- Respect Farmland
Zoning Ordinance Ignored in Oregon Development Design
In 2010 Manheim Township paid significant amounts of tax payer funds to a well-regarded land planning consultanting firm -- Thomas Comitta Assciates - to create the zoning ordinance that is now being used to evaluate the proposed Oregon Village development.
This ordinance was carefully worded to, literally, respect farmland. This detailed land use law requires applications under that ordinance to protect and preserve not just the farmland, but also our area's special agricultural way of life, as well as the historic buildings and natural resources that are specifically located in and around the Village of Oregon, which was settled in the mid-1700s.
So why did the Manheim Township staff and the consultants for the developer completely ignore these requirements? The images shown here illustrate these special places, features, buildings and characteristics and that have existed in our community for nearly 300 years, and that are now unnecessarily endangered by this proposed development.
Proponents of the so-called Oregon Village Center project repeatedly claim that this area was zoned for this project. That is clearly not the case. Yes, the zoning allows for a mixture of uses under a master plan, but there is every reason to question the nature and need for this particular project plan.
Blog Post by Randolph Harris, independent consulting historian, Lancaster, PA.
