Council denies zoning change sought for medical marijuana dispensary
Members say issue is parking
Peters Township Council has decided that a zoning ordinance variance request from a medical marijuana dispensary is not warranted.
Council members, in a meeting last week, unanimously rejected the request, citing inadequate parking at the proposed dispensary, Organic Remedies Inc. of Carlisle, as the main concern.
Organic Remedies has proposed a location in a plaza at the intersection of East McMurray and Washington roads, which township planning director Ed Zuk called one of the busiest intersections in the township.
“My concern with this is nothing to do with the use, because it’s provided for by the state of Pennsylvania,” said township manager Paul Lauer. “What concerns me is that when you start to count the number of people in the building, you overwhelm the parking that’s available.”
Mr. Lauer said the building plans call for 18 chairs in the waiting area as well as six point-of-sale locations.
The application for the variance to the Peters Township Zoning Hearing Board, made by Eric Hauser of Organic Remedies, states the dispensary would be located at 110 W. McMurray Road in the spaces previously occupied by Rudy’s Subs and Valley
Brook Beer Distributor and has a footprint of 4,150 square feet.
The township’s zoning ordinance states clinics dispensing medical marijuana shall be a maximum of 3,000 gross square feet.
Mr. Hauser wrote in the application that the space limitation is specific to Peters and not a requirement of the state.
He stated the ordinance creates an unnecessary hardship for the facility because more space is needed due to social distancing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Peters Township Council also took one step further toward making an aquatic center at Rolling Hills Park off East McMurray Road a reality as it approved authorizing Mr. Lauer to seek bids for the proposed project.
The aquatic center, estimated to cost between $10.2 million and $11.3 million, has not yet been approved by council and has received pushback from some members.
The motion to seek bids passed 6- 1 with council member Gary Stiegel Jr. voting “no.” David Ball, Frank Kosir Jr., Monica Merrell, Robert Lewis, Frank Arcuri and James Berquist voted in favor of the motion.
Mr. Arcuri and Ms. Merrell voted in favor of seeking bids but have opposed the project.
“I just can’t support building this monstrosity, given every factor that I can think of, especially the price,” Mr. Arcuri said, adding he was not against getting bids but said, “Down the road, I can’t support spending that kind of money for all of that.”
In another aquatic center-related matter, council approved a $691,529 change order with its contractor, A. Liberoni Inc. of Plum, which is constructing Rolling Hills Park.
The change order is for earth moving related to building pads for the aquatic center and its parking lot. Mr. Lauer said it made sense to have the work done now so that the pool could possibly be open by Memorial Day 2022.
Mr. Lauer said if council decides not to move forward with the aquatic center, the large flat pad could be used for a parking lot or pickleball courts.
A new Peters Township Fire Department substation is in the works as council at an April 12 meeting approved a $250,000 contract with EPM Architecture of Bradford Woods for the design.
The substation is proposed to be built at 435 Bebout Road, a parcel owned by the township, and will service the southeastern portion of the township, which has seen a growth in population over the past several years.
Currently the fire department is served by two fire stations — Station No. 1, located on East McMurray Road, and a substation at the intersection of Bebout and Sugar Camp roads.
The Peters Township Fire Department has a complement of both paid and volunteer firefighters.
Mr. Lauer said that based upon today’s compensation rates for career firefighters, it could cost between $ 760,000 and $794,000 to fully staff the station.
He said there are opportunities for federal grants to help offset the cost of staffing the station.
Fire Chief Michael McLaughlin said the department has been successful in the past with applying for and being awarded Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“You’re talking about seven additional firefighters to be able to do this, and that is not an inconsequential cost,” Mr. Lauer said.
Mr. Lauer said the goal is to also have two career firefighters staff the new substation 24/7. Down the line, with the 24/7 staffing, Mr. Lauer said, the township could be looking at increasing the amount of money it spends on fire protection by about $950,000 per year, which he said could equate to about a 0.3 of a mill tax increase.
“I just can’t support building this monstrosity, given every factor that I can think of, especially the price.” Frank Arcuri on a proposed aquatic center