The Zoning Hearing Board picks the 900 Conshohocken Road case back up on Thursday, October 15, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting room holds about 200 people and the parties are seated first. So we’re starting something new: a tailgate at the township building, with everyone watching the hearing together on the township’s livestream. We’re calling it Testimony Under the Stars, and it will be back outside every session of this hearing.
- When
- Thursday, October 15. The hearing starts at 7:00 p.m., so come early to get settled.
- Where
- Plymouth Township Building, 700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting.
- Bring
- A chair or a blanket, a phone or tablet with a full charge, headphones if you want every word, and a neighbor.
- Kids
- Bring them. There will be activities for kids.
- Watch
- The township’s livestream on YouTube: youtube.com/live/PRuCKGwLUQ8. Open it before you arrive so it’s ready when the board starts.
- Indoors instead
- The township is running its own viewing room at the Greater Plymouth Community Center, 2910 Jolly Road. Our volunteers will be at the township building and the community center until 7:30 to point people the right way.
▶ Open the livestream The township’s notice
What to expect inside
The township posted the ground rules on October 2. Seating goes first to the parties, their attorneys and witnesses, and the hearing will be livestreamed. Public comment will not be taken that night. The township says it will announce in advance the hearing at which public comment is expected.
The agenda lists the special exception application for the site. MoreThanTheCurve reports that 25 parties are now taking part, and that the board will decide Montgomery County’s request for party status at this hearing. The county owns the former Ivy Rock Quarry next door. The applicant’s first witness ran out of time on August 6 before he finished his direct testimony, and no party has cross-examined him yet.
Why we’re outside
In August the board moved these hearings from a 750-seat school auditorium to the Karen B. Weiss Meeting Room, which holds about 200. The September 17 session was canceled that afternoon because the agenda hadn’t been posted. When neighbors went to the board’s regular meeting on September 21 to ask about it, they were told data center comments were out of order. “It’s not an open forum,” the attorney standing in as the board’s solicitor said, as The Times Herald reported.
We can’t all fit in that room, and public comment isn’t on the agenda yet. But everyone going in and out of that building will walk past the parking lot. A full lot on a Thursday night, with neighbors following every minute of the hearing, says what this community thinks before anyone reaches a microphone. When neighbors lined Fayette Street on September 12, CBS3 covered it that evening and The Times Herald the next day. Thursday is the next chance to show up.
A series, not a one-off
The township expects the case to run over multiple hearings. Testimony Under the Stars will be outside every one of them until the public gets its turn to speak, and we’ll post each date here and in the banner at the top of every page.
Live close to the site? Organizers are encouraging neighbors within about a mile and a half to consider asking the board for party status. Bring your questions to the weekly community call, Sundays at 3:30 p.m. on Zoom. The link is on the home page, and this Sunday’s call will go over what happened on Thursday.
Ground rules for the lot
It’s township property and a public meeting. Keep walkways and the entrance clear, follow staff directions, keep it friendly, and take your trash home. If you’re going inside, the township’s notice has the seating rules.