DILLSBURG, Pa. — After months of back and forth, a warehouse proposal in Carroll Township, York County was withdrawn by the developers. It was a win for residents like Kellie Briones.
"It's right across the street from my house," Briones said. "It's literally not even 1000 feet where they wanted one of the entrances to be."
Kellie and her neighbors, like David Hazen, fought a conditional use application for a Logistics Center with two warehouses – taking up one hundred acres in Carroll and Franklin Townships.
“We said this is not something we want," Hazen said. "It’s not good for our community. It’s not good for our kids."
Traffic along Route 15 was a major concern for residents.
"It is very busy already," Briones said. "It's very loud."
Jessica Koontz lives on the corner lot of Greenwood Road and Route 15 on the Franklin Township side, with the major roadway right in her backyard.
"When the trucks are going by and horns are blowing, then it gets bad," she said.
She says the area just doesn’t have the capacity for increased traffic.
"It might be good for jobs but the traffic in Dillsburg is such a little town, I don't think we have the set-up for all the warehouses," Jessica said.
It’s the second time the developer, SDKM Dillsburg Land, LLC, has tried to get the green light for a warehouse along Route 15 between Golf Course and Glenwood Roads.
They submitted the latest application right before new ordinances specifically addressing logistics centers and distribution centers
"[Carroll Township] put a new ordinance into effect that would kind of restrict the size and the scope of some of those warehouses," Hazen said. "This particular application came in the Friday right before the ordinance went into effect."
While the withdrawal is good news to nearby residents, Hazen says the work is not finished.
"It’s imperative to work with the board to perhaps rezone or reserve that particular land," he said.
FOX43 reached out to the developer for comment on this story but did not receive a response.
NEW LEGISLATION
A new bill in the Pennsylvania State House could give people a louder voice on warehouse development. Representative Joe Emrick (R-Upper Nazareth) introduced the legislation that in the beginning stages.
"These high-impact warehouses and distribution centers have had a devastating impact on our region," Rep. Emrick said in a press release. "The loss of open space and farmland coupled with a lack of adequate infrastructure magnified by increased truck traffic and higher amounts of air, sound and light pollution are just some of the negative effects warehouses and distribution centers have had on our area."
It would give voters the final say over whether new high-impact warehouses and distribution centers should be approved in their communities.
This has been a big discussion across parts of central Pa. after several warehouse proposals made waves in York County. One in Manchester Township even sparked a lawsuit after a warehouse was proposed near the Prospect Hill Cemetery.