° Good ag zoning requires plenty of planning
By DIETER KRIEG
LANCASTER “If you’re
going to live in an
agricultural district, you’re
going to have to put up with
the smell,” is one of the ways
John Keretzman describes
the zoning ordinance which
he enforces in Salisbury
Township, Lancaster
County. He notes that the
measures were set up to
protect the farmland and its
inhabitants and anyone
attempting to come into the
area with developments
would be “hard pressed to do
so.” Keretzman was one of
several people who recently
took part in a forum at the
Lancaster Farm and Home
Center to share and discuss
agricultural zoning
%-ocedures and ideas.
one of the con
tributors of ideas was John
Heisey, a Mount Joy
Township agnbusmessman
who charged that money is
the reason a natural
resource like land is
destroyed. Lancaster County
is losing 5000 acres of
agricultural land annually.
According to Lancaster
County Agricultural Agent
Jay Irwin, the people: acre
ratio used to be 1:1 in
Lancaster County, but is now
favoring the population side.
Mount Joy Township has
devised a method by which
the population can be
somewhat more contained,
Heisey told the group. The
procedure is to limit the
number of building lots a
farmer can sell off of his
farm. An example, one lot
may be sold from 25 acres of
owned farmland. As
acreages increase, however.
John Keretzman
Salisbury Township
Lancaster County
the number of lots do not
increase in the same
proportion. Instead, they lag
behind.
Keretzman, the zoning
officer in Lancaster
County’s second largest
township, told the gathering
that the number one goal of
the Salisbury Township
Planning Commission was to
utilize prime soils for food
production and protect the
lifestyles of its inhabitants.
Salisbury Township is
essentially an agricultural
area. Forty-one per cent of
its farmland is comprised of
Class I and II soils and of a
limestone base, which,
according to Keretzman,
isn’t suited for building
because of problems with
sinkholes, and groundwater
pollution. Such conclusions
gave planners a head start in
constructing a strong
agricultural zoning concept.
Keretzman continued that
the zoning plan in Salisbury
Township calls for 66 per
cent of the township’s Class I
and II soils to be used for
agriculture. The remaining
third may be used for rural
development.
“There was little op
position to the plans when
they were presented,”
Keretzman noted, holding up
carefully drawn and color
coded maps which showed
the township’s soil locations,
watershed, and other facts
pertinent to land-use
planning. While there was
little opposition to plans,
there was some when it
came to the actual zoning,
Lancaster County’s only
zoning officer continued.”
“The Amish people and
fanners in general don't like
zoning,” Keretzman ex
plained.
Nonetheless, the preser
vation of agricultural far
mland is a ligitimate goal,
Keretzman declared. To be
of value, agricultural zoning
should work hand in hand
with watershed and flood
plain management. Also,
according to the Penn
sylvania Planning Code, a
township must provide room
for all types of zoning -
residential, industrial,
agricultural, commercial,
etc.
In Mount Joy Township, a
farmer wanting to build a
bam must have at least a
300-foot set-back from other
existing dwellings which
aren’t a part of his farm. On
open land, the building may
be as little as 50 feet from
neighboring properties, said
Heisey. It was pointed out,
however, that in any case,
the fanner should show
consideration for both his
farm and non-farm neigh
bors.
Zoning, no matter how it’s
implemented, will have an
effect on the value of the
land, said David Schreffler,
another one of the resource
people who took part in
Extension Service sponsored
forum. Also, special
variances are required if a
farmer decides to convert a
tobacco shed into a church
or apartment dwelling.
According to Lancaster
County Agricultural Agent
Jay Irwin, who moderated
the meeting, agriculture is
America's fastest growing
despite the continual
disappearance of some of the
nation’s best farmland,
Lancaster County’s land is
considered to be among the
best in the world. Pointing
%
I
•V
,
out that the average
American farmer feeds 63
people besides himself,
compared with the com
munist system in the Soviet
Union needing one farmer to
feed five others, Irwin asked
for programs which will
protect farming interests
Lancaster County especially
York Co.
HARRISBURG - The York
County 4-H “A” team won
first place in team awards
total judging at the first
annual Keystone Junior
Livestock and Meats
Judging Contest held in
conjunction with the 22nd
Keystone International
Livestock Exposition at the
Farm Show complex in
Harrisburg.
