A good neighbor, Barrack

When the Jewish Federation purchased the American College I was personally relieved. I felt that this was a wonderful solution to a potential "development disaster" . As I was going door to door the only concerns that I heard consistently were whether the grounds would be preserved and the campus remain accessible to the neighborhood. I believed that the Federation, particularly the Academy, would be a good neighbor and I feel that recent events have proven that to be correct. The issue was the construction of a soccer field and tennis courts for the school. The plan was previously submitted and had been rejected because of the number of trees marked for removal. Apparently there was also an issue because it had not been recognized (by the School or Township) that the property is a listed Arboretum in several local Guides.
I attended the Shade Tree Commission Meeting Wednesday evening an spoke directly with the representatives of Barrack (new name for Akiba) before the meeting and watched their presentation. Shade Tree approved their plan.... details. Since the last meeting they have worked very hard to reduce the original 76 trees being removed to 36 or so. Still not a great thing since there are 10 trees greater that 2 foot in diameter. That being said the plan proposed is excellent in my opinion given our codes and regulations. The presenter also pledged to continue to work with the Shade Tree folks as the process moves forward to identify additional opportunities to save trees. Applicant also included moving quite a few trees to new locations and showed respect for trees that were planted as memorials to be sure that the plaques are relocated. They also pledged to maintain and improve the "arboretum" portions on their portion of the property.

Of course we would like to see no big trees removed but to effect that goal we will need to change our ordinances. Overall the plan is the best that could be expected, actually much better than could be expected because the school is a good neighbor and cares for the community.