An outside developer has 'poked the bear' in Franklin County

Franklin County is a place that is much like other locations in rural America, with its bucolic surroundings and simple lifestyle of most of its decent, peaceful and hard-working citizens.

People here don’t get too excited about much, but when they do, it’s a sight to behold. You can get away with a lot here, as long as you don’t mess with our kids, our guns or our homes, but I suppose there are still people out there who haven’t gotten that message.

Recently, someone crossed over the line and shook many of our citizens out of their slumber. A developer from outside of Franklin County is seeking to plop the equivalent of a small town of about 1,700 people in one and two bedroom apartments squarely between two established low-density single family home communities in Greene Township, east of Chambersburg.

The land on which the developer proposes to build this monstrosity of 33 apartment buildings containing 676 apartments is zoned as Low Density Residential and is a 70 acre farm between Guilford Hills and Greene Valley Estates, which both conform to the low-density residential zoning rules.

The developer is asking Greene Township for a conditional use permit to build the high-density community in a totally inappropriate place. Needless to say, Greene and Guilford township homeowners are livid about this proposal, and are well along in the process of putting together a working group to oppose it.

Background:Guilford Hills residents upset about a big apartment complex proposed in Franklin County

The negative impacts of this type of uncontrolled development are legion and include a massive increase in traffic, the overwhelming of both water and sewer services, environmental impacts, and safety and crime issues, and have served to arouse the sleeping giant of otherwise peaceful and quiet citizens who are now chomping at the bit to put their time, efforts and money into fighting for their homes.

The term “poking the bear” comes to mind. I don’t know about you, but if I found a sleeping bear, the last thing I would do is to mess with it.

People fighting for their homes in Franklin County is nothing new. The forebears of today’s Franklin Countians waged a similar battle, in many respects, 258 years ago, when a settler named James Smith led a group of his neighbors in shutting off illicit trade in weapons and rum between Philadelphia merchants and hostile American Indians.

Smith’s men burned numerous wagonloads of contraband material, but saving the rum, thus running afoul of the merchants and the British troops quartered at nearby Fort Loudon. During subsequent confrontations, several of Smith’s men were arrested and their firearms confiscated, leading eventually to Smith’s men surrounding Fort Loudon and forcing the British troops to surrender their firearms and withdraw to Fort Bedford.

From the archives:Fort Loudoun under construction to become 'prime tourist attraction'

What became of the rum is lost to history, but it’s important to realize that Smith and his Franklin County neighbors did what they did to get their firearms back, but most of all, to secure their homes against the threats posed by those who sought only profit from illicit trade and the negative impacts of that trade.

Now, don’t expect the good residents of Guilford and Greene townships to resort to the tactics used by James Smith, because now we have a system in place to deal with threats to our homes. In a republic such as ours, we act through our elected officials, in this case, the Greene Township Board of Supervisors.

The “Community Against 676” group (check Facebook, though the group is private) is made up of responsible and talented people. Their first meeting resulted in a packed house filled with a bipartisan group of citizens determined to defeat this insidious proposal, no matter how long it takes. One only need look back at the Transource power line project's defeat to see what engaged citizens can accomplish.

Background on power lines:Pennsylvania court issues opinion and order on plans for Transource power lines

If you don’t live in Greene or Guilford townships, don’t blow this off as someone else’s problem, because you could be next. The feds, specifically the Department of Housing and Urban Development, are moving ahead with a 2015 Obama-era order that could break up the suburbs by integrating low-income housing developments within them — in the name of “equity.”

Under the new Jan. 19 proposed rule change, with details found at www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_23_013, the federal government could effectively pressure local governments to achieve centrally planned housing equity goals.

Don’t get complacent. We all need to be involved in this fight. This is just the beginning, and your community could be next.

Dwight Weidman is a resident of Greene Township and is a graduate of Shepherd University. He is retired from the United States Department of Defense, where his career included assignments In Europe, Asia, and Central America. He has been in leadership roles for the Republican Party in two states, most recently serving two terms as Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. Involved in web publishing since 1996, he is the publisher of The Franklin County Journal. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1988, getting his first license in Germany, and is a past volunteer with both Navy and Army MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio Service, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: An outside developer has 'poked the bear' in Franklin County