Meeting on controversial Red Lion Country Club site to be held this week
The York Township Board of Commissioners will hold a public meeting Thursday to discuss the proposed rezoning of land that housed the former Red Lion Country Club, and many residents plan to attend to voice their opposition.
The public hearing for this petition was originally scheduled for June 13, but the applicant pulled the petition in order to request a new location for the meeting due to the number of people expected to attend. A petition to stop the rezoning and subsequent development of homes on that land, 150 Country Club Road, has over 1,200 signatures.
One of the main concerns opponents have for this development is how it will disrupt the land, which they say needs to be protected.
In 2014, Jack Grove, a marine scientist, asked Natural Land Trust to investigate ways to conserve the nearly 69 acres of land at the heart of the debate. A grant from Red Lion Area Educational Foundation funded the study.
According the trust's report, the property was developed as a nine-hole golf course and country club after World War II, and the Red Lion School District purchased in it 2005 for $5.2 million, buying more than what is currently for sale in order to settle Title 9 litigation. They settled the litigation by constructing additional playing fields for students. Then, an economic downturn occurred, and there was a decline in school enrollment. Now, the school district wants to sell the excess land to gain revenue.
In 2014, the land was listed for sale at $2.5 million, according to the report. Now it is listed at $1.6 million.
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Because of how Barshinger Creek and Codorus Creek would be affected by any development on this property, particularly with stormwater runoff, the trust recommended that limited development occur. One suggestion was for a conservation office on the property, and another was for a 55-plus community with land around the creeks devoted to preservation. The most popular suggestion, however, is for the school district to keep the land and use it as park that hosts outdoor classrooms and exhibits on conservation and preservation.
In its conclusion, the trust said that "community interest exists in seeing Barshinger Creek and the Property conserved. However, the site does not rate highly for conservation in local or county plans and is located within an Urban Growth Boundary. Township and County staff acknowledge the importance of conserving headwaters streams in reducing pollutants to the Chesapeake Bay." The trust then recommended that local residents should get involved to preserve the land and that a responsible owner for the property should be found.
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Currently, Catalyst Commercial, LLC has plans to buy 58 acres of the land to build a large housing development, which would include nine homes per acre − more than 340 homes. The sale is contingent upon the rezoning.
The new meeting for the rezoning proposal will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, July 6 at Dallastown Area Middle School auditorium, at 700 New School Lane, Dallastown.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Meeting on Red Lion Country Club site rezoning is this week
