A new non-profit, the Germantown Conservancy, filed a petition Oct. 26 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas seeking conservatorship of 50 buildings and vacant lots in Germantown, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill in order to protect and restore them. The long list of sites includes historical and architectural landmarks such as Germantown Town Hall, Tulpehocken Train Station and the recently fire-ravaged Garrett-Dunn House, in addition to many other deteriorating properties.

Shortly thereafter, the Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District dismissed the Germantown Conservancy's petition for not complying with the "local rule" calling for calling for one petition per property (see Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County General Court Regulation on Conservatorship).

You can read varying perspectives on the conservancy filing from the news stories below.

www.germantownnewspapers.com/Mt._Airy_News_110509.html

www.planphilly.com/non-profit-declares-war-blight-germantown.

While the Housing Alliance supports the overall goal of the Germantown Conservancy, we have concerns about utilizing Act 135 for such a large scale revitalization project. The Conservancy Act was not designed to handle multiple properties in one petition.

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