Temple Cancels Plan For Its Own Boathouse Along Schuylkill River
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Temple University has withdrawn its proposal to build a new boathouse along the Schuylkill River.
The decision is a victory for open-land advocates, who saw the project as the first test of the city's two-year-old "Open Lands Protection Ordinance."
Temple University vice president Ken Lawrence sent a letter to the Philadelphia Commission for Parks and Recreation saying the university has decided to study other options since it was clear the commission had concerns about the proposal for a new boathouse (see related story).
Temple, in its proposal, did not offer substitute land for the land it would build on, as required by the Open Lands ordinance.
Parks Commission chair Nancy Goldenberg says she's pleased the provisions of the ordinance held.
"We view this as very positive," she told KYW Newsradio today. "The discussions Temple has had with the commission and other agencies prove the ordinance is working."
The commission has encouraged Temple to restore the East Park Canoe House, where it used to row from before the Canoe House was condemned.
Temple said it couldn't commit to that but is committed to finding a long-term home for its crew team.
