this is not right. And I would hate to see these dogs get hit or someone to be put through the trauma of accidentally hitting them because they’re running free when they’re not supposed to be.

What is happening is upsetting and I’m posting this because there have been so many instances recently of these dogs getting out day after day and they’re being found in all different parts of Malvern. In one case, my friend‘s daughter helped catch the dogs one of the times they were loose.

Accidents happen, I get that but this is happening far too often. Which makes you wonder is this a pattern?

All we keep seeing in our social media feeds are found dogs and dumped dogs and dumped cats and found cats. I just don’t understand what’s going on in this world in which we live. It makes me very sad.

And I’m sorry if the owners feel like they’re being singled out, but in this case, how many times do their dogs have to get out before somebody looks into the why?

May Saint Francis continue to watch over them until somebody does look at why this is happening and takes steps to correct it.

what do you do on a glorious october saturday afternoon? #buymorepumpkins

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I’m somewhat ambivalent about the Halloween of it all, and I generally speaking, do not carve my pumpkins, but I love pumpkins! And I do not need a service to place my pumpkins. I can go pick my own pumpkins out myself. (And yes I also buy them from BloomBox!)

So today we went this afternoon we went to Sugartown Strawberries after the rush rush of other things for the day was over.

I love Sugartown Strawberries. It makes me happy to go there. And I have a lot of happy memories taking our son there when he was little.

When we went today, it was packed to the gills. I am not showing the crowds in the photos I’m posting because I like to take pictures of the pumpkins and the farm. Oh and I saw a bald eagle too!

Saw Bob and also picked out my perfect mellow yellow pumpkins 🎃, and that’s actually their name!

Kristina, Bob’s wife, told me about their recent visit to Bucks County, and what it was like to meet Kamala Harris. I think it all sounded pretty cool. And with the exception of the great bloviator and his faux hillbilly, I actually enjoy meeting candidates for office when I can. It’s so helpful when you can see them on a more human level.

The Farm was bustling, and all you saw were happy faces of adults and children alike. And although the farm was busy, there were no rushing, people were enjoying themselves. They were going on hayrides, finding the perfect pumpkins, and they were taking in the beautiful Chester County vistas. One of the best things was seeing the faces of the little kids when they saw the rows of pumpkins!

Of course (and sadly), over at Twatwaffles for Trump Chester County Slumber Party HQ the have been in a tizzy over the farm too.

Not surprisingly they are now suddenly anti Sugartown Strawberries. Most of them do have the average bandwidth of a gnat, except what do you have against gnats?

At first glance one wonders why a “Joyful Warrior” would have to post anonymously in their twisted sisterhood?

The comments are literally priceless and here let’s discuss some of them 🤣:

  • Why do Republicans donate to Democrats, they must be a mole of some sort.
  • How they own many acres in “Elite Chester County” and “buy into the lies and scandal of January 6th” (guess she loves her Toll Brothers plastic house though because that’s SOOO Chester County)
  • Because Bob wrote a tongue in cheek horror movie and it was filmed on his farm “these do not seem like the type of people who should provide educational activities for school or who should be doing hayrides for children at their farm.” And then there is a rando comment about Great Valley School District which makes no sense.
  • Then another one pipes up that they “heard” they are actors not farmers (i.e. they read it on X 🤣) and a comrade replies that Bob is a liberal farmer 🤣
  • Then there is the one who is going to vet all financial records (what and take away from those slumber parties with Lara Lee and Ivana? ) and then some mumbling about Republicans running as Republicans and governing like “Dems” (cue the law and order drama sound)
  • And my favorite is the Mensa candidate who has also been verbally vomiting on Josh Maxwell’s page claiming victory because Bob contributed to Senator Andy Dinniman’s campaign – duh AND d’oh most farmers DID regardless of political affiliation because he supported FARMERS – she doesn’t get the nuance of OMG you can legally split your ticket.
  • Another one is asking if Bob was paid by the Democrats to do the commercial which is also hysterical.
  • More nonsense about the movie “with little readers around” whatever that means – next they will say that the actors were drag queens.

How can they all be so miserable about pumpkins? How can they all be so stupid about things you should’ve learned in basic civics classes or American history classes?

