Residents press Springettsbury supervisors to curb unpermitted greenhouse events over traffic and safety concerns

Residents told the Springettsbury Township Board of Supervisors on the public-comment portion of the meeting that recurring festivals at a nearby greenhouse have created significant traffic backups, safety hazards and neighborhood nuisance.

"They paid $500 and then just continued having the festivals like nothing happened," Sabra Madsen, who gave her address as 3409 Dininger Road, told the board, referring to an earlier civil proceeding in 2025 that resulted in a $500 fine. Madsen said the property has no permit or zoning to hold large events, that parking spills onto road shoulders and blocks traffic, and that event trash and lack of toilets leave residents cleaning up the roadway.

Deb Hicks, 2221 Tall Oaks Lane, said the greenhouse “is not a greenhouse anymore” and described people attempting dangerous turns onto Mount Zion Road during events. "This property was never meant to hold large events," Hicks said, urging the township and the owners to seek larger venues or mitigate crowding.

Bethany Wolinski, 2241 Tall Oaks Lane, said she observed crowding inside the greenhouse during a recent event and was alarmed by what she described as potential fire-code and emergency-egress issues: "There were people stuck in the back of the greenhouse that couldn't leave because of the inflow of traffic." Christie Butler later said the owner had directed traffic, verbally assaulted her and videotaped her license plate.

Board members said they are aware of the complaints and that the solicitor is pursuing available remedies. "Our solicitor is following through with all of the remedies that we have available to us, and they will escalate," the chair said. Police advised residents that only certain authorized personnel may direct traffic on roadways and urged callers to report incidents; the chief said officers would remove anyone directing traffic and would investigate harassment allegations.

Residents asked whether the township could take quicker action; one attendee suggested an executive session with legal counsel. Supervisors said scheduling an executive session prior to a meeting in March to review legal options would be considered and that staff and the solicitor are pursuing district-justice action and related remedies. The board asked residents to continue to call police to document incidents.

The record contains an inconsistency in the business name as transcribed: speakers most often referred to the site as a greenhouse (commonly called "Hooters" in the record) while one speaker used a different rendering. The board and residents described the site as a privately owned greenhouse/venue; no confirmed corporate or legal business name was provided on the record.

Next steps: the solicitor is continuing legal action and supervisors discussed holding an executive session to evaluate additional remedies and enforcement options. The police encouraged residents to report any further incidents so they can be investigated.