Officials Assume Farmers Want Property For Houses
Editor’s Note: This is part two
in a two-part series about how
local government decisions have
affected farmers. The first arti
cle reported on how a Dauphin
County dairyman had to resort
to the courts to correct county
officials error in recalculating
tax assessment values for prop
erties included in the preferen
tial tax Clean and Green
program.
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
CORNWALL (Lebanon
Co.) No one from the county
govcmtncm and no one from the
borough hall, a mile away, had
telephoned or stopped to talk with
Glen and Linda Krall about the
possibility of rezoning their dairy
farm for building houses.
But government officials set out
to do just that: rezone a small dairy
farm for residential development
without telling the landowners.
It’s called a snafu.
The Kralls are a young couple,
in their 30s, who, several years
ago, bought a 112-acre dairy farm
in southern Lebanon County with
the intention of producing and sell
ing milk.
Dairying in Lebanon County is a
well supported industry and the
county rolling herd average has
been the highest in the state for the
past four years.
There are several markets avail
able for selling milk, and crops do
well in the deep-soiled, limestone
rich, valley.
The county extension office, the
USDA support offices and the con
servation district office are all
located about a mile away from the
Krall farm.
Equipment dealers are nearby.
Markets are strong.
However, late last fall, about the
time the Krall’s children were pre
paring their swine and cattle for
4-H showing, the couple read in
the local newspaper that their farm
was to be rezoned from agriculture
to medium density residential.
As it was, the Kralls acted in
time to attend a mid-December
public hearing and object to their
farm being rezoned to residential.
Had they not seen the newspap
er article, Glen and Linda may
have faced being shut down for
building projects and had their real
estate taxes skyrocket.
While no public official took
credit for proposing a zoning
change for the Krall farm, officials
told the Kralls that “someone said”
the couple intended to sell the farm
for building houses.
Rumors based on speculation,
and also the fact that zoning offic
ers are charged with planning
wisely for growth, resulted in the
farm being proposed as a very suit
able area to zone for residential
development.
In the Kralls’ case, the farm is
cursed with being ideal for resi
dential development.
In fact, according to M. Lee
Meyer, Lebanon County planning
officer, the Krall farm was consid
ered for residential zoning because
the borough has committed itself
to installing public water and sew
age lines for residential and com
mercial use and the main service
lines cut right through the farm.
In Lebanon County, the county
planning office serves as the plan
ning and zoning development and
enforcement agency for munici
palities, if the municipalities are
willing to allow the county people
to function in that role.
Several municipalities, includ
ing Cornwall Borough, have done
so, mainly because the issuing of
permits, the followup and the
enforcement of building permits
and zoning allowances requires
almost fulltime attention
especially in areas where real
estate development speculators
actively try to get projects
approved.
Some other factors played a role
in the attempted rezoning of the
Krall farm: The county and the
borough had been working for
years to develop a long-term plan
for the growth of population, busi
ness, transportation, etc.
Called the interim plan of 1987,
the Cornwall Borough revised
zoning was to comply with the
long-term plans of the county.
Cornwall is seen by planners as a
bedroom community.
Also, the state laws covering
planning and zoning for land activ
ities do not take into account any
kind of threshold limits for land
use.
In other words, the laws tell
municipalities to set aside tracts of
land and label them for a certain
use even if no one in the communi
ty ever desires to use land that way.
Aggravating the situation is that
state agencies charged with diffe
rent responsibilities not only do
not cooperate, they frequently seek
opposite ends.
In Cornwall Borough, the resi
dents were told that they needed to
go along with a public sewage pro
ject because DER said it was
needed; and a public water line
extension to the city of Lebanon
was agreed to because borough
officials said that DER directed the
borough to have the water from its
small reservoir and well system
treated through an expensive and
costly-to-maintain filtration and
treatment plant
For both costly infrastructure
projects, environmental and health
reasons were given as justification
for taking on the large debt and
raising the cost of living in the
community.
When it finally comes down to
reaping a reward for spending all
the money for both projects, the
benefactors are not easy to
pinpoint.
What the projects do to the area
is make it attractive for real estate
development, especially the Krall
farm.
Bui whal the Kralls now know is
that there arc probably real estate
deal-makers eye-balling their
farm, speculating on when it might
come up for sale.
In fact, by the actions of some of
the borough officials, the Kralls
aren’t sure where the affection of
local government lies.
The ordeal for the Kralls isn’t
over. While borough officials
rescinded the effort to have the
farm rezoned, it has not been very
communicative or necessarily
understanding in its zest to get the
the water and sewer lines crossing
the Kralls’ property.
Glen and Linda were forced to
hire an attorney after the first sew
er line went through their property,
paralleling a stream.
Not only did the project destroy
much of the stream bank and
reduce the meanders and the possi
bility of planting strong-rooted
shrubbery to stabilize the stream,
but the contractor had left a mess
and had to be called back.
Next, when the borough wanted
toputa water line along Tice Lane,
they had planned to put it parallel
to the roadway, but about IS to 20
feet out in crop fields.
The small farm can’t take much
more loss of cropland. The Kralls
milk 8S cows and rent additional
land, but in order to maintain an
From the top of the hill behind the 112-acre Lebanon County farm of Glen and Linda
Krall, residential development sits ominously on the edge of their land, having already
taken over neighboring farm fields. County and borough officials are planning for
more residential development and without asking, almost rezoned the farm to resi
dential. In the meantime, the borough has Installed a sewage line which parallels the
stream, and a water line which parallels the road. Another sewage lines Is planned to
run right up through the crop fields. The Kralls want to farm.
income and also balance the land
with the number of livestock, they
need to retain the usability of the
farm’s crop fields.
