S. Annville prepares to submit drafted zoning ordinance regulating data centers

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At the Aug. 12 meeting, chairman Dale Hoover told residents that a drafted zoning ordinance regulating data centers is expected to be ready for submission to the Lebanon County Planning Department and the South Annville Township Planning Commission before the supervisors’ September meeting.

After a review period, supervisors will hold a public hearing to consider the drafted zoning ordinance for approval. Residents are invited to provide their input by emailing township staff or attending the planning commission meeting or public hearing.

“What we’re trying to do is make it [as] restrictive as possible but not too restrictive that we get hauled into court, and that’s a fine line to travel. We’re not encouraging anything. We’re trying to discourage anything we possibly can, but we can’t downright outlaw it in our township,” said Hoover.

Maggie McAteer and her father, Gerald McAteer, approached supervisors to request rezoning the Spruce Hill Acres property in Annville from residential to agricultural. They were backed by a room full of supporters, including government officials, Annville-Cleona Secondary School representatives, and neighbors.

Gerald McAteer said the property has been used for agricultural production since the late 1840s, including as a beef farm, dairy farm, goat farm, and sheep farm. The property, along with the properties on the west side of Spruce Street, was zoned residential in the late 1970s.

If the property was rezoned agricultural, it would allow the McAteers, who have been in the process of purchasing the farm from the current owners, to apply for agricultural grants to support their work in providing students in the Annville-Cleona Secondary School’s special education classes with agricultural experiences.

Hoover mentioned that rezoning the property to agricultural in an area zoned residential could appear as spot zoning, which could cause legal issues for the township. “We’re not sitting here opposed to this. We’re just seeing how we can do this in a way that’s legal,” he said.

“There’s a girl who wants to stay on a farm and help children. We should be doing everything we can as a community to make her achieve her goals. There is always a possible way to do anything in zoning, and you have the power to do that. … I’ve been creative with people to do projects for 30 years,” said Annville Township manager Candie Johnson.

“I go to, by invitation, a lot of different municipal meetings. Right now, I envy you because this is the first time I have ever heard someone request to return it to agriculture. Everybody comes in and wants to turn farming to residential and build, build, build. I think it’s a wonderful problem to have. I hope you can work it out,” added Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz.

With the support of the current owners, supervisors will have township solicitor Josele Cleary see what is required to rezone the property and get back to the McAteers.

During public comment, Dale Brubaker, commercial estimator for Crouse Concrete, spoke on behalf of the company regarding a communication breakdown on who contractors should notify when concrete is being poured along township roads.

As a result of this communication breakdown, Crouse Concrete recently installed about 160′ of sidewalk, including an ADA-compliant curb ramp, in Candler’s Pointe without notifying Allison Garner or Ed Kreider to inspect it.

Brubaker provided photographs of the sidewalk, including a smart level on the ADA-compliant curb ramp. Garner and Kreider agreed not to require Crouse Concrete to tear out and reinstall the sidewalk.

Moving forward, contractors should notify Kreider and “CC” Garner when concrete is being poured along township roads. Kreider will then decide whether Garner or he will inspect it.

In addition to this communication breakdown, the engineer’s report included the receipt of Wynfield’s Phase 2A and Phase 2B final plans, which are anticipated to be on the supervisors’ agenda for September. Garner is also working to finalize the MS4 annual report.

In other news, supervisors unanimously voted to:

• Approve applications for three fire hydrants from Pennsylvania American Water, two on or near Savannah Drive and one on or near Salisbury Lane in Southgate Phase 2.
• Authorize township manager Jeanette Henning to advertise for winter maintenance as soon as possible, with the bidding window to close Monday, Sept. 21. They anticipate approving the contract agreement at a special meeting in late September.
• Approve a contract agreement with Kreider Paving for summer maintenance for 2027.
• Approve the secretary’s and treasurer’s reports.
• Approve the police report, which included 152 incidents for South Annville Township and 52 for regional, as well as 317 hours for township and 43 for regional.
• Approve the payment of the township’s bills.

During the updates portion of the meeting, assistant township manager Heather Mesko noted this year’s supervisors convention will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

South Annville Township supervisors meet at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings are typically held in the Donald H. Umberger Building, but may be held in the Annville-Cleona Secondary School’s auditorium, depending on anticipated attendance. Next month’s meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9.