I’m still trying to figure out what’s so wrong about Bob’s movie if you don’t like horror movies, it’s pretty simple you don’t watch it, and one would think that these women and men would be able to keep tabs on what their children are watching in the first place, right? But they don’t and that’s everyone else’s fault.

It’s a big world out there and I’m sure they can find things more to their comfort level. Like maybe they would prefer a pumpkin concierge service?

It was a totally delightful afternoon at Sugartown strawberries, and it’s really nice that we have this farm to go to.

Even NPR was there visiting today.

#BUYMOREPUMPKINS

no respect in east whiteland

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This is a field at Immaculata near Camilla Hall that a farmer PAYS FOR. This is his LIVELIHOOD. Once again, some punk asses decided that this was a fun idea: run thru this poor farmer’s fields and ruin part of his soybean crop.

This is SO WRONG.

These kids undoubtedly live close by. If you know who they are and if you see a car loaded with soybean plant pieces and dirt, feel free to CALL EAST WHITELAND POLICE on non-emergency number 610-647-1440 . Or take a photo of the plates and SUV or whatever and message my blog’s Facebook page.

Life is hard enough for farmers without vandalism and destruction.

Did you see something? Do you know something? Say Something. Please.

in other local news…

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It’s really sad but a lot of businesses, even local ones are getting hacked on Facebook.

Facebook tries to talk a good game but they really suck at protecting accounts. This latest hack is of the Flying Pig Saloon. The last one I knew of recently was Sugartown Strawberries.

It’s sad to say that the Flying Pig Saloon‘s Facebook page has literally been taken over by flying pigs objectifying women.

Please take a moment to report this page now to help a local business. Hopefully they will be able to retrieve their page or shortly start a new one.

You would think with all that money Zuckerberg has made with this platform that he would be able to protect our accounts and small business accounts and users in general better. But hey, they’re all obsessed with AI data rewriting our posts and hovering over every word we say.

Again, not criticizing a local business but I am criticizing Facebook.

it was blues & bbq at farm boy in malvern last evening.

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Blues & BBQ last evening at Farm Boy BBQ at 625 N. Morehall Road Malvern, PA 19355 was super fun! It was BYO if you wanted an adult beverage, and some people did and some didn’t. It was a great mix of people of all ages and families.

Home

We had a great meal and it was fun to have a great summer BBQ meal and listen to music. We had steak, which is kind of a weekend thing there.

It was totally civilized. And really enjoyable! Thanks Farm Boy!

We hope they do more of these weekend Blues & BBQ so I will be keeping an eye on their social media.

truly wonderful experience….at joey chops in malvern.

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We had a great time at Joey Chops this evening from start to finish. Food, ambiance, service.

I will start with the starters/appetizers. Seafood and it was great seafood. The scallops and shrimp were just off the boat fresh.

The steaks were amazing and the sides perfection. I had the Delmonico with grilled asparagus on the side and they remember the extra nice touch of shaving the bottoms of the stalks. No one remembers to do that anymore. My husband had a strip with mushrooms that were to die for. Our son had the Westholme Wagyu Teres Major with broccolini. And the quick pickled red onions served with each steak were perfect.

Joey Chops has a good wine list. They even have a blanc de blanc sparkling from a favorite vineyard of mine, Gruet in New Mexico. I also noted French (Provence) and Italian (Puglia) rosés I would like to try in the future.

Tonight I had a glass of Prosecco from the Veneto region of Italy. It was lovely and light and dry and not sweet. My husband had a glass of a Cabernet I think from Paso Robles, California- I forget the name but Sean our waiter said it was new to the menu.

The cheesecake cart was a big hit with my husband and son because they love New York style cheesecake.

A special mention is necessary about Sean who was our waiter and he was hands down the best waiter especially in a steak house since Old Homestead and Delmonico’s in NYC. And the kids who were bussing and helping run food were also wonderful and friendly and very poised. All of the employees were terrific, truthfully.

The silverware has good weight to it and the steak knives are a well weighted knife and not some hulking exaggerated size, they are more like a Laguiole style knife.

Suggestions are they need larger water glasses, however. They are cute and I know little water glasses are a trend, but I am a big water drinker and these were the size of little juice glasses. And they need bigger candles on the tables or more than one.

