Kings Mill Litigation - Press Release to Morning Call, Express-Times, and Easton News

David Billings for
Forks Township Supervisor
For Immediate Release
September 25, 2007

Press Contact: David Billings
610-704-7306

David Billings, a candidate for Forks Township Supervisor, today expresses his grave concern about possible settlement discussions between Forks Township and the Kings Mills developer, KMRD.

Recent press reports on possible settlement talks may be premature as the Forks Township Board of Supervisors has not authorized a settlement. “These types of settlement decisions must be discussed at the public Board of Supervisors’ meetings where the residents of Forks Township can voice their opinions on the Kings Mill litigation.”

“Compounding the problem is that the developer is trying to force Forks Township to settle the lawsuit prior to the November General Election.” It looks like the developer is using an ‘olive branch’ approach to settle the lawsuit prior to the new Board of Supervisors taking office in January 2008.

Forks Township Youth Dance

Greetings from the campaign trail…


I had the pleasure of chaperoning the Forks Township Youth Sports Organization (FTYSO) middle school dance. This was the first dance I got to observe since last year. Well, I am here to tell you this year’s dance was a success. The kids had a great time and were very well behaved!

The middle school dance chaperones were provided by the Forks Township cheerleading team (Go Falcons!) parents. The chaperones passed out the dance regulations in the parking lot to ensure the parents understood the rules and any child without a school ID would be signed in by their parents. We wanted to ensure only 5th to 7th graders were allowed into the dance. I did observe that almost all the parents reviewed the rules with their children prior to entering the Community Center. I believe this action by the parents reinforced the behavior expected of our children and also ensured the dance would be a success. This is a great example of the township partnering with the community to create a memorable experience for all involved. I would like to thank the FTYSO for a great job in providing a safe and fun environment for our children.

I know our daughter is looking forward to attending the October dance.

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog or email at billings2007@att.net.

Get Involved – Your Vote Counts!


David Billings
billings2007@att.net

Campaign Theme - Green Space

Greetings from the campaign trail…

One of my three campaign themes is Green Space. This is a tricky issue as we face the challenges of how we manage our future growth. So, what is Green Space? This concept is all about our ability to aggressively manage growth within the context of our current zoning laws and the PA Municipal Code. I know it is easy to make a campaign promise to stop growth or create open space. My candidacy is not about campaign promises, but bringing real solutions to the community.

So, can we just create an open space law that prohibits development? For example, the current zoning laws for the Farm Preservation district states we can place one housing unit per three acres with a cluster option. The land owner, in this case, the farmer has the right to sell his/her land or maintain their farm to earn a living. The township does not have the right to force the farm owner to keep his/her farm or zone the farm as open space. The farmers have the right to sell their land to the highest bidder.

So what can we do? The best approach is to have the township purchase the prize land that can be zoned for open space or recreational areas. The funding can be obtained by increasing the real estate transfer tax creating a direct revenue stream to support open space, obtaining grants from Northampton County Open Space Initiatives (see Express Times article “Changes in open space program” – March 22, 2007) and grants from the state Growing Greener fund. Some of these concepts and others are being discussed at the Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan workshops.

Currently, the Planning Commission has the opportunity to change the Comprehensive Plan for the Farm Preservation district from one unit per three acres with a cluster option to one unit per five acres without the cluster option. This is a good way to reduce the density of the development while operating within the laws of the land. The best statement that I have heard to address this issue is “The devil is in the density”. It is very important to limit the density of the proposed developments while we purchase land for open space initiatives.

The challenge for Forks Township is whether we have the political will to preserve farmland and create the opportunities to purchase land for open space. The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan 2030 stated it best: “In order to cope with future growth, municipalities will need to do better planning and implementation of plans than they have done in the past.” As we have seen in Frenchtown, NJ (see Express Times article “Land preservation story shows victory is possible” – March 22, 2007) and within our own Northampton County (see Morning Call article “Northampton open wallet to save green – March 7, 2007) it is possible to create partnerships to buy and preserve farmland


No matter what course we choose, the developers will be opposed to open space initiatives and will use our legal system as the tool to circumvent our zoning laws. As your supervisor, I will have the political will to tackle these tough issues!

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog or email at billings2007@att.net.

Get Involved – Every Vote Counts!


David Billings
billings2007@att.net

Walking the Neighborhoods and Cell Towers.

I have been walking the neighborhoods this past weekend to meet the people of Forks Township. I had the chance to discuss the future of our township and how to solve the critical issues facing our community. I heard a very strong message during my travels. We can do better!

Many people have expressed a concern about our rapid township growth, the Kings Mill development, cell towers in the park, and high property taxes. The issue I would like to address in my latest blog post is the proposed cell tower that would be located in the community park. During the last (September 6, 2007) Board of Supervisors meeting, the board was debating a proposal to start negotiations with T-Mobile in 2007. The proposal stipulated the cell tower must be located in the Forks Township Community Park. Ugh!

At the BoS meeting, I recommended to the board the cell tower be moved to another location within Forks Township. I recognize the need for efficient cell phone coverage and understand the important role cell phones play in our lives. I just feel our community park is not the best location for the cell tower. Additionally, the cell phone provider did not produce a sufficient explanation for the need for an additional cell phone tower in our township. As stated at the BoS meeting during public comment, the community park is our “crown jewel”. I cannot agree more!

I am supportive of the BoS decision to reject the cell tower proposal and hope we can continue to improve cell phone coverage in our township. Hopefully, a new cell tower will be co-located with the existing cell towers.


If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas on our blog or via email at billings2007@att.net.

Get Involved – Every Vote Counts!

Regards,

David Billings

Campaign Focus - Clean, Lean, and Green

Greetings from the campaign trail…..

It is that time of year again! We are now starting the fall campaign for Forks Supervisor. It will be a very exciting campaign, as we get another chance to chat about the challenges that face Forks Township and develop real solutions to our problems. We will start our door-to-door campaigning on September 8, 2007 and will end the campaign on November 6, 2007 (election night).

We have seen vast changes to our community in the past few years. We face many challenges as we try to maintain critical public services, update the infrastructure (Roads, EMS, Fire, and Police) to support our growth, and sustain fiscally responsible policies with our township finances. I believe we need to expand our current recreational opportunities for our children and senior citizens. Improving the quality of life for the residents of Forks Township is a key issue facing our community. My campaign will focus on ideas to improve our quality of life in Forks Township:

• Clean Government – Create a true open government; incorporate new ideas, and serve in the best interests of the township.
• Lean Spending – Sustaining sound financial policies and maintain critical public services.
• Green Space – Preserve farm land, where possible, and fight ongoing high density development.

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas on our blog or via email at billings2007@att.net.

Get Involved – Every Vote Counts!

Regards,

David Billings