December 2003 Newsletter of the
Save Our
Liberty Committee
Working together for responsible development
Public Meetings of Interest to All
Monday, Nov. 24,
6:30 p.m.
Public hearing on
"Liberty Valley," the 2nd PRD submitted by
the Wormald Companies
Fairfield Fire Hall
(Rt. 16 to Rt. 116/Main St. Fairfield, then
turn right onto McGinley and take first left
onto Steelman Street. Hall will be on
right.)
STATUS REPORT on
LIBERTY DEVELOPMENTS
Initial PRD proposal
for 1,140 homes in southern Adams Co., Pa.,
was withdrawn by the developer.
A second proposal
was submitted for a PRD on the Tract Rd.
portion of land owned by the developer. It
has more homes on only two-thirds of the
area in the original proposal. In addition,
a subdivision for more than 100 homes has
been submitted for the Pecher Rd. portion of
the land owned by the developer. Hearings on
the second PRD will begin on Nov. 24.
Both the 2nd PRD and
subdivision proposals need to go through the
same process of review by the township
engineer , Adams County Planning Office and
Township Planning Commission. At the Nov. 5
Township Supervisors meeting, citizens
requested more time before public hearings
begin, but the developer did not grant that
request.
A citizen submitted
a proposal to delete PRDs from the current
zoning ordinances. The supervisors accepted
this proposal and referred it to the
Planning Commission. At the October Planning
Commission meeting the proposal was
recommended for approval and sent to the
supervisors for action. It needs to go
through the same process as any amendment to
the Zoning Ordinance (forwarding to Adams
County Planning for review and then a public
hearing). The hearing is set for Jan. 5 at 7
p.m. at the township offices, 39 Topper Rd.
Proposed new Zoning
Ordinance forwarded to the supervisors was
found to have a number of editorial errors
and was requested be returned to the
Planning Commission for revision. Township
solicitor Walton Davis stated that the
hearing scheduled for October 21st on the
new Zoning Ordinance could not be held as
there was no formal review by the Adams
County Planning Office. The Planning
Commission hopes to forward the corrected
document to the county office in November.
How to Support
the Community You Love? Pledge Continued
Financial Support
Our efforts cannot
continue without further donations (see
Treasurer's Report). In addition to support
from Liberty Township, we need the support
of bordering communities who care about the
future of this region. We are facing a
possible development between Fairfield and
Emmitsburg that would triple the population
of Liberty Township. SOL is working on
behalf of area citizens to ensure township
supervisors have the facts they need to
consider and address the impacts of such a
development on the environment, traffic and
quality of life.
The money you donate
or pledge to Save Our Liberty's efforts
today is a small price to pay for efforts to
avoid damage from stormwater runoff,
out-of-control traffic situations on Rt.
16/Rt. 140 and other possibilities that
could result if potential negative impacts
are not addressed. If you are a resident of
the Fairfield Area School district, your
donation is also a fraction of the tax money
it may cost you to live here if a
development of 1,000+ houses becomes a
reality. What are your property taxes today?
Taxes for Fairfield Area Schools taxpayers
are projected to increase 37%; what yearly
increase in taxes will this mean to you??
Could you pledge 10 to 20% of that amount?
Can you donate to
SOL's legal fund? Can you make a monthly
pledge? Contact information is at the top of
this newsletter.
The good news: While
the process of
protecting our
quality of life seems slow and frustrating,
we've made great strides together (see
article below). Thank you to all who have
made these efforts possible!
More good news: The
resources spent so far will bring returns
far down the line. For instance, information
our legal counsel and expert witnesses
planned to bring forth in hearings on the
Community of Liberty can revised for use at
hearings on Liberty Valley.
Look What We've
Accomplished Together
In only three months
Save Our Liberty has built up support from
more than 250 families and received total
donations of $33,386 from more than 150
donors. This achievement is outstanding! We
do care about each other, and our community,
and are prepared to work hard to protect the
special quality of life we enjoy.
From these generous
contributions, we have paid the fees of our
legal counsel, and retainers for a
hydrogeologist and traffic engineer. These
experts have researched and prepared
testimony for presentation at the public
hearings when they resume. Susan Smith, our
attorney, is prepared for the hearing on the
second plan and has already led the
developer to withdraw the initial plan.
Without Save Our Liberty-without you-the
Wormald Companies' plans would continue with
only their profit in mind. SOL has not yet
had its chance to present testimony or cross
examine more than one witness but WE ARE
PREPARED TO DO SO! Additionally, this
research and preparation can be used during
further hearings so we shouldn't need to
spend as much money on research in the
future.
SOL requests you
donate funds so our experts can continue. We
need to raise at least double what has been
donated so far to oppose the even denser
alternate plans submitted by the Wormald
Companies. Yes, a great deal of money-but
worth it to protect the home we love!
Treasurer's
Report
From the $33,386
contributed to date we have paid the fees of
our legal counsel, and retained a
hydrogeologist and traffic engineer.
Save Our Liberty
Receipts and Payments Account
through October 21,
2003:
RECEIPTS
- Donations and
Membership $32,397
- Donated Expenses
986
- Interest 3
Total Income $33,386
PAYMENTS
- Legal and Other
Fees $29,272
- Other Expenses
Donated $ 986
- Total
Expenditures $30,258
Balance $3,128
Notes:
- The above
accounts reflect billings through
September 30.
- October invoices
will be payable in late November.
- Donated Expenses
represent expenses paid by members as
donations to SOL (printing, postage,
etc.).
- The balance of
$3,128 shown above includes $2,500 that is
payable to a planning consultant, leaving
$628 in SOL's bank account.
Read
prior newsletters of the Save our Liberty
Committee
Read other articles related to Fairfield
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