Wealth management estate specialist Michael Glovas will have to wait if he wants the government to buy the development rights for the 72 acres surrounding his palatial estate at 590 Browns Drive in Williams Township. By a 6-3 vote at their June 18 meeting, Northampton County Council members tabled a $319,970 handout that had been unanimously endorsed by the county's Opens Space Advisory Board.

Glovas' property is already the beneficiary of preferential tax treatment. One of his two tracts, consisting of 32 acres, is only assessed at $22,400. The other parcel, which includes 40 acres and the mansion, is only assessed at $200,500.

Sensitive area

Open Space Coordinator Bryan Cope told council that this property is only about a half mile away from the environmentally sensitive Hexenkopf Slope and Rock area. That's a 1.6 billion year old (pre-Cambrian granitic) formation that houses Hexenkopf Rock and acres of surrounding forest, wetlands, and steep slopes. Review of Google maps clearly places it more than a mile away. Nevertheless, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has given this area high ratings in its natural resources plan. A landlocked parcel of about 200 acres, immediately behind the Glovas tract, was preserved in 2004.

Williams Township did vote to contribute $48,000 of its own Earned Income Tax money to the deal. But Supervisor Vince Foglia, who voted to preserve after securing hunting rights, is having second thoughts. "It is all a scam," he said of the county's open space program. "The whole thing started out as farmland preservation and then turned into welfare for the rich by going 'open space.'"

The Glovas tract includes a three-building mansion that would be cut out of the preserved parcel, giving the owner an expanse of open space for his own privacy.

A skeptical Northampton County Council had lots of questions.

Cope told Seth Vaughn that 20-25 lots could be built on this parcel, though Vaughn doubted whether this is really environmentally sensitive land. Cope provided no evidence that the land is under pressure by developers.

Hayden Phillips, no fan of open space grants to begin with, complained that the public is spending $321,000 for an easement on property Glovas already has.

"I'll give somebody development rights to my front yard," echoed Mat Benol.

Phillips also noted that Williams Township has stopped collecting EIT for open space and now "Northampton County is running in." Though Williams Township is contributing nearly $48,000 to this deal, that's less than half of what is being sought from Northampton County. "It would be nice if Williams Township matched the grant," said Ken Kraft, who also questioned how many lots could really be developed there.

"Find out how many lots are developable and we'll preserve those," suggested Kraft.

Lamont McClure then immediately moved to table the matter, and was supported by Kraft, Benol, Phillips, Vaughn and Glenn Geissinger.

This vote is a departure from last year's 5-4 vote to bail out failed golf course developer Alexander Patullo in Lower Saucon Township. He ended up getting $1.775 million from various government sources for a golf course.

Lower Saucon officials voted recently to preserve 76 acres next to that golf course, which is now considered a preserve and will be used for birdwatching, hiking, cross country skiing and fishing. But at the same time, they are working on plans to expand the IESI Bethlehem Landfill.