By Joseph F. Haro
There are still many of us in the community who feel that the aesthetic, historical and architectural aspects of the community are major forces in making the community unique. Now, a proposed parking lot on a residential street is one of the newest threats to the town’s integrity.
The Christian Science Church is going to the Historical Preservation Commission on Wednesday, March 23 in Borough Hall to propose putting a parking lot on a piece of their property — which they bought and tore down the house that was there — to create a parking lot behind their church on Kings Highway. The property is in the historical district. Why is this such a bad idea?
1. The property is in a unique part of historic district.
2. Many who live on streets near main arteries in the town could be affected by this precedent.
3. It decreases the value of the properties in the neighborhood.
4. The church has had a declining congregation over the years. Yet they are stressing that there is a need for this added space mainly on Wednesday evenings when they have a special session in there. Having been at this location for years they have long lived with the location and made the best of it.
5. We have such little green space left now in the town one would think that the church would respect the need for the community to keep as much green space as possible.
We are already facing two big issues in reference to losing the aesthetic, historical and architectural joys of our community. They are proposing a changed use of Boxwood on Haddon Avenue and of course the gigantic project of the Bancroft property.
Thinking back to one of the most important ordinances in Haddonfield, the historic district ordinance, it was passed because of a strong citizen movement. More often than not it has been strong citizen leadership — not commissioner leadership — that has kept Haddonfield the unique town that it is.
Let’s continue this strong citizen involvement with this latest encroachment on our residential community and keep our “watch dog” abilities going with the two other major ones I mentioned. Remember, it is our unique “village” that we are saving for future generations.
