Zoning ordinance for American Revolution Center challenged

An appeal was filed this afternoon challenging a controversial zoning ordinance amendment that allowed plans for the American Revolution Center to move forward.

Cinda Waldbuesser of the National Parks Conservation Association said the appeal was filed with the Lower Providence Township Zoning Hearing Board on behalf of her organization and several township residents.

Thomas M. Daly, ARC president and chief executive officer, had no comment.

ARC's plans call for a museum, a conference center with up to 99 rooms of lodging, and a trailhead building on 78 acres that it owns within the congressional boundaries of Valley Forge National Historical Park. Park lands surround 96 percent of ARC's property.

The appeal claims that ARC's project will interfere with the park's congressional mandate to manage its lands and to preserve the history of Valley Forge and its role in the American Revolution. It also claims that the ordinance is spot zoning which is illegal under Pennsylvania law.