The Bancroft redevelopment must prioritize minimizing impact, balancing affordable housing obligations, downsizing opportunities, and preserving open space, while avoiding undue pressure on our infrastructure and schools. The current Woodmont proposal, with 120 units, exceeds what Haddonfield needs and undermines our town’s character. Instead, a smaller-scale, thoughtful development that aligns with these goals can better serve our community, creating a welcoming neighborhood that respects both our residents’ desires and our town’s long-term sustainability. Keep reading for my thought process. Understanding how I will approach problems is important as you choose your next commissioner.
My thoughts on the current state of Bancroft, the borough’s agreement with Woodmont Properties, and any opportunity or proposal in front of the commissioners should be to Minimize Impact.Minimizing impact means doing what we need to while considering any proposal's positive and negative aspects and then settling on a course of action that satisfies our needs while protecting what Haddonfield wants. As an outside candidate looking at the Woodmont proposal and the entire RFP wording on the types of development the town desired, I feel the conditional agreement fails my litmus test of minimizing impact.
In essence, I see the problem facing our town as a four-headed issue: the need to satisfy our current affordable housing obligation on that parcel, the desire of many to maintain as much open space as we can, the need of others to create downsizing opportunities for our older generation to stay in town, and the actual pressure any development will have on our infrastructure and school system. Each competing pressure needs to be managed holistically from a Haddonfield focus, not just a Bancroft (or, more aptly, half a Bancroft) problem.
When you use the goal to minimize impact, you start with the affordable housing component - 10 units are obligated to construct the parcel. That is a far cry from the 120 units of the Woodmont proposal. I do not like creating a new area strictly for affordable housing. The borough did that with The Place at Haddonfield, which should not be repeated. So, let’s debate how many unit opportunities are needed for a welcoming new neighborhood that can be aligned with the other three goals.
Downsizing opportunities are also part of that discussion. Suppose we are creating ten affordable units and a certain number of market-rate units to make the development welcoming; the type of home matters to this group. These could be two or 3-bedroom structures with attractive designs for downsizers, including low maintenance, one-floor living, and activities that make it an appealing destination.
Open space is good for the environment, suitable for Haddonfield, and very much aligned with the Camden County Park System that occupies the rest of that area. When these goals are emphasized, such as minimizing the number of units from the first issue and minimizing low maintenance from the second issue, maximizing public open space fits in nicely. Your property maintenance is reduced (think no lawns) because you have acres of active and passive parkland next door. The amount we give to the building and the amount given to open space is debatable, but it isn’t 120 units.
So that leaves the 4th issue, pressure on infrastructure and schools. These are problems most folks can get at a glance - the property is fed by one of the skinniest roads in town on Hopkins Lane, is right next to a high school with student and staff drivers, athletic and other events all year long, and 6 am to 9 pm usage most days during the school year. In addition, each unit built has the potential to add stress to our schools. These are all problems that need to be walked like a tightrope. The Woodmont proposal is like a barreling 18-wheeler to our town’s infrastructure.
This isn’t a solution or a proposal; it's just what I think about the Bancroft problem. If elected, I look forward to working with the other commissioners on this and other opportunities for our town. I believe there is a balance to be struck, either by finding a builder to develop a smaller-scale project or having the borough divide a portion of the property into lots and let builders create a new neighborhood of market rate and affordable units, one plot at a time. Either way, the Woodmont Properties proposal is too large and doesn’t Minimize Impact.
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