Camp for children with disabilities on brink of closure

POCOPSON TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- It's been a place of healing and happiness in Chester County, but now a unique barn in Pocopson Township is in jeopardy of closing down.

The Barn at Spring Brook Farm has been helping children with disabilities for years.

"They feed the animals, they will brush, they will walk the animals, they will exercise them," Executive Director Dan Stark said.

The nonprofit has been running this camp since 2006, but a zoning dispute now threatens to end it by September.

A neighbor complained about noise and traffic, then Pocopson Township found code violations in the barn. Most have been fixed, but not the handicap accessible exits and ramps.

The executive director says there is not enough time before the deadline.

"Because we can't go out to funders in a 4 or 5 month period of time and raise the $80,000 to $100,000 it would cost," Stark said.

Stark says, compounding the money problem, the group can only hold one fundraiser a year at the barn.

The township's attorney says that limit was imposed because of the neighbor's complaint about multiple events.

"It brought it in a lot of cars, a lot of activity, so the compromise the board reached was to permit one fundraiser," Pocopson Township Solicitor Ross Unruh said.

The non-profit says it is hoping the township supervisors will give it more time.

"If we can't get an extension on time and have the opportunity to raise money to make the changes, I don't see us running beyond September," Spring Brook Farm Chairman Glen Reyburn said.

There has been no formal request for an extension beyond the current September deadline. But for now, the summer camp at the Barn continues.

It is estimated it could take 12 months or more to raise the funds and complete the upgrades.