Public meeting Tuesday on plans for Woodcrest Country Club

CHERRY HILL Several months after an initial meeting to discuss proposed development of the Woodcrest Country Club property in Cherry Hill, a public meeting will be held Tuesday.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Woodcrest Elementary School. Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn is scheduled to attend.

According to a flier distributed in the area, the meeting's goal is to discuss "the proposed expansive development and its impact on our quality of life: open space, environment, traffic schools, and taxes."

The property was auctioned off to a subsidiary of First Montgomery Group in Marlton in May. That generated controversy, with residents fearing development.

Two lawsuits were filed, one seeking to develop the sewerage infrastructure that would support building development, and one seeking court permission to build housing, for which the area is not zoned.

No major developments have occurred in those legal battles or in the proposal for 844 rental units on the 178-acre golf course, said Bridget Palmer, a spokeswoman for Cherry Hill. Kevin D. Walsh, associate director of the Fair Share Housing Center, a plaintiff in one of the suits, agreed: "Nothing actually has happened."

In the absence of major updates, residents have unanswered questions, said Jeffrey L. Nash, a Camden County freeholder and Woodcrest resident.

"There is an enormous number of residents who are very concerned about the destruction of that open space," said Nash, who plans to attend the meeting as one of the officials hoping to answer those questions.

"One of the reasons the community wants to have this meeting is . . . it's complicated. And people need to be fully apprised as to what the issues are, because it is in their backyard," Nash said.

First Montgomery Group did not comment.