
Ahh development. This is Greystone in West Goshen. One word: HIDEOUS.
Living cheek to jowl. No real gardens. No individuality.

This was once a glorious estate. Of course, while it was a glorious estate in recent memory, there was a failed eminent domain attempt. So then after a few years the owners sold to developers. Was one action a direct result of a prior action? We’ll probably never know.
One of the things I love about this development is if you look at the last little bit at the edge of the road it looks like bad military base housing.

It is just too much development. It stresses the infrastructure in West Goshen.
Of course, in West Goshen there is a lot we will never know because everything is a state secret isn’t it? And there is still the questions about the recently deceased West Goshen employee by suicide, but has anyone else notice how no one is talking about that or what the cause was?
Sorry about that little segue, but it was kind of necessary wasn’t it?
OK back to bad development. Another amusement yesterday occurred as I was being horrified by the side of it is the giant Catalyst billboard on Lancaster Avenue in East Whiteland. It shows a giant photograph of lavender or maybe a salvia. Which is perfect for all of these people in these hideous developments, who can’t plant a flower pot full of flowers in their Welcome to Stepford plastic development. All they have to do now is gaze upon the giant electronic TV along Lancaster Avenue.

And this is what we’re becoming: just one bad development after the other. And if it’s not bad residential development now, we have to fear mega warehouses.
So class, where are the origins of these development woes and ills? The very greatly outdated Municipalities Planning Code. I mean it hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1969, so don’t rush Harrisburg.
If you really want another shock, drive Ship Road in West Whiteland from King Road through to Lancaster Avenue. Try not to run off the road when you see the land laid bare and stripped for apartments and townhouses and other bullshit before you hit the corner.
This is Chester County. Is this what we really want?
I’m going to show you some photos next. They will remind you of all the ugly apartments being built here in Chester County, including next to Will and Bill‘s along 202, or dwarfing the Berwyn Tavern on Lancaster Avenue, or along 29 in East Whiteland. These photos were taken as a passenger driving along 95 towards the Betsy Ross Bridge. Essentially, it’s all the same ugly crap everywhere you go. Cheap to build, charge a fortune. Municipalities and residents left holding the bag.





We need to collectively as a county full of people demand better from our elected officials. And every state election, we need to make overdevelopment everywhere an issue, and we need to demand, not ask, but demand state reps and state senators remember for whom they actually are supposed to work for. And it’s not the largest donor or unions or construction lobbyists, it’s all of us.
Politicians should no longer be allowed to say how they love our area and it’s so beautiful. Or say look at all of the open space because all of the open space is disappearing. The ratio of what we’re saving as open space and farmland compared to development is a very unequal balance.
Pick a municipality. No one is immune from this.
Yes, I hate all of this development. Yes I say it out loud, and for those who think I hate all development, that’s actually not true, but we don’t see any thoughtful development anymore.
People wherever they live, need to take a stand. We need to stop the madness.
