Questions about a New School
On March 24, 2008, I listened as the Elizabethtown Area School Board presented its plans for a new intermediate school to the Mount Joy Planning Commission. As the meeting progressed, I became more and more concerned regarding the proposal. Several community members spoke up to express their concerns. Thankfully, Vice Chairman Blaine Miller and other members of the planning commission appeared genuinely interested in listening to the concerns of those present.
While I understand the overcrowding situation the district is facing, I hope that the school board members will listen to the many citizens that have expressed their reservations. Until September 2007, the school board led the community to believe it was turning East High Street Elementary into an intermediate school and adding on to existing elementary schools. Now in the past 6 months the board has completely changed its plans. The school board has sent out 100 notices to neighbors it believes will be affected by the school. Unfortunately, many others (including those living in the immediate vicinity of the school) were excluded from this list. A proposal of this magnitude deserves thoughtful planning and input from various members of the community. Hastily pushing the project to completion will affect thousands of students, residents, and taxpayers for years to come.
The traffic for this school (with an estimated student population of 1,125) will impact far more than the 100 homes that were originally invited to the public meeting. Obviously, the bus and parent traffic along Groff and Ridge Roads as well as Sheaffer and College Avenue will increase dramatically. However, cross-town traffic will also increase substantially along smaller streets such as Chestnut, Mount Joy, Spruce, Campus, Hickory Run, and Spring Road. The smaller streets of these residential sections of town are not equipped to handle the volume of traffic that a new school of this size will require. Possibly a more important issue is the very limited access this proposed site offers. As it stands now there is only one access road (Sheaffer Road). Even with an extension of College Avenue, Sheaffer Road and College Avenue will both funnel to the same location at Campus Drive. This will no doubt prove to be completely inadequate to handle a school of this size. Has the board considered access from East High Street across district-owned property? Has the board considered dual access to the school from both East High Street and Shaffer Road to more evenly distribute bus and parent traffic?
In addition to inadequate automobile access, the new location is not appropriate for foot traffic in and out of the school. It is well-known that the neighborhoods in the proposed area have very few school-age children. Therefore, very few will have the opportunity to walk. Has there been a count of how many students will realistically walk to school along Sheaffer Road? I am aware that a good number of students attending East High Street Elementary walk. Will these same students be expected to walk to the new school? How many additional buses and automobiles will be necessary to get children to school? Furthermore, Shaeffer Road is very narrow and has no sidewalks. Has the board considered the safety of those children that will be required to walk?
The location has additional problems that will negatively affect the proposed school. This area is very damp with a high water table. The proposal calls for a bus parking area, an auto parking area, and a blacktop play area. Has the board planned adequately for the increased run-off due to these impervious surface areas? What impact will this runoff have on residents living down hill from the location, many of which already have draining problems? Has the school board commissioned studies to assure residents “downstream” that the additional run-off will not affect their homes? With the school in low-lying wetlands, have adequate measures been taken to assure the school will not be prone to flooding, mold, and other similar challenges?
I am equally concerned that this new school building is not the most cost-effective solution to overcrowding. Currently, there is plenty of school-owned property adjacent to the existing high school and East High Elementary. Some of this property is leased to the fair. Is the school district fairly compensated for the use of this land, and if so, how much is this compensation? A new school built adjacent to the existing schools will benefit from shared resources and infrastructure. By contrast, a new school on Shaeffer Road will require road improvements, additional traffic lights, installation of sidewalks, and drainage upgrades. Consequently, the district will force Elizabethtown Borough and Mount Joy Township to invest several million dollars in these infrastructural changes. Has the school board and the township considered these hidden costs being passed on to the taxpayer? How much of this expense is the school district required to contribute? Do the taxpayers understand the implications of building at this proposed site? I am skeptical that Elizabethtown Borough has wholeheartedly endorsed this plan. Have borough planners been involved in the discussions and have their concerns been heard?
As this letter demonstrates, there are many, many questions that remain unanswered. This project will impact thousands of individuals for years to come. Common sense dictates that the school board and planning commission not push this six-month old proposal to a hasty conclusion. Instead, it deserves a thorough vetting by the entire community. I hope that the Elizabethtown Area School Board and the Mount Joy Township Planning Commission will be sensitive to the concerns of their constituencies. Though “band-aid” measures (such as portable classrooms) will not solve the problem, they will provide time to involve the greater community thoughtfully and deliberately in this planning process. With time, I am confident the school board and planning commission will find superior solutions to the many problems this proposed plan creates.
