'Hallowed ground': Dozens protest possible warehouse near historic Prospect Hill Cemetery

Dozens of concerned residents showed up to the Manchester Township Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night to protest the prospect of a new warehouse, even though no plans for development have been submitted to the board.

The potential warehouse would be on land located next to the historic Prospect Hill Cemetery, along Pennsylvania Avenue. That land is owned by Inch and Co. under the subsidiary Penn Avenue Partners. The 50-plus-acre property was purchased by Inch and Co. in 2021 from former owner Jack Sommer.

The parcel of land that contains the cemetery was purchased by Matt Seyler, the current president and owner of Prospect Hill Cemetery, from Sommer in December 2021. Seyler purchased the cemetery in October 2021. He said he did know that the parcel next to the cemetery had been sold to Inch & Co., but he had no knowledge of development plans.

Township records for October 2021 show that a plan to subdivide the property was submitted to the township planning commission. Manchester Township Board of Supervisors meeting minutes show that the property was rezoned from a residential property to an industrial property on Dec. 13, 2022.

John Inch, co-owner of Inch and Co., is a member of the Manchester Township Board of Supervisors. He abstained from voting on that agenda item, and he was not at Tuesday night's meeting. His brother and co-owner of Inch and Co. did attend the meeting and spoke with citizens outside. During that conversation, Inch said the warehouse would bring jobs to the area, but did not elaborate.

According to ZipRecruiter, there are more than 400 open warehouse positions in and around York County, paying $11-$17 an hour. As of Dec. 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that York County had a 2.8% unemployment rate.

Lettice Brown, manager of the Stormwater Department for the York City Public Works Department, said that Inch told her he is willing to meet with her and any concerned citizens to show them plans for the warehouse.

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The board denied having any knowledge of the warehouse. The property was listed for lease as an industrial complex on Dec. 15, 2022. That listing was made by Cushman and Wakefield. Per the listing, groundbreaking is set for June 2023 on a 422,000-square-foot warehouse, with 70 truck bays and 200-plus parking spaces.

A listing on Loopnet, updated Jan. 4, also shows those details for the property and the same groundbreaking date.

Citizens voice concerns

Residents who live near the cemetery have taken to Facebook to voice opinions, and some attended the meeting to speak directly to the board. Many called the idea of a warehouse on this land "unethical," "disgusting" and "disrespectful."

Delma Rivera-Lytle spoke on behalf of her parents, who are buried at the cemetery.

"I'm here to be their voice. This is truly hallowed ground," she told the board. "At what point does corporate greed stop?"

Matt Gallagher said that putting a warehouse on this land is "unethical and disgusting."

"It's disrespectful to the wildlife and to the people who live there," he told the board.

Tom Shadle agrees with Gallagher.

"This proposed project is another example of mismanaged growth. It's disrespectful of the residents living nearby Prospect Hill, and it's a troubling disturbance to all county residents who have loved ones buried there and visit to pay their respects. And it's disrespectful and blasphemous to our honored dead themselves, from across York's long history," Shadle said.

Several people were concerned about the impact the warehouse would have on traffic along Pennsylvania Avenue and Route 30.

"The city will have to maintain and upkeep with city taxpayers' money while receiving no tax money from the corporate owners who own the proposed facilities," Jim Williams said in a Facebook comment. "I am fairly sure our residents do not wish for this additional burden."

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"Traffic is already bad heading west in the evenings from North Hills Road all the way to the 83 interchange. Truck traffic is going to now back up Pennsylvania Avenue to 83," Chip Sargent said. "City streets can't handle that kind of increase. Logistically, it's going to be a nightmare, not to mention the increased taxes for city residents that are going to be incurred for extensive road damage."

Lily Jay Quinn was concerned about the impact on flooding.

"Houses and roads near there already deal with flooding. The additional impervious surface will make it worse," she said. "I realize they'll have to install some storm water management, but to what standards? 100 year floods are increasingly common."

Samantha Dorm, a volunteer with Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, said that flooding is a real concern. Lebanon Cemetery is an historically Black cemetery off North George Street in North York, near Prospect Hill Cemetery.

Dorm said the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery “have experience of what happens when development occurs near a cemetery.”

A development was built near the cemetery, where a cornfield was previously, and the cemetery is now getting all of the water runoff from the development, where the cornfield used to contain that water, Dorm said.

“It’s caused millions of dollars of damage that needs repair,” she said. “I'm glad people are talking about preserving an historic cemetery. We know the damage that can happen from this because we've experienced it.”

The next Manchester Township Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for March 1.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Many protest possible warehouse at historic Prospect Hill Cemetery