Analysis: Towamencin Makes Major Decision on Freddy Hill

Freddy Hill Farms, a short walk from my childhood home, will officially close for good Sept. 28. That’s the same week I will close on my first home (more on this exciting news later this month). 

This past week, the Towamencin Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to halt additional discussion on potential development options for the Freddy Hill parcel. As a result – in all likelihood – 141 single-family homes will soon dot the grass that now features golf, batting cages, a small farm, and the famous ice cream shop (where my sister worked in middle school). 

Supervisors Chuck Wilson, Chair Joyce Snyder, Kristen Warner, and Amer Barghouth voted in the majority, with Supervisor Kofi Osei as the lone voice who wanted to continue exploring a “mixed residential cluster” option with Pinnacle Realty Development Corp. The MRC would have resulted in townhouses starting at $600,000 and age-qualified homes starting at $900,000, according to a township presentation. That plan would have netted 303 new homes. 

Osei, who had to speak over hecklers and shouting at several points during the Sept. 10 meeting, emphasized that the MRC plan would have less impervious surface (better for stormwater management). It would also offer a better deal for first-time homebuyers than the single-family detached homes, PRDC’s Tony Maras previously said. 

Maras addressed the room, saying: “All I’m asking for is the board to allow a hearing — not even that, to send us to the county planning commission, and send us to your planning commission. Let’s talk about compromise, too. But under your ordinance, you only have two options right now."

“We are the experts!” one resident yelled from the audience. 

During public comment, the general themes raised by opponents included concerns about too much density, traffic impacts, and environmental degradation. 

Osei, who has canvassed the neighborhood to speak to residents and holds regular office hours, was one of the few supervisors to offer extended comment on Freddy Hill’s future, at one point said: “We talk about this as if it’s not people (who will be) living there.” 

He reasoned that if the MRC is denied, “we’ll get houses quicker.” The crowd moaned and hissed when Osei said he has heard from people who want us to build as much as possible. 

“Who said that?” one person yelled. 

From my perspective, as a housing advocate, I would have liked to see something denser on the Freddy Hill property – especially for middle-class renters or first-time homebuyers. Towamencin Township, with approximately 18,000 residents, recently completed an update to its comprehensive plan (basically a vision statement for the future with a high level of detail). Their consultant, Peter Simone, noted that many residents want more shopping and dining amenities. However, the township likely needs MORE residents to meet the criteria retailers and businesses are looking for to open up shop. 

In the end, perhaps the township’s residents were rearing for a fight because they have not had a chance to fully process the fact that Freddy Hill Farms is fading into the sunset. The owners, the Seipt family, declined to sell to another operator of the fun center/ice cream store. 

And in Montgomery County, land = $. 

Money for new houses.

Homes for who will continue to be a hot topic throughout MontCo. 

For additional details on this project, check out the North Penn Now article. Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information, visit www.Towamencin.org.