LONDONDERRY TOWNSHIP – Residents turned out Wednesday night to express their concerns about two warehouse buildings totaling nearly 1.8 million square feet that are being proposed along the busy Route 230 corridor in Londonderry Township.
Neighboring of the proposed structures are mostly worried about the traffic that the new business – whatever it ends up being – will bring to an already congested area where they say vehicular accidents are a common occurrence.
During a work session on Wednesday night, the Londonderry Township Board of Supervisors approved a conditional use application by Vision-Elizabethtown LLC, which is proposing a logistics facility along Harrisburg Pike in an area the township supervisors recently re-zoned as C-2 (commercial). The area was previously zoned agricultural. In September, the supervisors also amended an ordinance to permit a logistics facility, via a conditional use approval, in this location. A logistics facility could include uses such as warehousing, wholesale, distribution, or parcel delivery. The Londonderry Township Planning Commission approved the conditional use in January.
At this time, no tenant has been secured for the proposed facility.
The project stretches into parts of Conewago, West Donegal and Mount Joy townships; however, the entirety of the building development will occur within Londonderry Township, along Harrisburg Pike, Hoffer Road, and Hertzler Road. The property is located west of the Londonderry/Conewago Township line.
During a public comment portion of the meeting, affected residents talked mostly about their fears for the extra traffic that these buildings would produce.
Resident Arlene Naples said there are “terrible accidents” all the time at the intersection of Route 230 and Deodate Road.
“I know what the traffic increase was when Amazon started to use 230,” she said, adding that this project will only add to that.
“I’m not against developing, and I’m not against progress, but we have to be able to accommodate fairly and safely the people who live there 24/7.”
Jarred Neal, traffic engineer for the project, said they are in the process of moving forward with getting a traffic impact study approved by PennDOT, which will look at nine separate intersections around the property. PennDOT will have the final say on whether improvements, such as traffic lights, will be necessary along Route 230.
Project officials said 80 percent of truck traffic would travel via Tollhouse Road and then I-283.
Conewago Township property owner Melissa Ober also said she was worried about stormwater management, since the area is already prone to flooding, making roadways impassable at times. Township manager Steve Letavic said the township has been given a $1.3 million grant to work on the floodplain, which includes a flood mitigation project in that area.
Jarred Neal, traffic engineer for the project, said Wednesday they are in the process of moving forward with getting a traffic impact study approved by PennDOT, which will look at nine separate intersections around the property. (Tricia Kline | Special to PennLive)
In addition, Ober said she was concerned about increased sewage volume, and how it will affect the already looming requirement of many residents to hook up to public sewer lines. Letavic said the township is facing $26 million in improvements via DEP mandates and said Vision-Elizabeth LLC and another neighboring developer, Core 5 Industrial Partners, together pledged $15 million to build two pump stations and a mainline, which will also increase capacity for residents. In addition, he said he supports the project because it increases the township’s tax base.
“We have a DEP mandate to meet,” he said, adding that now “we have viable partners for the first time” to help meet it. He also reminded residents that this is the kind of growth along this corridor that the township has been planning for since 1979.
In addition, the proposed agreement includes the dedication of land along Conewago Creek that will help Londonderry Township meet stringent MS-4 requirements.
The conditional use agreement with the township requires Vision-Elizabethtown LLC to comply with the township’s anti-idling policy; provide necessary road and lane improvements; construct screening along Hoffer Road, North Hertzler Road, and Harrisburg Pike; and connect to public utilities – which includes a sewer extension agreement with Derry Township Municipal Authority and Londonderry Township.
In addition, Vision-Elizabethtown LLC has agreed to give the township $500,000 as a community improvements contribution, and $50,000 per year for three years for park programs.
David J. Tshudy, attorney for the project, said the developer plans to submit a subdivision plan of the property to the township in the next couple of weeks.
The plan calls for one primary access along Route 230 for both tractor-trailer trucks and passenger vehicles. A gated emergency access would be located along Hoffer Road. Also proposed is a 24-hour guard shack at the entrance, and chain-link fencing surrounding the entirely of the buildings. The project will have to follow a very strict lighting ordinance in the township – one of the strictest around, according to Letavic. Buffer and screening ordinances will also be required to shield the 50-foot buildings from neighboring property owners.
Vision-Elizabeth LLC officials said based on previous projects, they are expecting this facility to employ approximately 750 people. Parking lots will have room for the number of employees that would be working for the largest shift – estimated at around 450.
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