A drone view of the 176-acre Beagle Club property preserved as open space by Evesham Township.
How should Evesham Township use the 176-acre, former Beagle Club property that has been preserved as open space?Â
If you want a say, your chance will be Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Gibson House Community Center, 535 East Main Street, when the Township hosts a community input meeting to seek public comment for the passive recreation park at the Beagle Club property. This will, by far, be the largest Township-owned open space.
An example of an amphitheater that could be installed at the front of the Beagle Club property.
If you want to advocate for more sprawling soccer, football or other sports fields with equally large parking lots for cars on the 176 acres on North Elmwood Road, your suggestions probably won't go far.
It's clear the emphasis is on the word "passive" in future recreation plans for the site. General concepts presented already favor miles of trails, an appreciation of the environment and ecology and less-intensive sports such as bocce ball courts.
Philadelphia-based Engineering & Land Planning Associates (E&LP) — hired by the Township to come up with concepts — already has held two public meetings to share what residents have recommended as well as offer its own ideas to spark thinking.
"It's going to be a draw," Edward Confair, E&LP's project manager, said of the park at last week's Township Council meeting.Â
Confair and colleague Megan Schmidt, the E&LP project engineer, showed Council members and other officials views of the dimensions of the site, design possibilities and the results of a Township online survey, which by early this month had drawn more than 700 responses.
Even a large event with 1,000 people would be swallowed up by the 176 acres of the site.
About nine out of 10 responses were from Evesham residents and the largest age group responding was 25-to-44 years old. Few responses came from people who are under 25. The presentation noted that the design of the space should anticipate growth in the number of older users.
While walking paths are planned from some nearby neighborhoods, about eight out of 10 people responding to the survey said they want to drive. That raises the need for parking lots, which Confair recommended at the end of the site near the road.
Trees, trails, bathrooms, seating and shade structures were the top five themes from the online survey, Schmidt said. Survey results presented by Schmidt showed only 50 responses out of 746 — less than 7% — wanted sports courts.
Recurring themes in the responses included, according to Schmidt:
- Pollinator gardens and native plantings
- Solar panels for site power
- Ecologically compatible parking
- Preserving ecosystems
- Awareness of the impact of lighting on the on-site species
- Community-gathering areas
- Neighborhood connectivity
- Parking on the site only (not the surrounding roads)
- Nature play elements; play areas for young children
- Running trails for the fitness community
- Visually appealing and interactive water features
- Trails for bike and pedestrian traffic
- Educational group accommodations
- Reuse of the existing clubhouse
- Art sculptures
- Rest area/restrooms
- Site security to prevent vandalism
"The site itself is largely a mix of woodlands and meadows," Confair told the Council.
Confair offered several options for the land, including a natural amphitheater that could be used for events or showing movies.
A pond or lake on the property could be added and it could be stocked for fishing, he said. The back of the site likely would be reserved for a trail system and several miles could be laid out, he said.
Bird observation towers or blinds, signage explaining the ecology, a splash pad for children, a pavilion, artist installations and playgrounds are possibilities, Confair said.
The Beagle Club clubhouse, a historical former farmhouse dating back to 1700, would be preserved. Confair said historical buildings have been a part of other green-space projects that EL&P has designed. The structures have been used for tours and historical displays, for parks and recreation offices or a combination of both.Â
Final cost to the Township for the Green Acres Program land has yet to be determined, Township officials have said. The Council has allocated $5.25 million to purchase the land, but open-space funding will be sought from the state and Burlington County.
The former Beagle Club property dwarfs other recreational or open-space properties.
