Bethel Township solar project stalls over sidewalk, curbing requirements

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon 22’s planned solar project in Bethel Township has hit a snag over the installation of required sidewalks and curbing near the project. 

During the Nov. 18 planning commission meeting, a protracted discussion between solar company representatives and commissioners led to several waiver requests being tabled. The waivers would have bypassed the installation of concrete curbing and sidewalks along existing streets, improvements made to existing streets and intersections, and installation of street lights.

Many townships, including Bethel, have provisions for projects like this one to make enhancements to the immediate area – or elsewhere with the municipality – at the developer’s cost.

For example, curbing has been placed on the Northern Lebanon High School side of School Drive by the district as part of an expansion project at the school. That sidewalk is immediately across the street from this one. 

In another instance, Bell & Evans recently provided an “in lieu of” check for over $70,000 for sidewalk installation anywhere in the township. However, township officials said they’d rather have the poultry producer provide that work directly instead of having it undertaken by the township, which would lead to the check being returned to the company. 

Bell & Evans officials agreed to those terms and the company is investigating curbside installation in the area of the existing Sherman Williams distribution facility, where their planned Transportation Center will be constructed. Additional sidewalks are to be built as part of a planned Cook Facility that is being constructed by the poultry producer.

Solar project developer Augustin “Gus” Abalo sought the waivers on behalf of land owner Andrew Whitehill, who was granted a conditional-use application for four solar farms on two land parcels near Northern Lebanon High School on Oct. 2, 2024.

The two projects would be on School Drive on the north and south sides of State Route 22 in Bethel Township.

“(Land at) School Road [sic] and (Route) 22 is not our (leased) property,” Abalo said. “So we would not be able to have any bearing leading up to this intersection on widening, adding any road there. That is not applicable to this plan.” 

Planning commissioner Bruce Light, who is the township supervisors’ representative to the commission, said the township has required the school district, Bell & Evans, and other project developers to install curbing, and he believes the same should be required for this project, too. Other planning commissioners agreed.

Abalo said he’s working with a thin budget and that curbing, right-of-way, lighting and street widening, along with right-of-way leasing costs would make the project infeasible. Light said a dairy farmer was required to do similar work and he’s sure that individual also works with a thin budget. 

A good bit of back-and-forth dialogue between Abalo and township engineer Matthew Mack focused on the length, placement and other specifications for the right-of-way, curbing, sidewalk and roadway widening. Also discussed was sidewalk location since the township is working to connect various areas for current and future pedestrian traffic.

Abalo said he would speak with Whitehill and develop a plan since the project needs to begin in the near future.

“There’s a lot of stuff that needs to happen before July, because the project needs to meet the definition of commenced construction, which means I need to order equipment, etc.,” Abalo said. “So a lot of things need to happen in a really short period of time, if it’s going to happen or not. So that’s my sense of urgency.” 

The commission unanimously approved a time extension for the solar project to Feb. 21.

Data center discussion

Mack, who is president of Mack Engineering, said his employee Jackie Hollenbach, who is also the Bethel Township zoning officer, recently attended a Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors conference where the possible proliferation of data centers across the commonwealth was discussed.

Water usage, electrical needs, noise, back-up power sources in times of outages, and related topics were briefly highlighted during the discussion since they were previously mentioned at the conference. 

Mack said Hollenbach and other conference attendees were presented with a sample ordinance that Bethel Township officials might want to consider incorporating into their zoning ordinances. The ordinance addresses data centers, which also require large swaths of land to construct, he added. 

He noted the timing for consideration of a data center ordinance is perfect since Bethel Township officials are conducting a review of and making revisions to their existing zoning ordinance document.   

Other planning commission news

In other business, the planning commission voted unanimously, unless otherwise noted, to send the following to township supervisors for review: 

• Recommend that supervisors get a letter from Fredericksburg Fire Company noting they will comply with a PennDOT highway occupancy permit that allows for up to 29 weekend events with no more than 137 individuals in attendance at Fireman’s Park. The planning commission will submit a letter to PennDOT once the fire company complies with permit requirements. Commissioner Christine Spangler abstained from the vote since she is a PennDOT employee.
• Grant a time extension until March 30 for the preliminary/final subdivision and land development plan for Dew-Mist Farm’s agricultural project. The commission waived the requirement of improvements of existing streets, and roadway improvements (sidewalks, curbs, and street lights).
• Accept a request for a time extension to Feb. 28 for the Bell & Evans preliminary/final land development plan for the company’s 241 Blue Mountain Road property and forward the sewage planning module to supervisors.
• Give a time extension to March 12 for Seth and Janet Oberholtzer’s minor subdivision plan and grant the following waivers: required review as a major subdivision/land development plan; topographical contours be depicted on the greenhouse property; make required street improvements; provide sight distances for current driveway; and requirement for concrete monuments on the property.
• Provide a time extension to Feb. 12 for the Jeff Brubaker minor subdivision and land development plan for a property in the 2200 block of South Pine Grove Street, Fredericksburg.
• Announce the planning commission’s 2026 meeting schedule.
• Approve the Oct. 21 meeting minutes. 

The next meeting of the Bethel Township Planning Commission is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Bethel Township building, 3015 S. Pine Grove St., Fredericksburg.