By Ashley Adams
The Evening Sun (Hanover, Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
HANOVER, Pa. — Looking out her front door on Clover Lane, all Denise Reed sees is trees.
But that would change if the Penn Township Volunteer Emergency Services is successful in its bid to build a new fire station.
“It’s right across the street from us and it’s going to affect us big time,” Reed said.
The company is proposing to build a 30,365-square-foot station on a 4.5-acre parcel along Clover Lane.
Reed and her neighbors are not too happy about it. And they’re taking their concerns to the Penn Township Zoning Hearing Board tonight.
The fire department has requested a variance from the zoning ordinance to construct an access drive that does not meet the requirements. The property for which the fire station is proposed is located in a Shopping/Commercial zone.
The board will hear the fire department’s case at a 7 p.m. meeting
Reed is concerned with the amount of light and noise the new station will produce.
“When I come home from work, all I want is peace and quiet,” Reed said.
Fire Chief Jan Cromer has said the two stations in the township – Parkville station on Baltimore Street and Pennville station on Frederick Street – in addition to the Ambulance Club building on Baltimore Street are not large enough to house the equipment for the company since it consolidated on Jan. 1.
The company wants to pool its resources and be housed under one roof.
Plus, Cromer has pointed out that being housed in one station will significantly cut utility costs for the company.
The new location is also safer for the crews than being housed on Baltimore Street, he said. Cromer has said the crews will have an easier time getting the equipment out and onto the road.
“We know we can’t stop progress,” Reed said, “but we need some compensation for the noise. They could plant trees in front of our homes or put walls around the station.”
Reed also said the construction of the new station will affect the wildlife living in the trees across the street from her house.
“I have a little fox that runs through my yard all the time,” Reed said. “What’s going to happen to him?”