Heidelberg supervisors reject planners’ recommendation and approve waivers

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The Heidelberg Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve all requested waivers for a subdivision and land development plan at 2734 Heidelberg Ave. at its monthly meeting Tuesday, rejecting the recommendation of the township planning commission.

The plan for the village residential-zoned property includes three single-family units, requesting the waiving of sidewalk, curbing, road widening, sewer line extension, and the submission of separate preliminary and final plans. Approval was recommended by township engineer DMA.

Supervisors Ivan Martin and Steve Martin voted in favor of granting all waivers, while chairman Paul Fetter voted against every waiver except the routine preliminary/final plan waiver. The plan was approved, conditional on documentation and financial security, with both Martins in favor and Fetter opposed.

Planning commission members Craig Dieffenbach and Tim Hoffman both pushed for the board to reject the plan. They said the commission does not typically recommend, nor does the board typically approve, large waivers like these.

Developer representative Trentin Brubaker argued that, without widened roads, sidewalks, or curbs by adjacent properties, there was no need to require these items. Other nearby properties already had sewer access and the developer does not foresee new development, so the plan includes sewer access through a manhole.

Both Fetter and Hoffman said it was unwise to suggest that no development is going to happen, noting that up until recently, no one had thought the area would get sewer access. The developer said further development was not impossible, but unlikely.

Hoffman said a Pioneer Building Group representative had said at a planning commission meeting that the relocation of three utility poles would cost $61,500, and financial difficulties were not a valid reason to grant a waiver. Fetter said the requested waivers were all beneficial to the developer, not the township.

The developer responded that the waivers will allow them to bring costs down, but costs are passed on to buyers and lower costs means more affordable housing. He also said it might not be financially feasible to develop the site if not for these waivers.

Ivan Martin said these were fairly common waivers. Dieffenbach said the township had not waived sidewalks and curbing in his 20 years on the commission, though they had allowed deferrals for some properties without the road widened on adjacent properties. Deferrals involve setting aside finances to guarantee that the improvements can be made at a later date if the township decides to move forward with them.

Brubaker said the adjacent lot had a plan approved in 2018 and it had not been required to make these changes. Hoffman said no construction has occurred for 20 years, the plan was to adjust stormwater management, and waivers were not granted. He said granting these waivers would set a precedent for future development.

Ivan Martin disagreed, saying waivers are granted on a case-by-case basis and it would not set a precedent. However, it is not uncommon for developers to cite previous waivers to a governing body as reasoning for waivers in similar circumstances.

Dieffenbach questioned the way the review process had occurred, saying DMA had sent the commission plans shortly before they were asked to make a recommendation despite having received drawings in January. He said DMA representative Scott Hain was not present at the commission’s most recent meeting and had cancelled the meeting due to a lack of agenda items before commission members decided to meet anyway.

Nick Ebersole of DMA said he would get in contact with Hain to see if there was a misunderstanding. Ivan Martin said engineers are not legally required to attend planning commission meetings, though Dieffenbach said that previous engineer Bob Lynn attended consistently. Martin later said he and solicitor Paul Bametzreider would be in attendance at the commission’s Sept. 21 meeting to go over procedures.

Dieffenbach also said that commission member Brubaker had only attended one meeting since his appointment in January. Brubaker responded that he chose not to attend as he had a conflict of interest, as he is involved in the 2734 Heidelberg Ave. plan that has been under discussion.

Brubaker was appointed to the commission in a mixed vote during the board’s reorganization meeting, with Fetter opposed. At this meeting, the board also replaced former engineer Hanover with DMA, also with Fetter opposed. A resident complained about Brubaker’s attendance at last month’s supervisors’ meeting.

“I don’t know of any other planning commission member in history that missed that amount of meetings, especially from being newly appointed,” said Fetter in July. “It’s an office that you ought to take seriously. … They’re serving the good of the community and it does nobody any good if there’s not somebody there to represent.”

Tuesday, supervisors voted to appoint Vic Hurst to the planning commission after the resignation of commission member and former supervisor Ted Cromleigh, who is moving out of the area. Fetter voted against the motion and made a separate motion, which was not seconded, to appoint Jamie Wolgemuth to the position.

Hurst is the co-owner and property manager of Hurst Family Estate, while Wolgemuth works as Lebanon County administrator. All supervisors agreed both candidates were qualified for the position.

Fetter said he did not want the commission to become over-weighted by builders and developers. Ivan Martin responded that he felt this was “not completely accurate,” and that Hurst is also a farmer who will represent the farming community.

Wolgemuth later suggested ousting Brubaker due to lack of attendance and appointing him to fill the seat. Brubaker said the timing of his missed meetings was unfortunate, but he feels he has a lot to offer the township and he values the position.

After the meeting, Hoffman said he was disappointed with the decision to approve the waivers but he had expected it after Ivan Martin was elected last year.

During the over two-hour meeting Tuesday, supervisors also:

• Unanimously approved a $28,828.80 line painting quote from Lincoln Paving.
• Unanimously approved the sale of a grader and weed plow on MuniciBid. The grader is a 1998 model which was once used often but has since fallen out of use.
• Unanimously approved the reduction of financial security for the Family Treasure Wholesale, 238 S. Lancaster, and Middlecreek Mennonite School projects.
• Unanimously approved the fourth payment of $52,978.86 to Woodland Interior for the township building remodel project. Ivan Martin said Tuesday that he expects the meeting room to be available for use by the Sept. 22 meeting.
• Recognized the Agricultural Security Area application for 1870 Steigel Pike, starting a 180-day period after which the application can be accepted without the standard public hearing and advertising process.
• Heard that there are multiple repairs needed to the salt shed and agreed to discuss it during budget meetings.
• Heard the public works department wants to hire part-time employees in winter to assist with snow removal and asked the department to look for candidates.
• Heard a question about municipal waste being dumped on fields on Horse Road, with Bametzreider responding that this is done by and monitored by DEP.
• Unanimously agreed to acknowledge the 2027 pension minimum municipal obligation of $30,165.
• Unanimously approved the continuation of the PennDOT winter maintenance contract for 2026-27.
• Unanimously approved the reimbursement of the fire department for LSA grant funds that were spent this year, awarded last year, and applied for in 2024. Fire departments cannot receive these funds directly, so the township applied on its behalf.
• Unanimously approved the advertisement of two budget workshop dates, though dates have not yet been set.
• Held an executive session regarding personnel matters.
• Unanimously approved minutes and bills for payments, and heard various reports.

This article has been edited to reflect that the developer of 2734 Heidelberg Ave is Pioneer Building Group, not Landmark as previously reported. LebTown sincerely apologizes for this error.

Heidelberg Township supervisors meet the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.