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East Manchester pauses roadside-stand permit fee; adopts rest of 2025 fee schedule
Summary
After staff and Planning Commission debate over permitting small roadside stands, the East Manchester Board adopted most of the 2025 fee schedule on Jan. 6 but removed roadside-stand permitting for later consideration with zoning ordinance revisions and York County review.
East Manchester Township supervisors adopted the township’s 2025 fee schedule on Jan. 6 but removed a proposed roadside-stand permit fee for separate consideration while the township finishes zoning ordinance revisions and awaits York County review.
Township manager Christie Memmer told the board that changes to the fee schedule followed conversations with Columbia Gas about inspection rules and that the surface-opening fee structure would move from smaller increments to 100-foot increments (or fraction thereof). She outlined inspection charges, citing examples: $100 for openings in pavement and $50 for openings in shoulders or sidewalks. Those amounts, she said, are based on prevailing public-works wages and the estimated hours required for inspection.
The most contested item was a roadside-stand permit. Planning Commission members had pushed to eliminate a permitting requirement for small stands, arguing the stands are low-volume and community-oriented. Staff and some supervisors disagreed, saying permits would allow the township to identify locations, ensure public-safety compliance and prevent nuisance behavior. "Staff wants a permit so that they can track the roadside stands; it's not about making the money," Christie Memmer said during the discussion.
Board members noted practical conflicts: adopting the fee schedule with the roadside-stand permit in place might force an immediate ordinance change later. After discussion, the board voted to adopt the fee schedule with the roadside-stand permit removed and asked staff to return with a corrected fee document and ordinance language after receiving Planning Commission comments and county review.
Why it matters: Removing the permit fee for now preserves flexibility while zoning changes are finalized; the decision affects residents and small sellers who use roadside stands and establishes a process for the township to address safety, nuisance and equity concerns in a forthcoming ordinance.
Next steps: Staff will revise the fee schedule document, coordinate with the Planning Commission and York County review, and bring a recommendation back to the board for action on roadside-stand permitting and any related ordinance language.