We sat in the banquette seating underneath the windows . Very comfortable and pretty chairs. The big velvety curtains make you forget you are in a strip mall parking lot. And that is not the fault of the restaurant. It just happens to be in Lincoln Court Shopping Center in Frazer/Malvern. It took over and reinvented the space that was once Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

We had started in a booth (and no didn’t request a booth, it just happened), but like most modern restaurants, they are a bit uncomfortable, so they were super accommodating and moved us. The banquette seating was just perfect.

The banquette seating and tables are the way to go for sure. The chairs for the round tables that run down the center of the dining room are like a modern Windsor style chair, and they looked quite comfortable. If this were my restaurant, I’d replace the booths with additional banquette seating, or smaller tables with regular chairs. Sorry not sorry, but modern booths in a lot of restaurants are like what airlines are doing to seating unless you pony up for first class: just not enough room, space, depth.

The place was very clean, but they do need to fix one of the doors in the ladies room. Three of the louvered slats in the bottom of the door are broken.

But we had a wonderful night. It has been quite a while since I had a higher end dining experience that flowed as well as this and had good ambiance.

I am a little obsessed with the simply gorgeous sofa with its brilliant pop of color across from the hostess stand in the little alcove area.

We will definitely be back.

Thanks Joey Chops for a great meal and experience!

⭐️Please note that this is my honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this. I’m not a compensated blogger or some weird influencer. It’s where we went to dinner for a big birthday.⭐️

7 years. 7 years and no one has found anna maciejewska .

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Anna Maciejewska we have not forgotten you. Most of us never met you, yet you will always be one of us. You came from our community.

For 7 years people in your community have been talking about you. Posting on social media, contacting media, posting flyers. For 7 years we have kept asking for help to find you.

On almost the 7th anniversary of your disappearance and probably also your murder a new podcast is out. I listened to it today after a friend sent me the link. This one was pretty good and honestly the others I haven’t been too enthralled with.

The Podcasters are called Going West Podcast.

https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?p=GLSS6860726197

I listened to your story on Spotify as told by these folks. I found it detail, oriented and thoughtful. It can also be heard on the Apple and Amazon podcast platforms.

So here we are 7 years down the road with no answers. No one has found your body, and I am sure your husband would be thrilled if we stop talking about you. But we can’t stop talking about you. You were one of us and were part of our community. This could happen to any woman and you left a child behind plus your family in Poland.

Anna we will NOT stop saying your name. Your family deserves closure.

https://uncovered.com/cases/anna-maciejewska

Anna when you disappeared your little boy, your son, was 4 according to old media reports. That means he is now 11. I wonder what he thinks? Is he curious? What does your presumed widower Allan Gould say? How has his life changed since you disappeared? Does he ever speak of you? Think of you? Does he let your family see your son?

Anna Bronislawa Maciejewska

Has the current Chester County District Attorney said anything about you lately? We are on the third District Attorney in Chester County, Pennsylvania since you went missing and were presumed murdered. We started with Tom Hogan. Then Deb Ryan. Now it’s Chris de Barrena-Sarobe.

Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers needs to fix your missing page:

Anna Maciejewska we haven’t forgotten you. We hope law enforcement thinks about you once in a while.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna759671

https://uncovered.com/cases/anna-maciejewska

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/local/what-happened-to-anna-new-twist-in-mystery-of-missing-main-line-pennsylvania-mother/210595/

https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/a-malvern-mother-vanished-a-year-later-its-a-murder-investigation-so-why-havent-you-heard-of-her-20180330.html

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/malvern/malvern-womans-disappearance-highlighted-true-crime-segment

https://www.phillyvoice.com/state-police-searching-missing-chester-county-mother/

https://i.pl/anna-bronislawa-maciejewska-gould-zaginiona-w-malvern-pa-19355-rodzina-czeka-przekaz-informacje-do-fundacji-itaka/ar/c1p1-22144463

https://www.chipchick.com/2023/01/in-2017-she-vanished-after-abruptly-canceling-a-trip-to-poland-to-celebrate-her-fathers-birthday-now-5-years-later-newly-recovered-text-records-raise-even-more-questions-in-the-unsolved-case.html

maybe, just maybe east whiteland residents don’t wish to live in the king of prussia cloneship?

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I swear. If they don’t get off their asses in Harrisburg and update the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all we are going to have Groundhog Day every damn year no matter where we live in the state.

