Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Agriculture topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves adding 3213 Hillegass Road to Agricultural Security Area over neighbor objections
Summary
Upper Hanover supervisors voted 3-1 to add 3213 Hillegass Road (18.3373 acres) to the township Agricultural Security Area after a public hearing with neighbors citing loose livestock and runoff concerns; Solicitor Bresnan clarified ASA protections do not bar private lawsuits.
The Upper Hanover Township Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 on Jan. 14 to adopt Resolution No. 2025-10 to add 3213 Hillegass Road in Pennsburg to the township's Agricultural Security Area (ASA).
At a reopened public hearing, applicant Robert Alburger described his farm operations as including "3 cows, 100 fruit trees, 4 goats and honey bees." Nearby residents raised objections. Jude McKenna of 3180 Fennel Road said he feared the ASA would shield farming practices from township enforcement and recounted an earlier episode of a loose cow that caused property damage. Other neighbors from the Maginnis properties also said they worried inclusion would limit their rights.
Township Solicitor Joseph Bresnan told the board the ASA status provides protections from township nuisance enforcement for recognized farming activities but does not preclude private legal action by neighbors. He also said ASA provisions are not the same as "grandfathering" in zoning law. After a brief recess while the solicitor checked the zoning language, the board resumed and voted on the resolution.
Supervisor Dottie Diehl moved to adopt the resolution; Ben Fiorito seconded. The motion carried 3-1, with Supervisor Stefan Laessig voting nay. The minutes record that Alburger said the cow that previously got loose no longer resides on the farm and that he will look into more permanent fencing, noting his current reliance on electric rotational pasture fencing.
Why it matters: Adding land to an ASA can change how the township enforces certain local nuisance complaints related to standard farming practices. Neighbors said their concerns include past livestock incidents and runoff; the solicitor's clarification that private lawsuits remain a remedy was central to the discussion.
What's next: The resolution was adopted at the meeting. No additional permitting or zoning approvals for the farm were recorded at the meeting, and the board did not record further conditions beyond the procedural adoption.
