LOL I know that I will be waiting a long, long time.
LOWER PAXTON TWP.
Wal-Mart proposal remains in limbo
Thursday, September 01, 2005
BY BILL SULON
Of The Patriot-News
Wal-Mart's plan for a supercenter in Lower Paxton Twp., already in legal limbo for a year, will remain on hold for at least another couple of weeks.
Dauphin County Judge Lawrence F. Clark Jr. said he hopes to hold a conference, in mid-September at the earliest, with representatives of the world's largest retailer, the township and a citizens group opposed to efforts to build the 223,806-square foot store at Route 22 and Blue Ribbon Avenue.
Clark had planned to hold the conference last month but was unable to get all the parties together because of vacation schedule conflicts.
In August 2004, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. received conditional approval to build a store at a site occupied by Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church.
Wal-Mart would pay Holy Name $12 million for the 26 acres, and the church would put the money toward building a church, school and athletic fields on 110 acres it owns in neighboring West Hanover Twp.
Wal-Mart filed suit after Lower Paxton Twp. withdrew its conditional approval and rejected the plan after arguing the retailer failed to respond to the nine conditions within 15 days.
Wal-Mart said it disagreed with some of the conditions and that the township sent the conditional approval notice to the wrong representative.
Lower Paxton Residents for Responsible Growth, which initially opposed the supervisors' conditional approval, filed suit on behalf of the township after the approval lapsed.
Clark said he wants the parties to get together so he can determine if there is room for a settlement.
"I want to understand where they're coming from on this issue and that issue," Clark said.
Any delay is a good one, said Steven R. Snyder, the lawyer representing the citizens group. "Frankly, the longer this takes, the longer we don't have a Wal-Mart," he said.
HRG Inc. in Harrisburg, the engineering firm that represented Wal-Mart throughout the application process, did not return calls seeking comment.
Holy Name, which has met with opposition from a separate citizens group in West Hanover Twp., still plans to build facilities there, according to Monsignor E. Lawrence. "We're just waiting to see how this plays out," he said of the litigation.
He said the church has no intention of withdrawing its plans for building in West Hanover, but that it probably will have to scale back the size of the project because of the delays.
Bob Leonard, zoning officer in West Hanover Twp., said church officials recently informed him "they are in a re-analysis to reduce the cost of the project."
The Concerned Citizens of West Hanover Twp. filed an appeal of West Hanover's conditional approval of the church's plan.
That appeal also is before Judge Clark. Even if he sides with Lower Paxton Twp. and he rejects Wal-Mart's plan, the retailer can still build on the property, though the building, parking lot or both would have to be smaller, said township supervisor Bill Hornung.
In the time since Wal-Mart's plan was submitted to the township, the municipality adopted a more restrictive commercial zoning ordinance that reduces the amount of space allotted for a building and parking lot to 65 percent of the total property, from 75 percent.
And, for now, opponents can't argue that the plan should be rejected if it results in increased traffic.
Snyder's citizens group has argued that the plan should have been rejected from the start because the store would increase traffic along Route 22 and nearby side roads.
"Traffic is a moot issue at this point," Hornung said. "There's nothing we can do but wait this out."