FAQ

Preserve Hershey - Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ page). Below, we have tried to answer the most common questions visitors to this our Web site may have. 

  1. How can I express my opinion about School Board actions?
    Attend the meetings or review the minutes.  See:
    http://www.boarddocs.com/pa/dtsdpa/Board.nsf/Public?OpenFrameSet

     
  2. Do you have a web log where I can discuss these issues with other Township residents?

    Web Log: Please participate in the Derry Township web log and "voice" your opinion.

    Preserve Hershey Web Blog at http://www.seedwiki.com/
     

  3. How can I contact the newspapers to write a letter to the editor?

    The Sun-News <news@thesunontheweb.com> serving Hershey and Hummelstown or http://thesunontheweb.com/

    (The Hershey Chronicle is no longer in publication.)

Patriot-News:   letters@patriot-news.com  or  http://www.patriot-news.com/  

 

 

 

 

Past issues and actions that were effective:

  1. Where can I find information about the Township of Derry including information to contact the Township Supervisors?

    See the Township of Derry web site at http://www.derrytownship.org/

    Meeting location, dates and times here.

    Email:   manager@derrytownship.org (Attn: Township Supervisors)

    (you can cc us on your email by sending a copy to:

    preservehershey(no spam)@yahoo.com)

  2. What more can I do?

    See the Issues page for ideas

  3. What is “sprawl”? 

    Sprawl is the constant expansion of development into open lands.  

    It is the transformation of a community that has a balance of land uses (agricultural, residential, industrial, commercial, forested) to one that becomes dominated by development.  

    Such communities—and we all know some of them—appear to be endless strings of strip malls, mini-marts, neighborhoods, and office plazas.  That is not what Hershey is, and it is not what we want it to become. 

    “Suburban sprawl is Pennsylvania’s most pressing environmental problem.” 

             - Report by Pennsylvania’s 21st Century Environment Commission (1998) (noted

             in Harrisburg Patriot News, July 7, 2002)

     

  4. Why is sprawl bad? 

    “Sprawl wastes open land, damages habitat and … strains public funds to build the roads and sewers and schools that must spread to serve a spreading population.”

    - Report by Pennsylvania’s 21st Century Environment Commission (1998) (noted

             in Harrisburg Patriot News, July 7, 2002)

     

  5. What does it mean that land is zoned for agriculture or conservation? 

    Agriculture/conservation is one zoning category or classification.  Land zoned this way is often referred to as open space or green space.  It is the land in a community that is set aside for either no development or very low-density development. 

    Development is not prohibited on agricultural/conservation land.  This is important to understand.  A landowner may construct homes on such land.  In Derry Township, one home may be built for every 5 acres of agricultural/conservation land.

    So, keeping such land zoned for agriculture/conservation does not force the landowner to keep the space as a forest or field.  It would, however, prohibit the construction of a dense housing development.  This is proper because such a development would fundamentally change the character of the land, whereas a sparse development (one home per 5 acres) would maintain the open character of the land.

     

  6. How does rezoning worsen sprawl? 

    The rezoning of agricultural/conservation land worsens sprawl because it allows land that is dedicated to low-density development to be used for higher density development.  Therefore, more building occurs than would be allowed under current zoning laws.  By refusing to rezone agricultural/conservation land, a community protects itself from overdevelopment and sprawl. 

     

  7. Who makes the decisions to rezone agricultural/conservation land or keep the zoning as it is? 

    Here in Derry Township, the responsibility to make these land use decisions belongs to our Township Supervisors.  It is important to remember that no landowner is entitled to have land rezoned.  Like any other law, a zoning law (called an ordinance) is a law of general applicability—that is, it applies to everyone.  In order to have the law changed, the landowner should be required to show that the benefits of rezoning the land far outweigh the harms it will cause.  (In the past case of the Nye-Hart properties, there were many harmful effects that would be caused by rezoning.  Click here for a list of some of them.)

     

  8. What can residents do to prevent agricultural/conservation land from being rezoned? 

    A rezoning petition (and an accompanying petition to amend the Comprehensive Plan) is presented to the Township Supervisors.  The consideration of these petitions is a public matter, so the Supervisors hold public hearings before voting on them.  [In the case of the Nye-Hart properties, the hearings on these two petitions will be held on April 22 (6:00 p.m.) and April 28 (5:30 p.m.) at the Township Building.]  

    That is why Concerned Citizens is urging residents to (1) write to the Supervisors and urge them to oppose the rezoning of agricultural/conservation land (for example the past issues to reject the petition to rezone the Nye and Hart properties); and (2) attend the public hearings and voice your opposition to these rezoning petitions.

     

  9. Public action can inform our leaders that we do not want land to be rezoned, but how can we actually protect our open and green spaces? 

    Protecting the integrity of our zoning laws and our Comprehensive Plan is the first step in preserving the balance between development and natural land.  The next step is land preservation.  To do this, governments, nonprofit organizations, and private individuals need to work cooperatively. 

    Land must be acquired through a purchase or preserved by acquiring the development rights (called an easement) that prevents development on the land.  In either case, the landowner must be compensated for their land.  This can be done with private funds, public monies, or a combination of the two. 

    You can help to protect our open spaces in at least two ways: 

    (1) writing to our Supervisors and telling them that you believe public funds should be used to protect our open spaces; and

    (2) supporting the efforts of the Derry Township Land Trust—a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to acquire and protect open spaces in Derry Township.

     

 

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