Woodcrest Owners Fire Back on Suit Against Cherry Hill

Defending their move to sue Cherry Hill Township over the right to build housing at the course, the new owners of Woodcrest Country Club accused local officials of reneging on a longstanding consent order that labeled the country club as a site for potential affordable housing development.

In a terse statement, First Montgomery Group officials said they “reluctantly” filed the suit against the township to defend their right to develop the course, citing primarily that consent order, but also the development permissible under current zoning.

They claim the township is stonewalling them, despite a 1993 agreement identifying Woodcrest as one of six properties that could be used to fulfill a portion of the township’s low- and moderate-income housing requirements, and said the suit is a necessary measure to protect their interests.

“Every attempt that we have made to discuss alternate development of the property has been quickly rebuffed by the township, and we have been clearly told that absolutely no development of the 183-acre tract is acceptable,” they said in the statement. “As a result, we have been forced to aggressively protect our fundamental property rights.”

The developers also made reference to the current institutional zoning on the property, which would allow a narrow window of development—primarily medical or educational uses—and claimed they could drop plans for 7 million square feet of development, though they made no indication in the suit of any interest in development outside housing.

Township officials held to their line of preserving the long-term interests of both residents an the township in keeping the course as open space, pointing to the fact they’ve been opposed to development through the entire bankruptcy and auction process.

“We made it clear before the auction: We don’t want to see the property developed,” township spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said. “As far as the mayor and council go, their stance is not going to change. No threats will change that.”

Mayor Chuck Cahn and other officials called the developers “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” slamming First Montgomery Group—which initially renamed the club The Village at Woodcrest, before quickly and quietly rescinding that moniker—for reversing course on promises to “maintain the integrity” of Woodcrest as a golf course and open space.

“It’s dishonest at best,” Palmer said.

Township officials have declined to comment specifically on the 1993 consent order, which was included in the township’s 2009 and 2011 affordable housing plans, as the exact number of affordable housing units owed by Cherry Hill is still in dispute and tied up in litigation.

First Montgomery Group said in its suit it intends to build 844 housing units on the Woodcrest property, including 169 affordable units. Representatives from Fair Share Housing Center, which joined with First Montgomery Group on the suit, said those units are needed in a township where the average home value now tops $230,000, and also cited the 1993 order in arguing for residential development.

“We expect the township will keep the commitment it made,” Fair Share Associate Director Kevin Walsh said previously. “It's far from meeting its obligations.”