Several years ago a proposal was made to re-locate the Lancaster Township firehouse to a site on the Millersville Pike, just opposite the Manor Shopping Center.
The location was isolated from most residential development by the adjoining Wheatland Middle School and the Lancaster Community Park. It had access to the major road artery serving the Southwest portion of Lancaster. The land, as is much of the park, is owned by the School District of Lancaster. And for reasons unknown, the location has been abandoned.
Despite ample undeveloped park land adjoining Planet Fitness on the Millersville Pike, the Township is now suggesting consolidating and locating its emergency services in the park on Atkins Avenue, across from the Manor House Apartments with 400 plus residents, and in the midst of a residential community consisting of single family homes.
The facility would house fire, ambulance and police services.
The Intelligencer New Era described the new location as “… in the northwestern corner of the park, behind Planet Fitness and other commercial properties and abutting Atkins Avenue.” In fact, it is at least a football field’s distance behind Planet Fitness. The article made no mention of the residential nature of the surroundings and the local nature of the one way street.
Compared to the original suggested location of ground adjoining Planet Fitness on the Millersville Pike, emergency vehicles would need to travel an extra quarter of a mile to reach the Pike because Atkins is a one way street. The shortest route by far would be north on AtkinsAvenue, left down narrow Davis Drive, left on Abbeyville Road, and left again at School House Road.
The current zoning of the School District property, a portion of which is being used by the park, is “Campus / Open Space”, an “S” designation. The Township Zoning Ordinance restricts its use as follows:
“The intended purpose of this district is to conserve open lands and to provide educational and recreational opportunities for the community. It is the intent of these regulations to provide for such areas where they would be most convenient to the Township populace and harmonious with the surrounding land use.”
There is a loophole. Along with schools, parks, cemeteries and non-profit museums, it does permit “Municipal buildings and uses.” Whether this applies is a matter for lawyers and possibly a judge to interpret.
How the location of a fire department, police and ambulance services in the middle of a recreational community will be in the interest of township residents will certainly be a question that members of the neighborhood will want to raise with township and school board authorities.
Full disclosure: The publisher of NewsLanc is an owner of the Manor House Apartments.
The Best place for a Fire, Police and Ambulance building is in the community that they will serve. To give the people the fastest service is the goal of every first responder, and to allow for a multi directional response that they can go to Atkins Ave. or towards Millersville Pike makes this site the perfect location for an Emergency Response Station. The Wheatland fire House is in the middle of Hamilton Park and Bausman is in Bausman both in residential areas. As far as the point about recreational areas look at Manheim township where the Police and Ambulance as well as the Municipal building are all next to recreational areas.
Editor’s note: The proposed location is on Atkins Avenue which is one way north, going away from the Millersville Pike. Equipment would have to travel an additional quarter of a mile to reach Millersville Pike, with a portion of the route through a narrow street of single family homes.
The other post already made all the important points. The 2 current stations are right in the middle of 2 highly populated areas. The new station location is surrounded on 3 sides by open park and has one border with your apartment complex.
Fire stations have to be somewhere. If you hide them miles away from where the residents live, then they do no good when the residents need them.
I don’t know anyone who wants a fire station next door. We agree on something. The fire department suggested the previous location closer to Millersville Pike. The school district would not budge on any of our proposals there. This new location is something they will discuss.
Should we abandon it because its near your complex? Where should we go? The 2 existing stations do not fit all of our equipment and neither can be utilized for our future needs. We are being reasonable, responsible neighbors. Wherever you put a fire station, someone is unhappy.
Writers note: This writer is the former chief of the Lancaster Township fire department.
[The desire to relocate the fire house] was in the newspaper numerous times and not one person from any neighborhood had a single comment about it to the township supervisors or school board.
Generally, people do not care, or even think about, fire protection, unless 1 of the following 2 conditions exist:
A. Their own home is on fire, or
B. Their own home is on fire.