Rezoning Don Guanella To Open Space Recommended By Planning Board

MARPLE TOWNSHIP, PA — The Marple Township Planning Board last week officially recommended the township commissioners rezone two properties to open space.

At its meeting Thursday, the board unanimously voted to recommend the board of commissioners rezone the former Don Guanella property to open space.

The two tax parcels, totaling about 280 acres, are zoned R-B Residential, R-C Residential, and Institutional.

>>>RELATED: No Immigrant Housing Coming To Don Guanella Site: Delco Officials<<<

If the commissioners, who sent the proposing rezoning ordinance to the planning board, approve the ordinance, the property will be zoned as Open Space.

The Marple township Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Monday, April 15 to consider the ordinance.

Last week's meeting included several residents delivering public comments, with some focusing on rumors that illegal immigrants would be housed on the Don Guanella site.

One resident said he was told by a Marple Township employee that the Delaware County, which owns the property, was planning to house illegal immigrants there and that the county would lie about the rumored housing when asked.

That employee's name was not given.

Officials from Marple and Delaware County last week told Patch that preserving the property for open space use was the ultimate goal.

The county hopes to establish the first new county park in 30 years in the property.

It's unclear what could happen to some of the structures on the property, as some are in severe disrepair.

"It has always been the intention of Marple Township Board of Commissioners to change the Zoning at this location to conform with the intended use of open space and preserve the forest," Marple Township Manager Larry Gentile told Patch via email last week.

"It is extremely important to the community that this land remains as open space," Marple Township Board of Commissioners President Joe Rufo said in an email to Patch.

Delaware County Council President Dr. Monica Taylor said the rezoning effort was welcome, as establishing a park at the property has been a county goal for several years.

The property will be the county's first county park in 30 years, and feature 213 acres focused on the woodlands that now serve as one of the county's largest forests.

In March 2022, Delaware County Council approved and funded a proposal to create a plan to transform the property into the largest public park in the county.

Officials have been working to establish the new park since about 2021 after its development into housing and institutional use was unanimously rejected by the Marple Township Board of Commissioners and opposed by the Planning Commission.