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South Londonderry Township supervisors discussed business including plans for a Holiday Inn Express, the police department’s body camera policy, and a proposed Campbelltown Park Pavilion during a public meeting on Tuesday, March 8.
Holiday Inn Express land development plans
An updated version of land development plans for the proposed 15,000-square-foot perimeter Holiday Inn Express at 2951 Horseshoe Pike was presented to the board.
The proposed building will have 80 rooms, 98 parking spaces, four ADA spaces, and four oversized parking spaces.
Due to concerns from neighboring residents about sound and lights from the oversized parking spaces, a six-foot landscaping berm was added to the plan. A sidewalk, as had previously been requested by the board, was also added.
Three waivers were requested, and all approved unanimously.
The first was regarding stormwater runoff control. While most of the site is predicted to meet township baseline criteria, draining into an infiltration basin toward the center of the property, some runoff will be undetained, including areas of greenery and the sidewalk area.
“The area around the basin is existing wooded area, which drains into the adjoining Hersheypark property to the east and then into the stream, so there’s really no impact from that,” noted engineer Jim Caldwell. “As long as the area of the sidewalk is in the pre-developed condition, so the rate is not increasing, it’s just not being reduced for apparently a small drainage area, it’s probably not a huge deal.”
Caldwell noted that the board requires written backup and documentation of waivers, which have not yet been received. This waiver was approved on condition of said documentation being provided.
The second waiver was regarding traffic analysis. Holiday Inn Express completed a traffic analysis, which was approved by PennDot, demonstrating that Horseshoe Pike has sufficient right-of-way. The third waiver was for a traffic impact study.
PennDOT looked at proposed and existing traffic and determined the project would have minimal impact, Caldwell said. “We typically defer to PennDot for that; it’s their highway, they control the access to the roadway.”
The overall development agreement was approved unanimously on condition of compliance with the review letter.
According to county land records, the 5.72-acre property – currently the site of America’s Best Value Inn Palmyra-Hershey – has not changed hands as part of the redevelopment effort and remains owned by Leena Hospitality Inc.
Body camera policy
South Londonderry Township police’s body camera policy was unanimously approved by the board.
According to state funding guidelines, local police departments must have body camera policies that follow state policy recommendations. The board confirmed that the approved policy meets these requirements.
Police Chief William Reigle noted that the policy will not be made publicly available, though it can be obtained through a Right to Know request, after a member of the public asked to view the policy.
Campbelltown Park Pavilion plan
The board unanimously approved Pine Creek’s estimated cost of $33,838 for a pavilion for Campbelltown Community Park.
The cost will be fully covered both by two Marcellus Shale grants amounting to $14,500 and money raised by the Campbelltown Community Alliance for the project over the last year.
A contract will be developed with Pine Creek for the pavilion’s construction, which will then need board approval before construction.
Read More:
- Campbelltown Community Alliance sponsoring summer improvement projects
- Campbelltown adds welcome signs to the neighborhood, celebrating completion of project two years in the making
Other business
In other business, the board:
- Unanimously approved a boom mower replacement totaling $26,671.
- Unanimously approved an Exmark zero-turn mower replacement totaling $6,765.80.
- Unanimously approved police department in-car camera upgrades totaling $28,885.
- Unanimously approved an application for the Blood, Sweat, and Tears Run, now in the Mount Gretna area. The run benefits the Emily Whitehead Foundation.
- Tabled an application for Nikos Phelps’ Got the Nerve Triathlon until next month’s meeting due to Reigle’s concerns about traffic patterns. The application proposes closing Timber Road.
- Unanimously approved a letter of support for the Mount Gretna Outdoor Show.
- Unanimously approved the resignation of Gerry Cassel from the Historical Commission. Chairman Faith Bucks noted that there are now three vacancies for the Historical Commission that are currently accepting letters of intent.
South Londonderry Township supervisors meet at 27 W. Market St. on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. The next meeting will be held April 12. These meetings are open to the public and do not require registration.
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