Meetings Scheduled for Discussion of New Zoning and the Community of Liberty

Several issues that could affect zoning and the plans for the proposed Community of Liberty near Fairfield in southern Adams County, Pa., will be discussed in Liberty Township public meetings this month. The Community of Liberty is a 1,140-home planned residential development (PRD) that has caused citizen concern and garnered media attention throughout the region on the central Pennsylvania/Maryland border.

On Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m., large attendance is expected at the township supervisors’ meeting, which will be held at the township offices at 39 Topper Rd., Fairfield, Pa. The Wormald Company of Frederick, Md., developer of the Community of Liberty, submitted a second plan to the township on Monday, Sept. 29, which may deal with part of the original proposed development. Four of last month’s scheduled public hearing dates on the PRD were canceled, at the request of the developer, after the attorney for a local citizens’ group questioned whether the Wormald Company owned all of the land included in the original plan.

It is possible, but not confirmed, that representatives of the Wormald Company may be present at the Oct. 7 meeting. The supervisors have not permitted residents to see the new plan, which may not be available to the public until after this meeting.

On Oct. 7, citizens may also discuss ways the township can plan development more responsibly in the future. They may ask the supervisors to adopt the proposed new zoning ordinance that the Liberty Township Planning Commission approved at its September meeting.

On Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m., the public hearing on the Community of Liberty planned residential development will be resumed. The meeting will be held at the Fairfield Fire Hall, 108 Steelman St., Fairfield.

On Oct. 21, township supervisors will hold a public hearing to listen to comments on the proposed new zoning ordinance. The meeting will follow the regular Liberty Township Planning Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the township offices at 39 Topper Rd., Fairfield. The planning commission will then formally submit the draft of the new ordinance to the board of supervisors.

The draft of the new ordinance may be reviewed after Oct. 7 at the township offices, 39 Topper Rd., Fairfield, Pa., or at the Law Library at the Adams County Courthouse in Gettysburg.