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The Manheim Township Department of Planning and Zoning handles all functions related to community development. Responsibilities include: Comprehensive Planning, Development Review, Zoning Administration, Township Planning Commission and Township Zoning Hearing Board.
Department Contact Information Staff:
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Comprehensive Planning The Manheim Township Comprehensive Plan is a multi-faceted document which provides the primary framework for the management of future growth and development. Prepared and adopted by the Township Board of Commissioners in April 1995, it contains many components and serves numerous functions. The Plan is designed to acquaint the reader with Manheim Township while identifying the Township's aspirations and expectations heading into the 21st century to preserve the unique character of the Township which has made the area such a desirable location for residences and businesses.
The preparation of this Comprehensive Plan included a survey of Township residents. The survey, conducted from November 1992 to February 1993, was prepared, and results compiled, by the Township Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. There were 11,675 return postage paid surveys delivered to solicit responses. Of the surveys circulated, 2,784, or 23.8%, were returned. This high rate of return may be interpreted as considerable resident interest in the future of Manheim Township. The survey had two basic purposes: first, to make residents aware of the ongoing process to update the Township Comprehensive Plan; and second, to learn more about the residents of the Township, and their attitudes regarding growth and development of the Township, and their desires for the future of the Township. The attitudes and values of residents play an essential role in the identification of planning issues and provide a foundation of planning goals and the appropriate steps to implement those goals. The Plan is most visible in its role of directing the future growth and development of the Township. Although the Plan itself is not legally binding, it defines the parameters for the Township's growth management tools: the zoning ordinance, and subdivision and land development regulations. Likewise, it provides a basis for other functions such as the capital improvements program. In establishing an overall planning framework, the Plan provides a forum for fostering creative ideas and innovative techniques which will enhance Manheim Township. The Plan seeks to direct future growth in two major ways. The first, and most important, is through the Plan's goals, objectives, and policies which are interwoven throughout the Plan's text. Besides addressing growth and development issues, the goals, objectives and policies deal with various socio-economic aspects of the Township. This format is designed to articulate more clearly the Township's goals and to provide an effective framework for achieving these goals. It is hoped that the policies will facilitate the development of action strategies and the revision of zoning and subdivision ordinances. This process is discussed in greater detail in the chapter dealing with the implementation of the Plan. The second way the plan seeks to direct growth is by the more traditional and visible future land use map. The future land use map supplements the goals, objectives and policies of the plan and is designed to reflect the intent of the goals of the plan by visually depicting the appropriate development patterns up to the year 2010. The future land use map should be used as a general guide for rezoning requests and to encourage specific types of development in appropriate areas. View/Download the Manheim Township Comprehensive Plan (200K) PDF file. To view or download the Comprehensive Plan requires Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader, please click here.
Development Review Manheim Township is one of the municipalities in Lancaster County that has adopted its own regulations governing the approval of subdivision and land development plans. The Township Department of Planning and Zoning is charged with the processing and reviewing all subdivisions and land development plans to ensure compliance with this ordinance, as well as the Township Stormwater Management and Floodplain Management Ordinances. Copies of these ordinances are available for sale at the Township Office.
Zoning Administration The Manheim Township Department of Planning and Zoning administers the Township Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of zoning is simply land use control (the use of buildings and land). The intent of zoning regulations is to allow property owners the reasonable use of their property insofar as the use is not detrimental to abutting properties or to the neighborhood. Every property in the Township has a zoning classification that determines how the property can be used.
To ensure that the Manheim Township Zoning Ordinance you purchase is kept up-to-date, the Department offers an Ordinance Update Subscription Service. This service will provide subscribers with copies of all ordinances adopted by the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners that amend the Township Zoning Ordinance or Township Zoning Map. The annual cost for this service is $15.00. If you would like to take advantage of this service, please contact the Department to receive a Subscription Request Form. The primary purpose of the Manheim Township Zoning Hearing Board is to help assure fair and equitable application and administration of the zoning ordinance by hearing appeals on the zoning officer's determinations and by granting relief from the literal enforcement of the ordinance in certain hardship situations. Since the Board has no legislative power, it can neither make nor modify zoning policy. Neither does the Board have enforcement powers. It is a quasi-judicial body; that is, its powers are to some extent judicial in nature. The Board schedules hearings on applications and appeals that come before it, takes evidence, and issues written decisions with findings of fact and conclusions of law. It must limit its scope of activities to those permitted by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. The Township Zoning Hearing Board meets the first Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. The meetings are held at the Township Offices, 1840 Municipal Drive.
Zoning Hearing Board Meeting Dates and Submission Deadlines
The Zoning Hearing Board Agenda and Minutes below require Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader, please click here.
The Planning Commission Agenda and Minutes below require Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader, please click here.
Manheim Township received the Amos Funk Spirit of Cooperation Award from the Lancaster Farmland Trust late last year.
The Township and the Trust have worked together to preserve four farms in the Township's agricultural zoning district over the past eight years. "We're honored to receive the award from the Farmland Trust. In creating the TDR program and continuing to use it as a mechanism to preserve farmland, we are making an investment in the future of the township," commented Roy Baldwin, President of the Manheim Township Commissioners. The most
recent farm to be preserved is a 49-acre tract on the north side of
Oregon Pike that is known to area residents for its spectacular stone-end
bank barn and charming setting. This farm is also on the National Register
of Historic Places. "Already existing developments to the south
and west of this farm illustrate how valuable this property is as agricultural
and open space land," commented Karen Weiss of the Lancaster Farmland
Trust.
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There
are three types of approval:
This award was presented to the Township in recognition
of our cooperative work in preserving farms through the TDR (Transferable
Development Rights) program. This program is designed to complement
the agricultural zoning by shifting development from these prime agricultural
areas of the Township to areas designated for development.