The York County 4-H “A”
team scored a total of 1656
points and won $lOO, as well
as outscored York County’s
4-H “B” team which took
third place with $BO and 1543
points. Taking second place
and $9O was the Newcastle,
Del., 4-H team with 1545
points. Cumberland
County’s 4-H team took sixth
place with 1482 points.
The Avella FFA team
from Washington County
took eighth place; the
Lehigh County 4-H team took
ninth place; and the Penns
Valey FFA from Centre
County took tenth place.
Winners of the Keystone
Junior Stockman of the Year
Award was Harris Wright,
Abbottstown Rl, who
received a $5OO savings bond
and a trophy. Lisa Dobrosky
of Glenn Rock R 2, took
second place and won a $250
savings bond and a trophy.
Third place winner was
Brenda Wemer of Hanover
R 2, who c received a $lOO
savings bond and a trophy.
The ten highest placing
contestants in overall in
dividual scores were eligible
for the Junior Stockman’s
award and were scored on
their showmanship ability in
beef, sheep and swine
classes.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 11,1978
John Heisey
Mt Joy Township
Lancaster County
due to it’s leading position on
the American farming
scene. The County is first in
agricultural production
among non-irrigated
counties m the United States.
According to Robin Ream,
who is the Extension Ser
vice’s land use agent in
Lancaster County, the
team wins judging
Harris Wright was first in
individual scoring with 567
points and won $5O, followed
by Ray Holtry of Cum
berland County with 588 and
$45. Brenda Werner won $4O
for third place with 557
points, and Lisa Dobrosky
was fourth with 555 points
and won $35.
The highest individual
scores for judging retail cuts
of meat were Lisa Dobrosky
and Christine Sunday, both
of York County, and each
scoring 198, Steve Trossle
with 192 points and Brenda
Walter with 185 points, each
from York County, and
Paula Deitch of the Cum-
for Christmas cheer
BALTIMORE, Md. -
First, take a young person in
military service, probably
away from home during the
Christmas season for the
first time; mix with some
mail. Then add an idea con
ceived by concerned
Americans, and you have a
continuing campaign called
“Military Overseas Mail (or
M.0.M., as sometimes
known) - to serve our
military personnel not only
overseas, but Stateside as
well.
In the previous Christmas
programs, thousands of
pieces of mail, primarily
Christmas cards with friend
ly letters and notes written
inside, have been collected
from the public. This mail in
turn has been distributed all
across the U.S. and around
the world, to let our young
1 preservation of Lancaster
County farmland is a
complex issue. Actions
would include political,
planning, and socio
economic processes and
studies. Also of importance
are the land’s aesthetic
values - the pleasures one
derives from driving
through beautiful farmland
or purchasing fresh products
at a roadside market, for
' example.
“What we have must be
preserved,” says Bob
Behling of the Lancaster
County Planning Com
mission. Lancaster County
currently has 65 per cent of
its land in farming. The
Lancaster County Planning
Commission projects that
that will dwindle down to 44.5
per cent by the year 2000.
The Commission has land
use and road plans to guide
rural development.
While land-use plans are
definitely being considered
on the county level, much of
the real control is on the
township level, says Behling.
Lancaster County has 41
townships with all but one -
East Dnimore Township -
having zoning ordinances.
East Drumore, however, is
planning for such or
dinances.
Agricultural zoning is not
a no-growth policy, Behling
emphasized.
Also, according to Behling,
the ownership of land does
not give a farmer the right to
sell it as a high profit, he
concluded.
- /
■ u -
t
A sure-fire recipe
, military people know that we
as Americans, both as in
dividuals and as the
American public at large,
DO care about them. (If you
have a friend or relative in
military service, who would
appreciate some extra mail
at Christmas, send in the
name and address, and
M.O.M. will see that some
mail is sent to them.)
This is an ideal Christmas
project for individuals and
families as well as members
of groups (student and
church groups, etc.). For in
formation on how you or
your group may participate
in this very worthwhile
event, please send a
stamped, self-addressed
envelope to: MILITARY
OVERSEAS MAIL, Box
1797, Baltimore, Maryland
21203. Also, please mention
how you learned of M.O.M.
berland County FFA with 182
points.
The contest, a new youth
activity at the Livestock
Expo, was open to all 4-H
and FFA members and was
established by the Penn
sylvania Livestock
Association as an
educational activity.
The Keystone Junior
Livestock and Meats
Judging Contest was
sponsored by the Penn
sylvania Livestock
Association in cooperation
with the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture
and the Pennsylvania Farm
Show Commission.
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