LT residents protest land use
At the October 20 School District of Lancaster Board Meeting, the Board approved a motion to begin negotiating a land use amendment with Lancaster Township, regarding the municipality’s proposed development of district-owned land for a new emergency services facility. Several Lancaster Township residents addressed the board with concerns regarding the Township’s proposal.
The facility would be located immediately behind Planet Fitness on Millersville Pike. According to Township Manager Bill Laudien’s September 15 address to the School Board, the plan would require the installation of a private-access drive connecting the facility to Atkins Avenue on the north and Millersville Pike on the south.
The majority of resident complaints touched on the open park space that would be lost to development.
A woman from Atkins Avenue called the park in question “the only public open space left in Lancaster Township.” She suggested that the Board require Lancaster Township to consider other options for expanding emergency services, such as utilizing existing facilities throughout the township. The resident asserted that current emergency services were sufficient in Lancaster Township, and that “not everything needs to be at one location.”
A man from South President Avenue asserted that “parkland is the scarcest resource in Lancaster Township.” He added that, with a population of about 14,944, the township holds only 126.6 acres of parkland—with 34 of these acres owing to Penn Manor’s Comet Field, the man added. The Lancaster County Planning Commission, this resident noted, recommends 10 acres of parkland for each 1000 residents. He concluded that the Township should seek a different solution: “As a realtor, I think there are a lot of alternatives that have not been explored.”
Another area woman expressed concern about the safety of residents on the street. Although officials have indicated that emergency vehicles would not be regularly utilizing this narrow residential street, she asserted, “there would definitely be more emergency traffic on Atkins Avenue as a direct route” to certain emergency locations.
Another woman from Atkins Avenue complained that the township did not adaquately notify residents of the plan. She cited the fact that township newsletters for the past year have not made mention of the proposed emergency services facility.
Noting the abundance of resident complaints, Board Member Marta Howell suggested that the responsibilities of the Township government may have been unduly passed onto the School Board. “Part of me really thinks we need to push this back onto the Township to hold their own meetings first,” Howell said.
Township Manager Bill Laudien, who was present at the October 20 meeting, stressed that public input is going play a significant role for the Township moving forward. A land-use amendment from the School Board, Laudien explained, would simply provide the Township with justification to begin seriously exploring the possibility of development. Laudien emphasized that, by land development subdivision law, the Township will be “legally bound” to examine the project’s viability in a public and open fashion.
Laudien also noted that the plan, as it has most recently been drafted, aims “to minimize the amount of parkland used and the amount of space used.”
6,000 more students served breakfast in SD of L
Also at the School Board Meeting, Superintendent Pedro Rivera Announced that, to date, the district’s offering of free breakfast and lunch to all interested students has been “a great success.” In September, Rivera said, the district served free breakfast to over 6,000 students and free lunch to almost 4,000 students. “We are feeding more students, families are participating, and hopefully getting their day started, ready to learn.”
Rivera told NewsLanc that, without the need to process reduced lunch eligibility applications, the district will pay for these additional meals through saved administrative costs: “It’s been a breaking even point this year,” Rivera said, “We anticipate a NET savings over the course of two years.”
Board rejects County Tax Collection Bureau Budget
Also at the Meeting, the Board voted not to approve the Lancaster County Tax Collection Bureau Budget for the 2010 year. Rivera cited unnecessary and expensive computer system upgrades and additional Bureau hires as the primary reason for the district’s disapproval. Because the School District of Lancaster’s vote is the only “no” alongside 16 “yes”s from other county districts, the budget’s passage will not be impeded by this district’s vote. As Board President Patrick Snyder explained the Board’s dissent, “it’s at least letting them know where we stand on the issue.”
