The 142-home development proposed for Bluestone Country Club's golf course in Blue Bell isn't going anywhere, according to the property's owner.
Bruce Goodman told club members in a private note obtained by Around Ambler that he filed the conditional use application with Whitpain Township to protect his property rights, not to build houses.
"We have absolutely no intention at this time of pursuing this application," Goodman wrote in the note, sent Friday, Aug. 21.
The statement marks a sharp turn from the picture that emerged earlier in the week. On Thursday, Aug. 20, Around Ambler reported that Goodman's entity, BSK Meadows, LP, had submitted application CU52-26 to Whitpain Township proposing 104 single-family homes in the R-1 zoning district and 38 townhomes in the R-B3 district on the nearly 130-acre property at 711 Boehms Church Road. The existing clubhouse and event space would remain. In a posting accompanying the application, township supervisors noted the project would be the largest in Whitpain since Blue Bell Country Club was proposed roughly 30 years ago.
Why file at all?
Goodman explained that Whitpain Township rezoned four privately owned properties a few years ago, including Bluestone, from Park & Recreation to allow residential development. The club did not request or initiate that change, he said.
He also cited an unnamed former club member who had expressed an intention to prevent the property from ever being developed and a willingness to spend significant resources on that effort. Goodman framed the application as a shield against that threat.
The review is frozen
Along with the application, Goodman submitted a waiver that pauses the legal timeline Whitpain Township must follow to review the proposal. Only the applicant can lift that pause. As of Friday, Aug. 21, nothing is being reviewed or considered for approval by the township.
Under Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code, if and when the waiver is lifted, the application would go first to the planning commission for a recommendation, then to the board of supervisors, which must hold a hearing and issue a final determination within 60 days of activation.
What residents should know
Whitpain Township has not responded publicly to Goodman's note or his defensive-filing rationale. The township's position on the paused application is unclear.
Goodman's phrasing, "no intention at this time," leaves the door open. The application remains on file, and Goodman alone controls when or whether the review clock restarts.
BSK Meadows, LP purchased the property, formerly Meadowlands Country Club (founded in 1949), for $4,797,000 in 2016.
No township hearing or planning commission meeting is scheduled on this application. Residents who want to track the matter can monitor Whitpain Township board of supervisors agendas for any future action.
