Concerned Neighbors

Concerned Neighbors,

Concerned Neighbors

People asked why we called ourselves Concerned Neighbors. The truth is we were once tolerant and forgiving of many things, but in August, 2023, the township sent a notice to Haycock Camp adjacent neighbors announcing a massive, 30 year expansion project which asked for free reign to bring in thousands of attendees, rent the facilities to the general public, build multiple 1000 square foot buildings, endangering the environment, and creating an atmosphere of chaos on our quiet streets. Our communal shock gave rise to us to becoming the Concerned Neighbors, united in protecting our quiet rural community. We are fighting to ensure that the camp follows the rules and codes of our township.

Being ordinary middle class folk, we need your financial support. This fight has already cost us over $50,000 to hire an expert conservationist (to assess the threat to the environment) and a municipal lawyer to help us understand government at the local level. It is working but this fight is far from over. Though the township granted the camps request (after 10 months of hearings), it was with 32 conditions mandating their compliance with the township codes. If we hadn't united as a community and hired a lawyer who was committed to the law, and a conservationist who was able to point out the fallacies of the camp's plans, this request could have flown under the radar.

The camp is 184 acres with only one narrow gravel road entrance. One of the mandated conditions is to develop an emergency evacuation plan. Another condition is to replace trees that they logged without a permit and ensure that they have a "signed" forestry plan. Another condition is that they may only operate one outdoor gun range and eliminate the second gun range that exists in the wetlands. Another condition is that the current sewage treatment facilities need to be immediately remediated. Any further sewage treatment expansion must conform to all governmental water codes, because Haycock Creek runs through the camp into Lake Nockamixon, then overflows into Tohickon Creek, ultimately ending up in the Delaware River.

The decisions made here will impact all using these water sources.