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Elizabethtown Council hears proposal for cross‑municipal mixed‑use development, tables zoning text amendment
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Summary
Council heard a proposed zoning text amendment to allow a cross‑municipal mixed‑use project near Routes 283 and 743 that would include warehouses, retail, a hotel, service uses and 108 apartments in the Borough; residents raised environmental and traffic concerns and Council voted unanimously to table the amendment to a future meeting.
Elizabethtown Borough Council held a public hearing March 19 on a proposed zoning ordinance text amendment to enable a cross‑municipal mixed‑use development spanning the Borough and Mount Joy Township near Routes 283 and 743. Applicant representatives described a project including two warehouses, retail space, a hotel, a car wash, a gas station, a restaurant and apartment buildings, with 108 apartment units proposed inside the Borough.
Representatives from Catalyst Commercial Development (Andy Miller), Rettew Engineering (Kim Fasnacht) and McNees Wallace & Nurick (Claudia Shank) presented the draft amendment and said the regulatory changes were geographically focused. According to the presentation, the amendment would allow higher density, taller buildings, increased impervious surface coverage and more units per apartment building; the applicants said the changes were consistent with the Lancaster County places2040 Plan and the Borough’s Regional Comprehensive Plan.
Councilmembers pressed the applicants on requests for higher density, the risk of creating a precedent for future developments, and potential traffic impacts. Residents at the hearing raised multiple concerns: Damon Wagner‑Fields (316 N Poplar St) warned about parking and groundwater impacts; Danielle Lindemuth (558 Mt. Gretna Rd) objected to traffic and the proposed connection to Ironstone Drive; and Donna Coble (570 Cassell Rd) expressed worry about additional traffic, warehouse uses, and utility capacity.
After public comment, Vice President Jeff McCloud moved to close the hearing and President Jeff Winterborne closed the public hearing at 7:57 p.m. Councilmember Andrew Schoenberger then moved, with a second from Councilmember Matthew Rodriguez, to table the text amendment to a future meeting; Council voted unanimously to table the item. No ordinance was adopted at this meeting; action was recorded as tabled pending further deliberation and potential revisions.