When: Supervisors meeting, Aug. 4.
What happened: Supervisors heard a conceptual plan to expand a mobile home park along Pfautz Hill Road.
Details: Park owner Harvey Turner is looking to add as many as 30 single-family homes behind the 30 mobile homes already in the park. The plan includes a new roadway to access these homes. “I was thinking about a 55-and-over community,” Turner said. He also is considering attaching one-car garages to the units.
Zoning problems: Under the zoning guidelines that deal with mobile home parks, expansion is permitted. The problem is, Turner’s property is zoned residential, which does not address mobile home parks. “It’s the only one in the whole township that is not in a mobile home park district designation,” said Sharyn Young, director of community development. Turner, she said, needs to rezone the entire property, adding that Turner presented his plan to the township’s zoning board, which viewed the concept favorably during an informal discussion.
Quotable: “To expand, we have to do something about the zoning,” said John Fuhrer, Turner’s land planning engineer. “He wants to know what he can do. If the township is amenable to rezoning and wants to move ahead with that, we’ll work with them any way we can.”
Additional problems: Also creating a challenge, Fuhrer said the ground behind the park “is quite steep in places” and creates challenges when it comes to engineering and stormwater management.
Response: Supervisor Romao “RC” Carrasco said, “Conceptionally it makes sense. It does seem reasonable.” Township solicitor Bernadette Hohenadel advised Turner and Fuhrer to be sure the design was feasible before formally asking for a zoning change.
Police business: Police Chief Darrick Keppley said he has fielded many questions from residents concerning the possibility of adding a K9 officer to the police force. He said he told them that budget time is approaching. At that time, the program will be discussed and possibly approved. Keppley also asked the board for permission to purchase a new breathalyzer unit for DUI traffic stops. The township uses a Datamaster device, but it has been out of service for three weeks, which makes it so officers must transport subjects to another jurisdiction for testing. After checking with other departments, Keppley is asking to buy the Intoxilyzer 9000, which is portable, unlike the Datamaster. He said a trooper attached to Troop J is willing to cross train officers on its use.
Costs: Keppley said a new Intoxilyzer costs about $9,227. However, if he does not purchase an accompanying printer, which he said he does not need, the price drops to $8,862. Financial administrator Judy Lumis felt the device could be purchased using American Rescue Protection Act funds. If not, she said, “There is room in the budget to make this purchase.” The board voted to buy a new unit at a cost not to exceed $9,300.
Other business: Residents Don and Anna Eckman, whose home sits at the intersection of Line and Wabash roads, complained that trucks heading to Four Seasons Produce still try to make the nearly impossible right turn off of Line onto Wabash. Subsequently, due to frequent accidents, the Eckman’s continue to suffer property damage even though the intersection was improved by moving often struck telephone poles and erecting new signage banning northbound trucks on Line Road from turning right onto Wabash. Since truckers follow the advice given by their GPS units, Don Eckman said he contacted GPS manufacturers. He said they told him that they have upgraded their devices so trucks avoid the intersection, but drivers will continue to use this route until they update their personal devices. Meanwhile, accidents are continuing to occur with regularity.
— Larry Alexander, For LNP | LancasterOnline
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