Sixty-two acres of open farmland in Montgomery County came within a vote of becoming hundreds of apartments and office buildings, writes John Worthington for The Reporter.
Then something remarkable happened. The people spoke. And the farm lived.
On May 19, Lower Salford residents voted 82% to 18%, with 3,130 yes votes to just 680 no, to preserve the Allebach Farm, a 62-acre property that has defined the character of the township’s landscape along Main Street, Quarry Road, and Stover Road for generations.
The vote approved a 0.25% earned income tax increase, raising the rate from 0.5% to 0.75% and generating an estimated $2 million annually toward the $21.5 million purchase and future open space efforts.
The alternative was sobering. Township Manager Joseph Czajkowski didn’t mince words: “It’s one of the last large parcels that can be developed.”
Under existing mixed-use zoning, the Allebach Farm could have become six commercial buildings, 156 apartment units, 108 twin homes, and two single-family houses. Just another dense development swallowing up irreplaceable land, a story playing out in communities across the region every single day.
Instead, the farm survives. Once finalized, it will join more than 2,000 acres already preserved in Lower Salford through township, state, and private partnerships, pushing the township’s preserved open space past 13% of its total footprint.
The tax adds about $225 per year for the average worker and doesn’t touch Social Security or pension income. A small ask for something that can never be replaced once it’s gone.
That 82% wasn’t a squeaker. It was a statement.
To get all the details on what comes next for the Allebach Farm, visit The Reporter.
