CHCA election brings new board members, high turnout

by Walt Maguire
Posted 8/5/21

Kathi Clayton, President of the CHCA, said in a statement: “This year's CHCA Board election was outstanding. It was heartening and gratifying to witness the significant voter turnout of our membership."

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CHCA election brings new board members, high turnout

Posted

The annual Chestnut Hill Community Association board elections announced the results on Tuesday, July 27. This year produced a higher level of community involvement and a wider range of views among the nominees. Last year, eight candidates ran unopposed. This year, there were 16 candidates for nine seats.

The nine “Slate” candidates all won, with Beth Wright getting the highest vote total of all 16 candidates. Since two of the candidates were being reelected – Tony Banks, VP of Operations for the CHCA, and Keith Kunz, Member at Large – this means seven new board members, an unusually high number in one election cycle. There are 24 seats on the board. Three are institutional representatives from Chestnut Hill Hospital, Woodmere Art Museum, and the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation.

The “Slate” refers to a self-description in an open letter published in the Local on July 15, in which they stated their goals included “developing a set of best practices and a set of specific standards for new development by applying appropriate resources to support strategic planning. We will invite community members to join the process and create a robust dialogue.”

 Zoning and development were a strong incentive for many of the new candidates, as the normal issues about preserving the Chestnut Hill style had been magnified by new property developments since this time last year. A proposal for replacing an office building at 30 W. Highland with townhouses had lead to the creation of a neighborhood group to represent opposition; many of these candidates had become involved through this. Some of these projects were spurred by rising real estate prices and incentives for developers, though some were caused by changes in the business environment brought by economic conditions.  While some of these issues showed the CHCA working with the neighbors, in some cases there was concern about transparency in the process, in particular on recommendations for zoning variances.

Beth Wright had been active with 30 W. Highland Neighbors, along with newly elected members Tim Breslin and Ross Pilling. She felt the development at 30 West was a turning point, with the Board not being responsive to the neighbors, or at least a lack of transparency creating that perception. “We want to work with every member of the board to move our ideas forward,” she said. She expects the general goals to be generally acceptable, but then the details need to be worked out. For instance, she’d like to see fewer decisions solely by architects and more input by preservationists and land-use experts “to support a broader vision for development initiatives in our community.” She emphasized the goal was to broaden the involvement in the decisions, including more community attendance at the hearings, or communication about the decisions. “We lead a positive campaign. Ideas matter. Goals matter. We hope that, in the end, it’s not about any one of us, but  about using the platform that we presented as a guidepost for making Chestnut Hill an even better place.”

There were 462 votes cast, over twice the standard. (513 ballots were turned in, with 51 rejected as invalid.) The voting results were expected to be announced by the Monday after the voting closed July 22, but because of the large number the results were not final until July 27.

Kathi Clayton, President of the CHCA, said in a statement: “This year's CHCA Board election was outstanding. It was heartening and gratifying to witness the significant voter turnout of our membership.

“All the candidates' qualifications and commitment to volunteering their time and expertise on behalf of the community at large are impressive. They all share an appreciation for Chestnut Hill and believe the CHCA is of significant value to its members and residents.

“I have congratulated the newly elected board members and look forward to working with them. They are individuals who bring a variety of professional experience and interests to the Community Association.   I am also pleased to say the candidates who did not win a seat on the Board in this election have expressed their willingness to work on CHCA committees and volunteering when and where they may be needed. This should make all of us proud.

“Thanks to all the voters for their interest in this election and your support of the CHCA and its programs and activities.”

Keith Kunz is starting his second three-year term on the board. He’s 5th generation, growing up in Mt. Airy and living now in the house his father grew up in on Mermaid Lane. He’s been involved in many of the recent zoning variance reviews. (The CHCA makes recommendations to the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments, but has no power to grant or deny a variance.) As a resident of Mermaid Lane, he’s been concerned with the Goldenberg Group’s plans for development at 102 E. Mermaid Lane. He didn’t know anyone on the Slate until they asked him to join, with a shared interest in raising community involvement. “I think it showed the community’s looking for a change from the standard,” Kunz said. “They read the ‘Smart Growth’ message and they believed we’re sincere and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Kunz has also the president of the Water Tower Advisory Council for three years. He notes the increased involvement of volunteers and, and general awareness of the Water Tower’s plans and needs, has been beneficial, and he sees some elements of that as useful for the CHCA.

Involvement is a concern.

“Instead of just getting board members involved, try to get everybody involved,” he said.

Board Election Results

Tony Banks**            3-year term

Tim Breslin                2-year term

George Deming IV   3-year term

Jeffrey Duncan         3-year term

Keith Kunz **            3-year term

Greg Lattanzi            3-year term

Camille Peluso          3-year term

Ross Pilling                1-year term*

Elizabeth Wright      2-year term*

*   Term length requested by candidate
** Reelected

See the full list of the CHCA Board of Directors at chestnuthill.org/board_of_directors.php