From: DavidA788
Date: Saturday, February 5, 2005 8:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Developer buys Glasgow farmland


Your article contains distortions and omissions, perhaps due to Mr. Ferry,
who is a master at spinning the tale that he thinks people want to hear.
Perhaps you will consider writing a more detailed piece with more of the
facts included. You can verify most of the following by contacting Friends
of Historic Glasgow, Dan McCollom, or Joanne Lewis.

FALSE: Nichols agreed to preserve a farmhouse and 10 acres around it as part
of the deal signed late Thursday.

TRUTH: Joanne B. Lewis, Anne Barczewski's daughter, asked to have Nichols
place within the sales contract a written promise to preserve the historic
farmhouse and surrounding land. Nichols refused, and Mr. Ferry threatened to
sue Ms. Lewis on behalf of her two brothers, in order to force her to sign
the sales contract anyway, whereupon she capitulated. (Ms. Lewis claims her
capitulation is due to a current illness, leaving her unwilling to continue
fighting for preservation.) To my knowledge, Nichols has only made vague
verbal promises to consider whatever the local zoning and Historic Review
boards will require of him to preserve any parts of the property. There is
no guarantee, at present, that anything will be preserved.

FALSE: He [Ferry] said the family needs the money to pay for Anne
Barczewski's nursing home expenses.

FACT: Ferry's clients, Steven and George Barczewski, have limited assets,
but there are additional, sufficient sources of assets to cover Anne's care
expenses, as she is currently in hospice care, and has a limited life
expectancy.

FALSE: David Ferry, an attorney for two of the four property owners, said
Stephen J. Nichols has paid $14.25 million for the Barczewski farm, located
along U.S. 40 near Del. 896.

FACT: A sales contract has been signed for that amount. However, Mr. Nichols
may fall back upon several clauses within the contract to either reduce the
sales price or withdraw his offer prior to closing, if he finds he cannot
develop the land to his satisfaction.

PARTIAL TRUTH: Ferry said his clients wanted to sell the property to the
county in hopes of seeing it preserved as a park, but they could not reach
an agreement on the price.

ACTUAL TRUTH: His clients never wanted to sell the property to the county.
Only Joanne Lewis did. The county made a fair offer last summer, but Ferry
worked to thwart it by publicly claiming that developers would offer more.
While the county rightfully refused to be extorted, the county also refused
to negotiate and promptly withdrew their purchase offer, which was fine with
Mr. Ferry and his clients.



OMISSIONS AND ADDITIONAL FACTS:

1) The farm abuts and overlaps two other historic district overlays, along
its east side.

2) The 1815 federal style manor house and nearby granary building are listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. The granary is also listed on
the Historic American Building Survey. (Although this should afford these
structures some degree of protection from destruction, developers typically
allow historic structures which stand in their way to be neglected, and
deteriorate to the point that they lose their structural integrity. Such
"demolition by neglect" allows owners of historic properties to thwart
preservation regulations. The roof of the La Grange farmhouse is currently
in disrepair, having been neglected for several years by the  current
farmhouse tenant, George Barczewski, who has long favored developing the
property. The County has considered filing formal demolition by neglect
charges against the Barczewski family, but has not followed through.)

3)  There are two archaeologist documented Native American encampment sites
on the La Grange farm (the Butterworth and the Barczewski sites). To comply
with existing policies, a level II archaeological investigation (including
excavation) may be required prior to any development.

4)  In the farm's woods are authenticated, intact remains of British and
Hessian earthen trenches from the September 3, 1777, Revolutionary War
battle of Cooch's bridge. The surrounding acres would also warrant
protection from development.

5) There is also documented evidence on the farm of Benjamin Latrobe's
venture to build a feeder canal in 1804 (New Castle County Historical Marker
NC-59).

6) The New Castle County Historic Review Board has stated that it is opposed
to allowing any development on the property. The Board would have to approve
any development plans before they could be undertaken.

7) The New Castle County Land Use Office is strongly opposed to re-zoning
any of the property to allow  commercial, industrial, or high density
residential construction.

8) Major areas of drainage and wetlands crisscross the Barczewski farm
property. Eight distinct and separate areas have been designated as national
wetlands. Seven distinct areas have been designated as state wetlands. The
total state wetland areas are larger than the total national areas. A
quarter of the water recharge area for Glasgow is on the Barczewski farm.
These wetlands warrant protection under existing environmental regulations.

9) There is significant community opposition to development of this farm. A
grassroots organization, Friends of Historic Glasgow, has gathered over
1,000 signatures opposing development. Continued community opposition might
have an impact on any proposals to remove or modify the existing protections
on the property, or to obtain any re-zoning. But without such opposition,
the farm no longer has any chance of being preserved.