In East Whiteland Township, it’s only January yet it feels like Groundhog Day:

FYI

This Wednesday at 7pm, the East Whiteland Township Planning Commission will review a request for a developer to change the zoning for 52 Swedesford Road (across from Microsoft and next to the 202 off ramp) to construct 225 – 250 apartment buildings in place of the current office space. Whether you think this is a good idea or not, be sure to get out to the meeting or send a message to the Planning Commission ASAP or you won’t be heard! Emails can be sent to slambert@eastwhiteland.org , zbarner@eastwhiteland.org , and bcarosello@eastwhiteland.org.

The problem here as I see it is well there was overdevelopment in office space. Then overdevelopment in residential shoehorn development. But now the overdevelopment in office space has commercial property owners sweating some, maybe? So now they want to change the zoning so they can further exploit an area with more of a type of residential development existing resident do NOT want more of, they want LESS in the way of cram plans, fewer apartment buildings.

This is the shittiest development idea in a while in East Whiteland, and there always seems to be a parade of bad plans here as well as in neighboring municipalities, don’t there? This is a super problematic location already. It’s next to a rather accident prone area having to do with 202 doesn’t it?

It’s another big chunk of apartment buildings. East Whiteland is NOT King of Prussia but it sure looks like it, doesn’t it?  What is wrong with stand alone single family housing not in McMansion price ranges? Not that housing of ANY kind is good here. As a matter of fact it’s a greedy dumb ass idea. There I said it out loud. According to Loop Net, it says the property is for sale as is commercial. DON’T CONVERT IT TO RESIDENTIAL!

Among other things allow me to point out that East Whiteland Township has no as in zero rental ordinances. Properties might get inspected if they change hands in a sale, but unless there is a known life safety issue, buildings aren’t routinely inspected. Or if it’s so decrepit on the outside it can’t be ignored, it might be inspected. There are SO many apartments now and renters as much as anyone else deserve safe places to live and a rental inspection ordinance would help with that. 

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/52-E-Swedesford-Rd-Malvern-PA/27868468/

The agenda item says “Presentation and Discussion for 52 Swedesford Road (Tri-Point Properties).”

That name. Tri Point Properties. I knew I had heard it before, so I researched. They are in Downingtown and around 2015 they wanted to develop a Borough of Downingtown parking lot into an Eastside Flats kind of monstrosity, didn’t they? It created quite a stink back then. Josh Maxwell would have been mayor then.

Here are PDFs of two articles back then:

Developers-propose-parking-structure-wi.partments-in-Downingtown-–-Daily-LocalDownload

I think in the end it must have failed because the address still comes up as a Downingtown Borough Parking Lot and the borough still owns the land:

Here is the information on the parcel at 52 E. Swedesford Road (and oddly enough an SEC link🙂

SEC-FORM-DDownload

Developers come in and out of these townships. They take their profits, give a short term one time high of ratables and then they are onto their next project, leaving municipalities holding the bag. More apartments means more stresses on aching infrastructure which includes human beings as in first responders, not just roads, etc. 

And what about the schools? How long before it’s Great Valley East and Great Valley West? Just look to neighboring districts, it is something that might need to happen if development is not moderated.

However what do I think? I think East Whiteland’s Planning Commission will say yes to this, because I just do not think they get that when they can say no, they should once in a while and not entertain nonsense.

Here are the names of the Planning Commission members. Feel free to reach out to them if you are against this if you do know any of them:

Members

  • Deborah Abel, Chair
  • Todd Asousa, Vice Chair
  • Jeff Broadbelt 
  • Dante Bradley
  • John Laumer
  • Tim Kelly
  • Bill Wrabley 
  • EMAIL: bbulger@eastwhiteland.org

My final bone of contention is the planning commission has made Zoom disappear. That is a mistake and not very sunshine friendly. If they don’t wish to do Zoom, at a minimum the meetings should be recorded and put on East Whiteland’s website and You Tube. It’s more sunshine friendly.

I would suggest as many turn out in person as possible for this meeting. But it’s East Whiteland so you just don’t know if anyone will attend.

Carpe Diem, East Whiteland residents. If you don’t want to live in King of Prussia it’s time to start attending meetings and speaking up in general. Don’t be complacent. Say no to further becoming a King of Prussia cloneship.

Have a good evening.