'New journey for Ardmore'
By: Cheryl Allison www.mainlinelife.com
Excerpt:
"Betty Foo can finally get that good night's sleep she's been missing.
Two "nightmare" years after Lower Merion sent a letter saying it was eyeing the Lancaster Avenue building that has housed her Hu-Nan Restaurant for 30 years, she told township commissioners last week that she can rest easy again.
In a resounding 11-0 vote, the board passed a resolution March 22 that essentially takes eminent domain for private enterprise off the table in Ardmore.
Going further, it effectively scraps the reviled redevelopment "Plan B," reopening options for downtown revitalization.
"This is the beginning of a new journey for Ardmore," declared Commissioner Philip Rosenzweig
....Commissioner Lewis Gould was out of the country and could not attend the meeting. Board President Matt Comisky and Co-Vice President Joseph Manko said they could not sign on to removing eminent domain as a tool for public purposes including economic development. But rather than voting no on the resolution, they abstained.
Although township officials have insisted that eminent domain was always a last resort, Plan B potentially targeted nearly a dozen properties, including Betty and E Ni Foo's restaurant and Suburban Office Equipment, a third generation business, in a block of the Ardmore Historic District.
The resolution puts Lower Merion's board on record that "the use of eminent domain for purely private enterprise, development and gain will not be a part of the Ardmore redevelopment effort." It leaves open the possibility of a minimal taking....As a precaution not to jeopardize $6 million in federal funds for a new Ardmore Transit Center, it does not rescind Plan B. But commissioners also have gone on record that, when a request for proposals is sent out to developers to participate in an Ardmore redevelopment project, they will be invited to look at the entire redevelopment area - from Church Road on the east to the Ardmore West shopping center - and not just the properties and areas identified in Plan B.
Although protecting the federal funds had been a concern for commissioners, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, who helped get the money earmarked, praised the vote. "This is fantastic news for the business owners who were concerned about losing their properties and the residents who were worried that the proposed redevelopment plan would drastically alter the charm and character of Ardmore," he said in a statement.
....For the first time in a long while, said SAC Vice President Sharon Eckstein, "It seems to be everyone working together. It's a good omen for what we can do from this point forward, working for Ardmore."
For an emotional Betty Foo, the vote was an affirmation of her immigrant's dream.
"You have proved to a Chinese American that this is really a wonderful, democratic country," she told the board. "This is why we all came here.""
Full text: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16401822&BRD=1597&PAG=461&dept_id=188818&rfi=6
SAC Note: Betty, the tears of joy in your eyes, and the relieved look on Peggy's face made it ALL worth it. And folks, if we had to do it all over again, make no mistake, we WOULD.
