2,196 people have signed
our petitions as of Feb. 21st 2008.
CALL TO ACTION:
HELP PRESERVE
LANCASTER COUNTY GREENSPACE!
INCORPORATE
THE NINETY-ACRE
DEISLEY FARM
INTO LONG'S PARK
Dear Lancaster County Residents
and Visitors:
• CALL TO ACTION: CONTACT
YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, WRITE LETTERS TO YOUR EDITORS,
MANHEIM TWP. COMMISSIONERS, VISIT AND OFFER COMMENTS
ON WWW.EXPANDLONGSPARK.ORG/blog.html (read
the full story here)
• Letter
to the president and CEO Norfolk Southern Corporation: I
have spent the past several months researching and
then composing a
letter
to the
president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation (see
links above), arguing on behalf of citizens of Lancaster
concerned about the relocation of an expanded Norfolk
Southern Switching Yard, and flooding concerns in conjunction
with the "Crossings Shopping Center" proposed
for the adjacent property. Read the full story as well
as the letters on our blog.
• 2009 Agriculture Summit
- The Lancaster County Commissioners
invite you to attend the 2009 Agriculture
Summit.
This 2-day event will focus on the important
role of Lancaster County agriculture, specifically
focusing
on Lancaster County 's economy and water quality
on October 20 & 21, 2009
from 9 AM to 3 PM. For more info. check out or blog
post.
(Check out the flyer!)
• "The Cost of Sprawl & What
it Means to Our Community" The Coalition
for Smart Growth announces their Fourth Annual Smart
Growth Summit
to be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2009
from 8 AM to 3 PM at the Lancaster County Farm and
Home
Center. For more info check out our blog
post. (also see flyer)
• PennDot's
response to "Crossings at Conestoga Creek", (March
4, 2009): "... We agree that the support
for this project must come from a local perspective.
As such 100% of the funds for all required improvements
to Harrisburg Pike are private funds. There are no
state funds. Our role is only to review and ensure
mitigation of traffic impacts along the Harrisburg
Pike." - Michael S. Gillespie, PE, Acting
District Executive, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department
of Transportation, Engineering District 8-0, 2140 Herr
St., Harrisburg PA 17103-1699 (read
the full letter here)
• The Deisley Farm and The
Crossings at Conestoga Creek: Manheim
Township Commissioners’ Meeting
Jan. 12, ’09 vote on Request to Infill 100-year
Floodplain (read
the full story here)
• Sign up today: Understanding
Infill, Redevelopment and Replacement, March
12, 8 a.m., Bolger Conference
Center, Millersville University (more
here) Get the brochure.
• URGENT COMMUNITY MEETING
TRRAAC Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM
(details
here)
• You are invited to our rescheduled
David Brain event on October 6th at the Lancaster
Campus of HACC, 7:00 p.m. (Details
here).
• Township Commissioners'
vote on the "Crossings". Nancy Keebler and Rick Casselbury
voted against approval of the project, citing valid reasons.
Carol Simpson, Michael Flanagan and Larry Downing voted
for it citing the need for road improvements, tax revenue
and farmland preservation (TDR's) in the northeastern
portion of the township.
• Lancaster for Smart Growth
Community Update: July 7, 2008 Newsletter
• WETLANDS RESTORATION: a
group of concerned citizens is looking into what would
be required to fully restore the stream corridor into
natural wetlands on the eastern and southern sections
of the Deisley farm. The group's goals include:
| Proactive, Community Based Approach |
| Water Quality and Quantity Protection |
| |
Regional Storm Water
Management (SWM)
Flooding issues
Nutrient reduction
Groundwater recharge / protection |
| Environmental Protection
and Education |
| |
Wildlife Habitat
Outdoor classrooms
Interpretive opportunities |
| Context Sensitivity
to the Community |
| |
Long's Park
Adjacent landowners
Visual links |
| Utilize Economic Incentives
(generate credits wherever possible) |
• TAKE NOTE: On
Monday April 14th, 2008 the Manheim Township Commissioners
will announce their decision on the Crossings at Conestoga
Creek. At the last hearing on February 21st we turned
over copies to each of the Commissioners of all 2,196
signatures. And on Friday March 7th we provided another
copy of the signatures to Mike Sturla's office here in
Lancaster. They were grateful to get them, saying they've
had a lot of phone calls and letters in opposition to
the Crossings at Conestoga Creek
• TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: The
Coalition for Smart Growth is presenting "A Community
Forum on the Power of Trees: Trees Make Neighborhoods Great" on
Tuesday April 1st, 2008 from 7pm-9pm. For more information
check out the flyer and
the link under Latest
News! Or the Coalition
for Smart Growth website.
