East Hanover Twp. supervisors to send member to hearing on trailer housing

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The East Hanover Township Board of Supervisors on Monday agreed to send a representative to the township’s next meeting of the zoning hearing board.

Supervisors heard that at the next zoning hearing, the board will hear a variance request from Prairie Fire Farms Foundation, which owns 201 and 217 Angle Road, to establish a travel trailer on each lot for temporary housing. The hearing had been planned for Thursday, April 3, but the township announced Wednesday that it will be postponed to a later date.

Planning commission member Marvin Smith reported that the commission has questions as to what landowners mean by “temporary housing,” which will likely be answered at the meeting.

Resident Gary Anspach spoke in opposition of the variance, noting that his request to house his elderly mother in a travel trailer was denied. He said the Angle Road property has issues with flooding and traffic, and he worries that this variance could exacerbate these problems.

The board unanimously agreed to send a supervisor to the meeting to provide input. As property owners are seeking a variance, the decision ultimately comes down to the ZHB, but supervisors can be present and ask questions.

Supervisors also took action on multiple items concerning the H.M. Levitz Memorial Park.

They unanimously approved a change order from Andrew Martin Builder to install new electrical wiring in a pavilion. The contractor evidently found damage to existing wiring while undergoing other work on site.

After some discussion, the board unanimously agreed to participate in the Pennsylvania Labor and Industry Office of Vocational Rehabilitation volunteer work program for this summer.

For around a month over the summer, a supervisor will oversee four high-school-aged students with disabilities as they complete tasks assigned to them by the park overseer. The township will not accrue costs from this program, the township manager reported.

Supervisors also acted on the following park-related items:

• Unanimously agreed to change the checkout time for overnight guests at the park from 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. starting in 2026, to give park staff more time to be able to clean up after guests leave.
• Unanimously agreed to solicit bids for an addition to the recreation shed.
• Unanimously approved the park’s participation in the WellSpan and Lebanon County Library Go and Color Your World program.
• Unanimously approved requests to host a senior citizen’s exercise class and story time at the park, both contingent on the recreation board finding volunteers.
• Unanimously approved the sale of benches on Municibid for $124.

In other news, supervisors:

• Unanimously agreed to send a letter to 24 non-compliant property-owners on the on-lot sewer non-pumper list.
• Unanimously agreed to replace an office desktop computer for $1,367.34 with Executive Image Solutions. The township budgets the replacement of one computer per year, with six computers total, to avoid needing to replace all computers simultaneously.
• Directed the township manager to ask Jonestown Bank and Trust whether they would forego a $20 monthly cost for their Digital Business Banking Plus plan.
• Unanimously approved a minor subdivision plan and associated non-building declaration for 61 Bullfrog Road, which is dividing the 115.6-acre tract into two lots of around 64.8 and 50.8 acres. Supervisors also approved waivers concerning plan scale, as recommended by the planning commission.
• Unanimously approved a revised stormwater exemption plan from the owners of 183 County Line Road.
• Unanimously agreed to accept a time extension from the Scott Stouffer minor subdivision.
• Unanimously approved a $2,500 quote from Ditchcreek Utility Services to clean a portion of the township’s sewer lines.