Marple Township Commissioners have unanimously rejected a preliminary plan for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia-owned former Don Guanella site, writes Kathleen Carey for the Daily Times.

“Clearly, this is a windfall for the Archdiocese,” said Commissioner Michael Molinaro, a practicing Catholic. “(They) never have paid anything to our township. We’ve been nothing but good to them … And, what do they do? They keep marketing this property to developers.

“It’s gotta stop. There’s other places to do what you want to do.”

The plan for The Village at Sproul Road called for 141 homes on 89 acres.

The Maple Planning Commission is also evaluating conditional use applications at the site for a daycare center, medical offices, a civic/community facility, and a senior living facility on 71 acres, plus 38 residential units on 52 acres near Cardinal O’Hara High School.

Molinaro questioned the need to remove 250 trees and that replacement trees were not native or suitable for long-term survival.

He pointed to open countryside and natural resources that would be lost.

“This is it. This is the last little piece that we have and we’re not, and I’m not, going to let houses be built on it,” he said.

Read more about the preliminary plan’s rejection in the Daily Times.