• Other Related News: Planned
trail would link E. Hempfield neighborhoods and Long's
Park
• Please read our
letter delivered to Mayor Gray in November: Nov.
14 Letter to Mayor Gray *This is a .pdf file you
will need Adobe
Reader to read it.*
• In response to our letter, Mayor
Gray also made the following points:
He recommended we attend the "Metropolitan
Planning Organization", MPO; Dave
Royer is the County Traffic Planner. This organization
prioritizes how highway funds are appropriated.
The public can attend.
|
He urged us to push for Tax
Reform along with Regional Government vs. separate
municipalities. Because, eventually
all the smaller, separate municipalities will
be in the same boat as the city of Lancaster
and have no more open space to develop their
tax base.
|
He also recommended we check
into LINC/Growing Together Plan which
is only a few months old.
|
• At the East Hempfield Township
Supervisors' (EHT) Meeting on December 19th, the EHT
supervisors voted to accept money from High ONLY IF
High gets approval from MT to move forward. It
was understood that the money is as insurance for EHT
if
there is nothing they can do to stop High. They then
use the money (rather than EHT taxpayer money) to either
close down Farmingdale Road, or to make the street
one way to Orville Road.
• PERHAPS THE NORTH MUSEUM
COULD RELOCATE TO THE PROPERTY, see their April newsletter: It
could be the "Deisley Cultural Center," the
flagship being the North Museum. The center could include
historical
information on the property, botanical
gardens, surrounded in the expansion of Long's Park,
pedestrian bridge over an improved Harrisburg Pike...
• TWO ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES
PUBLICALLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY HIGH at the June 18 Manheim
Twp. Commissioners’ Meeting. THE SITES ARE
BEING RECORDED BY ARCHEOLOGISTS hired by High and
will be recorded with the state before being destroyed,
according to public testimony.
The Deisley Farm was the site of an Indian Settlement, but public officials
claim, “It’s
already been destroyed and there are no remaining artifacts.” If you have
any of these artifacts or know of someone who does, would you please contact
us at: Joan@expandlongspark.org "NOTE:
THE PA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION IS VERY INTERESTED IN GATHERING MORE
INFORMATION
ABOUT THE LAND." -Bill Cluck
• Learn about Form-Based
Coding and the positive impact it can have on our communities
and the implementation
of “Envision Lancaster County”, the county’s
comprehensive plan. Peter Katz, President of the form-based
codes institute, was in Lancaster on July 17th, 2007
as a guest speaker of the Lancaster County Planning Commission.
Author
and consultant, Peter Katz is regarded
as a key spokesperson for the New Urbanism, a movement
that The
New York Times called 'the most important phenomenon
to emerge in American architecture in the post-Cold War
era.' He is a professor-in-practice at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute's Northern Virginia Center. He provides consulting
services in the areas of strategic marketing and community
development from offices in Alexandria, Virginia. …"Of
eight advantages to Form-Based Codes: They are prescriptive
(they state what you want), rather than proscriptive
(what you don’t want), they can achieve a more
predictable physical result. They encourage public participation
because they allow citizens to see what will happen where!
They can regulate development at the scale of an individual
building or lot! For more information
see our Experts Page.
• CHECK THESE GREAT WEB SITES:
> |
|
> |
|
> |
www.cbf.org/REAP Reap
Projects PA's Rivers and Streams. Find out more about
this green legislation that helps sustain agriculture
while protecting our water quality and improving
habitat. |
> |
|
> |
coalitionforsmartgrowth.org The
Coalition for Smart Growth |
> |
TRRAAC The Rail Road Action & Advisory Committee |
• Mayor Rick Gray was in
attendance at the meeting when the text amendment was
passed; he was the only
public official there opposed to High’s proposed
shopping center! He would “prefer
to see those high-end retail shops open in downtown
Lancaster.” Mayor
Gray, as Long Park Commission Chairman, sent a letter
to the Manheim Township Planning Commission dated May
18, 2007 regarding concerns with the impact of this
shopping center on the park. You can view the letter
here:
Letter To Manheim
Township Planning Commission
• Franklin and Marshall
College currently uses the stream on the Deisley Farm
for environmental studies for their students. I understand
they have a tentative agreement to continue.
We strongly believe in the
expansion of Long’s
Park as a wonderful green space and complement
to the City of Lancaster and Lancaster County.
I urge
you,
contact your friends, family, co-workers, and
neighbors about this valuable GREEN SPACE. Please
check the Latest
News, to see where you can
catch us in person next and sign the petition. Call,
email or write your public
officials.
