Friends of Rose Valley Creek

01/30/2016

Almost SOLD OUT! 😳🌳🌱🌲🌿

Thank you all for the support!

An evening of buffet, brews and boogie to benefit open space in Ambler Bring your favorite people with you to enjoy a fun-filled evening at the brand new Borough Hall in Ambler (at the corner of Rosemary and Poplar.) Enjoy live music & dancing, buffet and beers! Ticket price includes buffet & two dr…

01/18/2016

Friends of the Rose Valley Creek, we need your help to "Keep the Woods on Edgewood"!

We have raised over half of our goal of $75k to purchase Lot 13 from the developer. Upon acquisition, the deed will be held by Ambler Borough and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will consult on the restoration and maintenance plan for the woods.

It takes a village to save a forest! Any little bit helps! Donate if you can or share among your network.

Also, don't forget to RSVP to our TREEmendous Party on Saturday 1/30 at Borough Hall. www.treemendous.eventbrite.org

https://www.ioby.org/project/edgewood-preserve

Please join the community effort to save one of the last remaining undeveloped lots within Ambler and preserve it as openspace in perpetuity for generations to come.

01/05/2016

And so it begins...

11/05/2015

Exciting news from Ambler Borough Council meeting tonight!

After an executive session, Council voted to contribute $20k of their parks & rec funds towards the purchase of one of the remaining 3 lots along Edgewood Drive. If the remaining $55k is raised by a deadline to be set in 2016, the Borough will own the land as a permanently preserved open space.

Stay tuned for a crowdfunding campaign in the next few days to raise the remaining money to purchase the land to create the Edgewood Preserve along the Rose Valley Creek!

10/26/2015

This weekend is forecasted to be peak foliage for our area; too bad these trees, some multiple centuries old, on a steep slope adjacent to the Rose Valley Creek won't stand to see it.

The developer responsible for cutting down the last untouched private lot in Ambler, Robert Ratoskey of 212 Wood Street LLC in Conshohocken, does not yet have approved "land development" plans for his three proposed homes along Edgewood Drive. Although a land development plan requires soil & erosion and landscape plans before approval; there is no requirements for cutting the trees prior to any approved plans, as long as the stumps remain in the ground. Surely there will be increased soil erosion and run off into the flood prone creek area down stream as the trees are no longer living to absorb the water in the soil but clearly money is more important that the safety and welfare of Borough residents.

Steep slope and Riparian Buffer ordinances are working their way through Borough Council this month to protect any vulnerable land in the future. Be sure to attend the upcoming meetings regarding these ordinances.

10/11/2015

Sad isn't it? Done on a Saturday with no permits publicly posted.

Another lot is scheduled to be cleared tomorrow morning around 7am. The DEP, EPA, Montgomery County Conservation District and local Borough officials have been notified over the weekend and will be investigating tomorrow but we need to stall these tree crews until the authorities can confirm proper protocol has been followed and permits have been filed.

There is no crime in parking your car legally in the street directly in front of the lot in question that would prevent cranes from starting their work.

10/10/2015

Big trees coming down on Edgewood today; the whole intersection is closed. Make sure you attend the meeting on 10/20 to hear about the new Steep Slope and Riparian Buffer Ordinances to protect this beautiful bit of Ambler wilderness along the creek from build built upon.

RSVP here so you don't forget!
https://www.facebook.com/events/465853790254230/

01/07/2015

We want to thank all of our friends and neighbors for attending tonight's Committee meeting.

We would like to extend our gratitude to our elected officials for taking the time to listen to the concerns of the neighborhood and their thoughtful contributions to the discussion tonight.

We also want to thank Borough Manager, Mary Aversa and Solicitor, Joe Bresnan for scheduling time for our arguments to be publicly addressed immediately preceding the next Borough Council meeting on 1/20 during which the final vote will be recorded.

