The Somerton Civic Association hadn't met in July and August in accordance with its annual summer recess. But last week, the general membership of the group learned that its leaders have been anything but idle.
Officers of the association reported meeting with public officials in regard to two major issues for the community: the redevelopment of the former Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry and the extension of the Woodhaven Road expressway.
Speaking at the civic association's monthly general meeting at Walker Lodge No. 306 on Sept. 11, president Mary Jane Hazell said that public debate for both projects is far from over.
In fact, the Woodhaven Road issue continues to divide the Somerton neighborhood and membership of the civic association.
Hazell and other executive committee members met with the Woodhaven Road project manager from PennDOT, as well as an engineer from the contracted consulting firm, in June. Project officials outlined four design options for the civic leaders, including a "no-build" option.
One build option is to extend Woodhaven from its present western terminus at Evans Street through Bustleton Avenue and to Philmont Avenue or Huntingdon Pike in Montgomery County. Another build option is to widen Byberry Road to four lanes.
The remaining option is to extend Woodhaven Road from Evans Street to Bustleton Avenue, then to widen Bustleton Avenue between Woodhaven and County Line Road.
According to PennDOT figures, the Woodhaven Road/Byberry Road corridor west of Roosevelt Boulevard handles 39,100 vehicles a day. Although PennDOT project manager Joe Capella has said that the department is not promoting one option over another, Hazell feels that the latter option is favored by the department.
PennDOT estimates that 19 businesses would be displaced by the option. Meanwhile, numerous homes would be displaced or negatively impacted, specifically those in the Westwood section of Somerton, by the Evans-to-Philmont plan.
The Byberry Road widening plan would also impact homes and businesses, including some historical sites, along that corridor.
Jim Weldon, a resident of Westwood, said that 150 homes could see a significant drop in quality of life and property values with the Evans-to-Philmont plan.
"It's not just the businesses. It's the viability of the community, too," Weldon said. "I'm going to be looking at a twenty-foot wall forty-two feet from my house."
Hazell and other neighbors said that Westwood residents should have known about the plans to build the road when they bought their houses. The state-owned right-of-way for the project has been part of city maps since the 1960s, before the homes were built.
The civic association voted unanimously to invite PennDOT officials to a future meeting to present their plans to the community.
On the Byberry front, Hazell reported that she and other executive committee members met with Mayor John Street, Street senior aide George Burrell and City Councilman Brian O'Neill in July to present their idea for an older-adult housing development on a portion of the 153-acre tract at Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road.
The results were encouraging.
"I think what we got from (Street) was a real positive reaction," Hazell said.
According to the civic leader, there were concerns that residential development would not be permitted at the state-owned site because it has been designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone by Gov. Tom Ridge. But further research revealed that homes are possible, although they wouldn't benefit from the state tax abatement offered to businesses under the KOZ plan.
Still, Hazell said, the area could benefit from the city tax incentive for new-home buyers, who could be exempt from property taxes for 10 years.
Hazell also asked Street and O'Neill to look into the possibility that the city legally owns the grounds because the state has ceased using it as a hospital. In the meantime, Hazell is looking for state officials to maintain the property better. The former psychiatric institution closed in June 1990 and has been vacant ever since.
"When you come into Philadelphia and it says 'Welcome to Philadelphia,' then you see those weeds and boarded-up buildings, it's a total disgrace,'" Hazell said.
In other Somerton Civic business:
Hazell said that Trainer originally proposed more than 100 twins but reduced the number. The civic group took no action on the plan.
"It was just brought up as a matter of information," Hazell said.
The property is owned by the Ascension Mar Thoma Church, which converted part of the same warehouse into a place of worship in May 2000. At that time, the civic group supported the church's request for a zoning variance, which enabled the conversion of the 43,000-square-foot building.
The SCA voted to oppose the latest request, however, because many members feared that students from nearby George Washington High School would congregate there while skipping classes and turn it into a nuisance.