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The Heidelberg Township Board of Supervisors heard concerns from Heidelberg Avenue resident Phil Hayden about dangerous truck traffic down South Church Street Tuesday.
Truck traffic en route to the warehouse at 200 S. Church St. often turns from Route 897 onto Church Street, sometimes causing damage to property due to the tight turn.
Hayden said that trucks have damaged his fence twice just this month, and the curb is “broken and heaving” as a result of repeated contact from trucks.
While incoming truck traffic has been directed to turn onto Weidman Road, then Sheephill to get to the warehouse, trucks often wait to turn until Church Street.
Hayden suggested banning truck traffic on South Church Street, but truck traffic is already banned on the street. When asked why there is not a sign denoting this, supervisor Ted Cromleigh said the previous sign was destroyed by a truck turning.
Cromleigh said the township will install a new sign, but if it is destroyed again, the warehouse owners will be held responsible for its replacement.
He noted that complaints about truck traffic to the warehouse have appeared before the board for years, commenting that it is the warehouse owners’ responsibility to fix the problem by redirecting trucks.
The board also unanimously agreed to post an updated version of the nuisance ordinance, which garnered concern from residents at a public hearing held in June.
Read more: Heidelberg Township to adjust nuisance ordinance following resident concerns
Changes made to the ordinance, Cromleigh said, include addressing concerns about natural landscaping, sump pumping, and removing references to animal waste in streets, as this would apply to droppings from horses.
“You’re never gonna address everybody’s comments, but I think we’ve done a pretty thorough job,” said Cromleigh.
While the ordinance is still under review by the solicitor, it will be posted to Heidelberg’s website once it has been reviewed. The board hopes to hear resident feedback on the ordinance, then advertise it for another public hearing once they have addressed remaining concerns.
In other news, the board unanimously:
- Agreed to adopt Stormwater Management Ordinance #172, which makes minor changes to the existing ordinance such as adding resident-friendly provisions for small stormwater plans.
- Agreed to approve deferrals and the final plan for Family Treasures Wholesale, a wholesale distributor to be located at 2386 Stiegel Pike, with access on Locust Street and truck access on SR 501. Cromleigh disclosed that he works for the company that prepared the plan (but has no personal interest in it), but due to the rule of necessity with Paul Fetter absent, voted to approve the plan with the solicitor’s blessing.
- Agreed to approve Resolution #952 adopting a bounced check policy, most notably that the township will not accept checks after repeated checks from a party have bounced.
- Agreed to grant time extensions to several plans.
- Agreed to adopt a winter maintenance agreement with PennDOT.
- Approved minutes.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misspelled Phil Hayden’s name. We sincerely regret the error.
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