Save the date! 1/20 6:30pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/928043787220984/

01/06/2015

"As a municipality, if we could sit there and say, 'We're not going to approve it because we don't like it,' that would be easy. We would like it that way," she [Borough Manager, Mary Aversa] said in an interview last week. "But you can't have it both ways. . . . If you purchase a house in the floodplain, it's going to flood."

The Borough Manager's attitude towards families effected by flooding is dismissive and disgraceful. There are multiple applicable ordinances in Ambler Borough Code and Montgomery County Municipal Planning Code that are legal grounds to deny the current application of this subdivision plan. The Borough solicitor has dismissed these ordinances without any public explanation. Tonight we will demand answers to this and many other major concerns regarding this subdivision plan in front of our elected officials on Borough Council.

Please RSVP to attend tonights Ambler Borough Council meeting to hear public comments and share your own thoughts regarding this controversial issue.
https://www.facebook.com/events/331480603712387/

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150106_Flooding_is_an_issue_in_Ambler_construction_plan.html .99

Every eight months or so, Rose Valley Creek breaches its banks, sending two to three inches of water around the old trees, across the fields, and up to the Quinn family's front door in Ambler.

12/24/2014

Last night the Planning Commission voted 3-2 to recommend approval.
We may have lost this "battle", we won't lose the "war"! But we do need your help...

Tuesday 1/6 at 7pm in Borough Hall the Borough Council will take a final vote to approve or deny these plans for a subdivision.This will be the final opportunity for public comment on this subdivision and potentially on any future land development that takes place on the parcels. We need YOU to be there. Ask a question, raise a concern, just listen and form your own opinion but just be there. (RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/331480603712387/)

Can't make it? Share this page, invite your friends to the meeting via the link above, share individual status updates, talk about it with your neighbors, increase awareness of this fight!

And as a parting note I'll leave you with one of my favorite bands. Even though this song/video is nearly 30 years old these words ring truer now than ever, especially the last line.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbtS_APwnJQ

The lyrics describe a post-apocalyptic world in which modern technology has been largely eliminated, and there is "nothing but flowers." The song's protagoni...

12/22/2014

"GM + TS '57" Do you know who carved their initials into this tree?

This is just one of many mature trees, located on one of the last few remaining undeveloped parcels of land in Ambler. All of these trees are at risk of being cut down for profit from housing development of this scenic gem in the heart of Ambler.

According to Ambler Borough's Code of Ordinances (see attached), a Landscape Plan shall be presented with land subdivision plans. The intent of the landscape requirements as detailed in Chapter 22 Attachment 2 Appendix B §100.6 is to "Conserve, culturally or environmentally important landscapes such as wooded hillsides, scenic views or aesthetic natural areas."

This is just one of many instances of relevant Borough Code and recommendations that seems to be discordant with the intent of the developer. Yet at all previous meetings regarding this subdivision plan, concerned residents have been told that this process is "just drawing lines on paper" with no regards to the implications of those lines; yet Borough Code seems to imply there is much more to be required than what the developer has presented in order to legally put those lines on paper. Who will hold the developer accountable for ensuring that all of those requirements have been met?

Please come out to the final Planning Commission meeting regarding this proposed subdivision this Tuesday 12/23 at 7PM in Borough Hall to raise this and any other concerns you may have as a resident of Ambler!
RSVP to attend here: https://www.facebook.com/events/790424314353321/

12/21/2014

"The Wissahickon creek retains its Lenape name. The Anglicized spelling is believed to be derived from Wisameckhan, meaning 'catfish stream.'”
-http://www.phillyhistory.org

It may be a man's right to subdivide his land, but when the implications of one man's right override the greater good of the residents of Ambler (and previous recommendations of Borough Council) shouldn't we look more thoroughly at this decision?

Please RSVP to attend the Planning Commission this Tuesday 12/23 at 7pm in Borough Hall to listen to public comment or share your own concerns.
https://www.facebook.com/events/790424314353321/