Residents of East Hempfield Township have been placing "NO to TND" signs in their front yards for months now. And they're concerns have been heard!
Kudos to the East Hempfield Township supervisors, who voted unanimously to discontinue any further studies for the TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development) that builder & developer Charter Homes & Neighborhoods was hoping to build. The plan was for Charter Homes to build more than 3,000 homes and a large commercial center on 309 acres in East Hempfield. What they considered to be a "neighborhood" development, many residents feared would actually turn into a logistical nightmare.
Some of the concerns also centered around how the Hempfield School District would accomodate such a large influx of students -- understandably a major concern for what is considered to be one of Lancaster County's finest school districts.
Of course, this is not to say that the township does not need to implement better use of their land to control sprawl, but it appears that this project, a neighborhood named Independence, would have been far too large for the township to support.
You can read more about the East Hempfield supervisor's decision in the Lancaster Newspaper.
Contact Jeannie Kontis at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com for Hempfield Homes for Sale and Hempfield Real Estate or call direct at 717-330-5137
Thanks for reporting this. I've done some research into TNDs and forcing them into rural / ag areas is usually a lose - lose situation. The only benefit is to the developer who walks away when the damage is done, usually struggling to carry the sacks of money they've made.
It looks like another part of Lancaster Pennsylvania is having issues with over burdened schools (Donegal ?). The higher density housing is affecting the ability to provide adequate schools.
It looks like Hempfield already has a massive school system. Is the developer being held accountable for anything or was this a free-for-all / anything goes TND ordinance.
Kudos to the folks for saving their neighborhood! Often times developer money and advertising dollars drowns out the average homeowner voices.
Jay
Jay Martin - Thank you for taking the time to share your views! I have to agree, many times developer's money does drown out the homeowners' voices. The townships get them to pay for road widening and repairs, etc., as a trade off for approval. In this case, I recall seeing those "No TND" signs on people's lawns for months, and I'm glad their voices rang loud enough to be heard.
I'm not against smart development, and I'm not against TNDs. I do think that many of them are well-placed and make alot of sense. But to consider 3,000 housing units in one condensed area was not a good idea, in my opinion. Top that off with big box stores, like they were planning, and it's just a nightmare.
I have to admit, I am not aware of Donegal being overburdened, I just know about their tax money deficiency over the past few years. Thus, resulting in raised school taxes, which trickled down to home buyers not wanting to purchase in that area. Every cause has an effect.
Thanks again for stopping by. By the way, are you the same Jay Martin that I've heard about in the news lately regarding the residential vandalism? If so, I'm sorry to hear about it, and hope things get cleaned up soon. If not, sorry about the mix-up!