Proposed Islamic Center: Plan Not Ready?

The proposed Hershey Islamic Center off of Stoverdale Road – to be located behind the Middletown Road Sheetz store in Derry Township – may have hit a snag after the developer’s plans for a second access road fell through.

The plan was discussed and ultimately tabled by the Derry Township Planning Commission at its Tuesday, March 4, meeting. The developers now hope to go before the Derry Township Board of Supervisors to get their input on the plan and then come back to the planning commission at a later date.

One of the issues was the lack of a second entrance/exit in the current plan.

Initially, the developers hoped to have a second “emergency access” at the Sheetz complex, with the main entrance located on Stoverdale Road. However, on the eve of the meeting, the developers received word from the owners of the Sheetz complex that they were no longer going to allow the Islamic Center to access the property.

That news unsettled the planning commission and Director of Community Development, Charles Emerick, who said constructing two entrances/exits is simply a “good practice,” especially with a development that includes a school.

“In recent times with the SwimHershey project, the supervisors made it a requirement,” Emerick said of the second entrance. “This is a school, and I can see them looking at it in the same fashion that there should be another means to access this site.”

The current plan calls for the construction of a 47,944 square-foot building that will have “three major functions.” Those include a K-5 elementary school, a multi-purpose building and 300-seat worship center.

Chad Zimmerman of Dawood Engineering, which is representing the developer, said adding a second entrance somewhere other than into the Sheetz complex would be more costly.

“I just don’t think that’s realistic. There are just too many hardships,” Zimmerman said.

Emerick said the developer could consider having a “one way in” and “one way out” entrance/exit on Stoverdale Road.

“If there is an emergency, they’re going in the out,” Emerick said.

Initially, the planning commission considered recommending to the board of supervisors that the plan be rejected, but after some discussion, it was determined that tabling the plan and allowing the Board of Supervisors to offer their comments, was the best course of action.

“I don’t like the idea of rejecting the plan and sending it up to the Board of Supervisors and say you deal with it,” planning commission member Thomas Wilson said. “It’s not a plan ready to be approved.”

Also discussed at the meeting was how the developer would be bringing public water to the site, as the current plan does not outline how that would be accomplished.

“There is two options with the water,” Zimmerman said. “Either we go up Stoverdale (Road) or we go in an existing easement adjacent to Sheetz there. It’s just evaluating costs.”

“And you don’t have that figured out just yet?” Wilson responded.

“No,” Zimmerman said.

There were also several waivers that the developer is requesting, however, the planning commission seemed willing to recommend their approval to the Board of Supervisors.

Emerick said the hope is to get the developer on the Derry Township Board of Supervisors’ March 25 agenda so the board can offer feedback on the plan.

Read more here.

Photo by Nathan Merkel