City Council exempts Cobbs Creek Golf Course from an environmental law, despite ukulele solo and protests

Despite impassioned pleas from some members of the public, Philadelphia City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a controversial ordinance that would exempt renovations of the Cobbs Creek Golf Course from having to adhere to a city environmental law.

The vote came after one member of the public, Jonathan Leibovic, strummed a ukulele and sang a parody of Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi” known better by its refrain: “Put up a parking lot.”

“They cut down our trees, and they put up a golfin’ course late last night / I heard an awful sound / and a big yellow tractor tore all our trees to the ground … ,” sang Leibovic, one of at least a dozen who came to protest the vote.

The song was a bit of levity in a Council hearing otherwise tense at times as opponents spoke out against the proposal.

At issue was an ordinance introduced by Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. that would create a carveout, known as an overlay zoning district, that would exempt the nonprofit making $65 million in renovations to the course from the city’s steep slope requirements. The rules are intended to prevent erosion by limiting what can be done to trees, vegetation, and the land on a slope.

Those opposing the ordinance primarily objected to the exemption of the entire 340-acre property.

The Cobbs Creek Foundation, the nonprofit overseeing the renovation of the historic, city-owned course, has said the exemption was necessary to restore the course to its original layout and to repair existing wetlands and create others to alleviate chronic flooding, which was one of the factors that resulted in the course’s shutdown in 2020.

Though the renovations enjoy much public support, they have rankled others — especially after the foundation razed 100 acres of mature trees about a year ago. Those forces have since coalesced as a watchdog on the project.

» READ MORE: Clear-cutting woods for Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek Golf Course project angers local group and birders

After pushback on the steep slope issue, Jones amended the ordinance to make the exemption temporary until July 15, 2024. Other amendments prohibit any building from being permanently erected on a slope and also give neighbors some say over high fencing.

“We welcome the amendments,” Lawrence Szmulowicz, a volunteer with Cobbs Creek Environmental Justice, told Council before the vote.

However, Szmulowicz, who lives in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood, objected, saying the revisions still exempt the entire property, giving the foundation “free rein to cut down trees on any steep slope within the 350-acre premises.”

And he said the time limit “has no practical value” because he expects the foundation to cut down “all the trees that it wants long before the exemption ends in July 2024.”

Szmulowicz said the foundation has not provided the public detailed plans about where the steep slope exemption would be used and for what. A number of other detractors, including several from PhillyThrive, including Alexa Ross and Shawmar Pitts, also spoke out against the measure.

Others spoke in favor of the renovation of the course in general, while not necessarily addressing the ordinance.

The 18-hole course was notable for its inclusiveness when it opened in 1916 and welcomed all players decades before other courses and the PGA allowed people of color to play. The city, under the direction of Parks and Recreation, hopes to restore that luster. Renovations would include a new clubhouse to replace one that burned down, a multitiered driving range, a community and education center, and other amenities.

» READ MORE: Shuttered Cobbs Creek Golf Course to get a $65 million makeover and community center

Rachel Kemp, a staffer at West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School, said the Cobbs Creek Foundation’s educational team has already been supporting children through tutoring and other programs. She said the foundation has donated holiday baskets.

“For the first time in decades, this historical landmark is being revitalized,” Kemp said, “And it deserves the recognition.”

Councilmember Jones said he would continue to work with environmental groups and the public but took issue about how the renovations have been characterized.

He said detractors were entitled to “freedom of speech, but not of the facts.”

“Not one dollar of government money from this city is going into the restoration of that golf course,” Jones said. “That’s $60 million-plus we can count raised by people who care about the historic nature of the first integrated golf course in the city of Philadelphia.”

After the vote, the Cobbs Creek Foundation released a statement saying, “We are deeply appreciative of this vote of confidence from City Council. We thank council members for taking the time to hear about our goals for restoring this public course to its former glory, and our vision for transforming it into a modern, vital community hub for the city’s youth.”

This story has been updated to reflect that Jonathan Leibovic performed the parody before Council.