Most of the time our elected municipal leaders do their work in anonymity.
Maybe a lone reporter shows up for their monthly meetings. And these days, given the constraints of the newspaper racket, we can't even promise that.
But I figured that was not going to be the case Monday night in Marple.
I wasn't wrong.
More than 200 people showed up and packed the auditorium at Marple Newtown High School as Carlino Developers finally took the wraps off their plans to develop the 213-acre former home of the Don Guanella School off Sproul Road.
The plans basically went the way it was expected. The group wants to build on what amounts to the imprint of the former school operated for years by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. They will use another nine acres for athletic fields and other public uses. The bulk of the remainder of the tract - one of the last pristine woods and open spaces in the central part of the county - would be preserved.
That does not mean everyone think this is a good idea.
There remain questions about the size of the development Carlino wants to build, which is bigger than the entire nearby Springfield Mall tract.
And there are lots of worries about increased traffic.
That was evident in the signs many folks who showed up toting, stating: "They Make the Bucks, We Get the Traffic."
Unfortunately, in this business, we still have to adhere to deadlines. So our reporter had to leave about 9 p.m., long before everyone had the chance to address the board.
No decision on the plans was made last night.
You can get the details here, and we'll be following up today to see what happened after we left the meeting last night.
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