>>West Hanover Community Says New Ordinance Threatens Rural Land
(Harrisburg, PA) -- The township of West Hanover wants to update a decades-old zoning ordinance, but people in the community have started to push back. Currently, only 40-percent of the designated Rural Agricultural Area can be used for development. But, under the new ordinance, developers will be able to divide entire farms into five-acre lots without any land preservation restrictions. Neighbors expressed frustration at Thursday's meeting, saying the decision goes against West Hanover's Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in 2015, and lists "conserving the township's rural areas for future generations" as objective number-one. The township decided to approve the ordinance after hearing public comment -- those opposed say they won't give up on opposing the new development.