|
Print Edition Highlights - March 9, 2023
Kristen Stagg
Residents crowded the Carroll Township conditional use hearing for Northern Business Park Phase 1 Lot #4 on March 2. Phase 1 comprised over 200 acres along the eastern side of Rt. 15 between Golf Course and Glenwood Roads. Crossroads Commercial Development, LLC, proposed to build two warehouses with a combined total of 666,000 square feet on roughly half of the property.
After the meeting was called to order and the audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance, supervisor chairman Tim Kelly turned over the meeting to township solicitor Michael Pykosh.
Pykosh announced he received a letter from the attorney for the applicant earlier in the day, withdrawing the application for Phase 1. Spontaneous applause was stifled as Pykosh went on to explain that the conditional use hearing for Phase 2 Lot #2 is still scheduled for March 14, a statement repeated by Kelly.
Attendees also were reminded that the applicant could choose to reapply at a later date, but “would have to start over from square one.” Kelly said that the same individuals who were notified about this application would be notified if a future application were to be submitted. Although several residents raised their hands, Pykosh advised the supervisors to adjourn the meeting, since they weren’t permitted to entertain questions.
Phase 2 covers a parcel of approximately 25 acres south of Northern High School complex proposed to house a single warehouse of 273,600 square feet.
Following the brief meeting, residents were quick to celebrate the Phase 1 application withdrawal.
Jane Baxter, Golf Course Road resident, said, “I’m very happy.” Her property would’ve been affected had Phase 1 not been withdrawn. “I hope it stays that way,” she added.
Tim Knoebel, Laurel Run Road resident and engineer for Dillsburg Borough said, “The developers will either have to withdraw Phase 2, too, or come back with a plan that addresses all the issues.” According to Knoebel, the issues are “primarily traffic safety and access to Rt. 15 at Glenwood Road.” He noted that trucks leaving the proposed Phase 2 warehouse to travel southbound on Rt. 15 would have to use Range End Road, which would cause “significant issues in the residential neighborhood.”
John Salter, whose Carlisle Road home is located near the Phase 2 site said, “He sat here and said ‘you should check your surrounding properties to see how it’s zoned.’ It was farmland. For the last 8-10 years, signs said single-family homes, and that never changed. Somehow they changed the land without changing the signs. I don’t get it.”
For the rest of the story see the March 9, 2023 edition.
Kristen Stagg
South Mountain Trolley Greenway’s request for a letter of support for their grant application through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) dominated the Carroll Township Board of Supervisors work session on March 6.
Carlisle resident and Friends of the Trolley member David Maher provided the long history to create a walking trail along the old railroad bed in Carroll Township. He said supervisors passed a resolution of support and pledged $1,000 back in 2017 that “floored” the group. Maher said that while the Trolley Greenway requested earlier this spring that the Township oversee the grant for which they’re applying, DCNR told them the easement holder needed to administer the grant instead. According to Maher, that will be the Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails “non-profit umbrella” under which the Trolley Greenway is operating.
Supervisor Kelley Moyer-Schwille asked what happened to the money Carroll Township gave in 2017.
Maher said it went toward the feasibility study conducted by Silver Spring Township to create a walking trail connecting Mechanicsburg Borough and Dillsburg Borough. “They looked at who owns the railroad bed now. We sent out a survey and received over 1,300 responses, the majority of which were favorable. We only received a handful of mixed bag responses.”
Moyer-Schwille said she’s not concerned with the number of responses. She’s only interested in the response of residents whose properties would be affected by the proposed trail route. “Do you have a list of those who said yes and those who said no? That’s what we gave you the money for.”
“We didn’t go door-to-door,” Maher said. “Once we know where the trail is going, we can do that. Trails are often put together piecemeal,” with sections of trail being developed where a group of property owners give permission. “It may meander, depending on who gives permission.”
However, determining the trail’s direction is dependent on receiving permission from property owners to cross their land, which leads back to the supervisor’s original question.
Supervisor Dave Bush said he wants to see a map “with the [affected] property owners’ names and phone numbers marked on it.” Bush also asked about sources of funding backing the Trolley Greenway and any leadership or oversight being provided.
For the rest of the story see the March 9, 2023 edition.
|