With the water line, borough
officials insisted they had a 50-foot
right of way. They also told Glen
he had to hook up to the water line
and pay the fees.
Glen argued about the damage
to his fields it would cause. He also
told them he didn’t want or need
public water on his farm.
The Kralls’ attorney helped. He
discovered the borough only had
33-feet of right of way. And he dis
covered that the borough couldn’t
force the public water onto a farm.
Taking a quick break, while
milking cows Friday morning,
Glen and Linda talked about the
large financial investments they
already put into the farm and how
much more money it has cost them
to try to keep it from being ripped
up and turned into a playground for
U.S. Delegation Sees Dairy Markets In Russia
UTICA, N.Y.—The U.S. dairy
leaders who came to Moscow with
humanitarian aid said recently that
there may be opportunities for
U.S. dairy cooperatives to export
specialty cheeses and other spe
cialty dairy products to Russia.
“There’s a definite and immedi
ate possibility to do business with
these people by one or more mem
ber cooperatives of National Milk
Producers Federation,” delegation
leader Michael Donovan said after
spending a morning last week
with officials of Quality Products
International, an American and
Russian partnership venture.
Quality Products, with U.S.
headquarters in Little Rock, Ark.,
has operations in Moscow, Kiev
and St Petersburg. Donovan said
they met with sales manager Dale
Collins, marketing coordinator
Kellie Carney and company attor
ney Gregory Padgham.
Steve Eure, a staff member
from National Milk’s Arlington,
Va. office, said, ‘This is a natural
for member cooperatives who
manufacture specialty cheeses and
other specialty products.” He said
specialty dairy products typically
have a longer shelf life.
“The trip would be worth it
alone just for this opportunity.”
added delegation member Joseph
Shine, assistant general manager
of Maryland and Virginia Milk
Producers headquartered in
“developers.”
The Kralls had rennovated an
old bank bam to accomodate their
8S Holstein milking cows, put up
new silos, installed an expensive,
circular manure pit, fencing, have
planned a heifer facility and have
other projects under consideration.
But that’s all based on the
assumption that their 100-acre
dairy farm will be able to remain in
agriculture.
While the rezoning attempt was
a slap in the face to the Kralls, they
hoped to be left alone to farm to the
best of their ability. -
‘‘lt’s not over yet,” Glen said.
“Didn’t you hear about Phase II?
They want to put another sewage
line right up through the fields to
get to six or seven houses.”
Glen said it would be about
4,800 feet of land taken, and he’d
have to plow around the manholes
jutting up out of the ground.
Putting another sewage line
Reston, Va. Shine said Quality
Products International “deals in
specialty and quality products
catering to western style markets
and western hotels and
restaurants.”
The seven-member dairy dele
gation arrived in Moscow on
Monday with hopes of exploring
ways to boost sales of U.S. dairy
products, said Donovan, who
heads Eastern Milk Producers
Cooperative in Syracuse, N.Y.
The food distribution was
expected to be handled by the
Russian Journalists Charity
Foundation, over the weekend.
The mission to Moscow was coor
dinated by the Washington and
Moscow offices of the Center for
Democracy.
Also in the delegation are Mar
vin Schlitzcr, board vice presi
dent, Swiss Valley Farms,
Dubuque, Iowa; Robert Dever,
assistant general manager, Atlan
tic Dairy Cooperative, Southamp
ton, Pa.; Leon Berthiaume, gener
al manager, St Albans Coopera
tive Creamery, St. Albans. Vt.
and Anthony Schlesier, coopera
tive relations manager. Eastern
Milk Producers, Syracuse.
The current mission is being
sponsored by the Center for
Democracy, National Milk, the
Council of Northeast Farmer
Cooperatives, and the following
through those Helds would destroy
all of Glen’s work upgrading the
Helds. He spent years to upgrade
them and has practiced all the lat
est and best management
practices.
He said he doesn’t know how it
is all going to work out. and while
the battle isn’t over, he’s not going
to let it get to him.
“I only get disgusted when I
look out and see several trucks
driving around my Helds and a
backhoe out there.” he said. Last ’
year a crew showed up, without
previous notice, tp check the prop
osed sewage line site in case there '
is anything of archeological
importance buried in the Helds.
“You should see what they did .
to my rye. There’s spots 30- to
40-fect around where- there’s
nothing growing. I should charge
them for crop damage,” he said.
“It’s not over yet with the
borough.”
dairy cooperatives who donated
products or money to buy pro
ducts to send to Moscow; ’
Associated Milk Producers
Inc. (AMPI), San Antonio, Tex.
Eastern Milk Producers
Cooperative, Syracuse, N.Y.
Independent Cooperative
Milk Producers Association,
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Land O’Lakes Inc., Minnea
polis, Minn.
Middle Atlantic Coopera
tive Marketing Agency (MAC
MA), and three of its members,
Atlantic Dairy Cooperative,
Southampton, Pa.; Middje Atlan
tic Division of Dairymen Inc.,
Sykesville, Md., and Maryland
and Virginia Milk Producers
Cooperative Association, Reston,
Va.
Milk Marketing Inc.,
Strongsville, Ohio.
O-At-Ka Milk Product
Cooperative and its majority own
er, Upstate Milk Cooperatives,
Leroy, N.Y. (O-At-Ka is also
owned by Niagara Milk Producers
and Dairylea.)
Prairie Farms Dairy, Carlin
villc. 111.
Regional Cooperative
Marketing Agency (RCMA),
Liverpool, N.Y.
Swiss Valley Farms,
Dubuque, lowa.
St. Albans Cooperative
Creamery. St Albans, Vt.