The Cobbs Creek Foundation, the group clearing trees on the city-owned land where Cobbs Creek and Karakung golf courses are situated, has apparently suspended its attempt to get a zoning variance to clear some of the trees on the courses.
Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve of last year, the foundation signed a lease with the City of Philadelphia for the golf courses and obtained permits to clear trees on most of the land, with the exception of trees on slopes of 25% or steeper, which are protected by law in Philadelphia.
The foundation had been seeking permission to also cut trees on the protected slopes through a zoning appeal. The Overbrook Park Civic Association had scheduled a meeting for Thursday evening, March 17, to hear from the foundation about this zoning appeal.
On Wednesday March 16, Joseph Catuzzi, a lawyer for Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, the firm representing the foundation, sent a message to the Overbrook Park Civic Association saying, “we’ve decided to withdraw the zoning appeal applications and will thus not need to meet on the 17th.”
It is unclear at this time whether the foundation will refile the appeal in the future. For now, this is a small victory for those opposed to the deforestation of this city land.