Sincerely,
Wendi Kenley
Elizabethtown, PA
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:02 am
When the school board first came to the township staff to give notice of their intent to build the Intermediate Elementary School on the Bear Creek tract of land, we encouraged the school board to be very transparent during their planning process. We encouraged them to communicate with the public during the planning process. The school board has done just that. In the past I have seen preliminary planning (not school districts)taking place outside of the public view. This planning was done inconspicuously not to hide information, but rather to gather information to have answers to the inevitable questions that would arise. When the public found out planning was taking place without their knowledge, the accusations of “it was a done deal’ and “they held secret meetings to keep the public in the dark” took off like wildfire. So we encouraged the school district to try a new approach and place the project in the public right from the beginning. The unfortunate spin off from that transparency has been some of the public has jumped ahead of the school consultants, township staff, and township Planning Commission. The township subdivision and land development ordinances are very strict and detailed in their scope. Any developer can set their own timeline for their project. The township is bound by its ordinances in how and when they must respond to plans. The developer’s timelines are of no concern to the township from the perspective of how thorough a review we do. We will conduct our reviews thoroughly and in compliance with the regulations regardless of any timelines established by a developer.
The Township Planning Commission will be doing a thorough review of any plans submitted from EASD. Their review will involve all aspects, i.e. legal, engineering, traffic studies, etc. and will be done through the “eyes” of the township ordinances and applicable statutes. The township staff and consultants are unbiased in their reviews, but very professional and skilled at their respective disciplines. The township is not in a position to question the school board’s choice of location for their school from any perspective other than compliance with zoning and all applicable township regulations (traffic impacts included). The fact that the school may or may not have viable alternative locations for the school cannot and will not enter into the township’s decision on approving or denying any plans. The township certainly has no intention of “rubber stamping” plans for development from any person or entity. The timeline established by the school board has no bearing on the township’s reviews. Further, whether or not the Planning Commission chooses to allow the school to skip a preliminary plan and go straight to a final plan has no bearing on the thoroughness of the township review. It only means that when the plan is submitted it has to be in its final form with all detail included. If the detail isn’t sufficient enough to satisfy all requirements there will be comments generated by the township and the plan will have to be amended accordingly. Fortunately the township had the foresight to complete an “act 209” traffic impact fee ordinance to be able to impose off site traffic impact fees on developers to assist in offsetting the costs of improving roads impacted by development.
EASD informed us they have met with the borough and made them aware of the plans for the school. We are in the process of setting up an additional meeting with EASD, the borough, and our staff to make certain the borough is up to speed on the plans and has an opportunity to have input on the traffic issues as well. The regional area has been appraised of the school plans as well. We have been participating for over a year in a regional comprehensive plan along with Elizabethtown, West Donegal Township, Conoy Township, the Lancaster County Planning Commission, and Rettew Associates. All proposed developments (including the new school), official transportation maps (proposed new roads and improvements to existing roads), and walking/biking trails, parks and recreational facilities, and land use planning (zoning districts) are being reviewed by a steering committee comprised of representatives from all the municipalities. The regional study area represents over 30,000 citizens. There will be a public meeting May 22 at the Elizabethtown Intermediate School cafeteria to present the committees findings to date and to seek public input and ideas. The committee plans to have a final product to present to the municipal government officials in May 2009. The intent of the steering committee is to continue working towards regional planning to avoid fragmented road systems and services, while still maintaining local control for each municipal entity. This is a delicate balance to achieve. I have been involved in municipal government for 28 years. The strides we have made over the past several years in working with our municipal neighbors, in my opinion, have been tremendous. We still have a long way to go, but I see things heading in the right direction. We all need to work in concert and not become adversaries. All parties are striving to make the best decisions for the long term.
Please feel free to contact the staff at the township with any questions or for any information.
Charles “Casey” Kraus, III
Township Administrator
Mount Joy Township
159 Merts Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
Ph: (717) 367-8917
Fax: (717) 367-9208
Email: Casey@mtjoytwp.org
May 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Shops of Questions about a New School…
shops about town planning board site plan : On March 24, 2008, I listened as the Elizabethtown Area School Board presented its plans for a new intermediate school to the Mount Joy Planning Commission. As the meeting progressed, I became more and more …