We oppose the City of Philadelphia’s proposed $3 million handout to the Cobbs Creek Foundation (CCF), led by the billionaire Maguire family, for “improvements” to the Cobbs Creek Golf Course. Since leasing the Golf Course from the City, CCF has violated its lease by clear-cutting trees and keeping the community in the dark. It’s time that CCF started honoring its promises to Philadelphia by fully paying for improvements to the Golf Course, like restoring the creek, as agreed in the lease.

The City should hold CCF responsible for its promise to pay for improvements to the Golf Course. The City is leasing the 350-acre Golf Course to CCF for up to 70 years for just $1. Instead of paying real estate and other taxes, CCF only pays $30,000 a year on a property that is valued close to $98 million. Given all these benefits, CCF should abide by the lease and pay for all “initial renovations” to the Golf Course, including floodplain restoration.  

Moreover, the City should not reward CCF, who has acted with reckless disregard to the community and environment, by paying part of CCF’s bill for improvements to the Golf Course. Under the lease, CCF was supposed to obtain all permits for its floodplain restoration plan before starting any “physical work”. Instead, CCF went ahead and cut down 108 acres of forest, including at least 500 “heritage” trees, without even a completed floodplain restoration plan. Contrary to their promises to consult the public, CCF hid its plans to cut down the trees from the community. On January 26, 2022, CCF held a virtual “townhall” meeting but failed to tell the attendees that they would cut down over a thousand trees just weeks later in February.

CCF doesn’t need the $3 million but our community does. CCF’s top leadership is composed exclusively of ultra-wealthy white billionaires and millionaires who live outside of the City of Philadelphia. When it signed the lease with the City, CCF told the City that it had already raised $26 million and presented a fundraising plan for a total of $65 million, the projected cost of the entire project. CCF either can raise the money for the golf course improvements or else they must explain why they can’t. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that Philadelphia’s underfunded schools and community programs need the money.

For all the above reasons, we ask that the City vote “NO” to this proposed $3 million handout to a wealthy private foundation. The City needs to start holding CCF accountable for its promises and actions. We must start by demanding that CCF fully pay for the Golf Course improvements, as promised in its lease with the City.