The "Has The Fight Just Begun?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the results of a Manheim Township Commissioners meeting that approved a controversial 76-ace Oregon Village mixed use development of 554 housing units, restaurants, stores and a 120-room hotel.  

Proposed as Oregon Village

It was this past Monday that I posted a story telling about what was proposed and the fact that the commiss- ioners were going to vote on it that evening.  The vote was 3-2 in favor of the new development.  The Hurst brothers, who currently own the Oregon Dairy supermarket and family restaurant evidently proved to the commissioners that the two-site complex  they want to build along Route 272 in Manheim Township's northeast corner complies with land-use regulations that allow for a village-style development.  

Plan for Oregon Village

Developer Victor Hurst congratulated the commiss- ioners for the tremendous job they did to hear both sides of the arguments and rule the way they did.  I wonder if the three who voted for the huge development considered the impact it will have on our school district.  A new Middle School has just been started in Manheim Township.  Will this vote make that new school obsolete before it is even finished?  And, how about all the Amish farmers who live near the properties that will be turned into housing units and create mass congestion on all the nearby roads.  Will they vacate their farms in favor of property in other counties or states.  Lancaster is known as the Garden Spot of America due to its rich soil and those that farm that soil.  Will that all change?  

This is what will be lost

A local authority on the Amish and an Elizabeth- town professor, testified in front of the commiss- ioners telling them the Amish may sell their farms and move since they will fear for their lives as they will have to drive their horse-drawn buggies on roads not meant for the amount of traffic that will come from all the housing units that are proposed.  Mr. Amos Beiler, a member of the Old Order Amish church, attended the vote and told the local newspaper he was disappointed, expressing his concern about travel on the roads around the area.  One local attorney addressed the commissioners after the vote asking two of the three who voted for approval of the complex why they did not acknowledge before the vote that their campaign committees this past September received $960 in political contributions from the Hursts.  By not acknowledging the donation, it now creates a perception problem.  The two commissioners had been asked by some to recuse themselves from the vote due to the contributions.  They refused to do so.  One commissioner who voted against the new complex said it is not smart growth "to build this at the expense of our Amish neighbors who will face negative impacts on their income and difficulties attending school and religious services."  Those who object to the vote have the right to appeal to Lancaster County Court.  That may be the next move according to many in attendance.  It looks like the battle has just begun!  Those who have grown up in the nearby area  that is affected by the decision will more than likely fight to keep the land as farmland as it has been all their lives.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.