Developer Appeals Mobile Home Park Rejection

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Gettysburg Times Staff Writer Published: Saturday, April 17, 2010

Another legal battle is brewing in Huntington Township over plans to place a trailer park in the heart of Adams County’s “fruit belt.”

A developer has filed a lawsuit in county court, challenging the township’s March denial of the controversial “Peakview Mobile Home Park,” near York Springs.

Robert Mumma and CACO Three Inc., of Camp Hill, filed a land-use appeal this week, asking the court to overturn the March 3 decision.

The legal documents ask the court to “reverse the decision and force the township to approve the final plans...on the condition of receiving outside agency approval,” from water and sewer agencies.

Supervisors rejected the final plans, citing incomplete water and sewer plans, among other concerns.

Developer Robert Mumma is behind the “Peakview Mobile Home Park” proposal, although court documents list Mann Realty as the owner of 235 acres of farmland along Idaville-York Springs Road and Pa. 94.

Legal counsel representing Mumma did not immediately return an inquiry this week seeking comment, although the attorney indicated that his party might be able to talk next week.

Mumma’s group has claimed that it is seeking water and sewer permits, but has not been awarded them to date.

Township leaders argue that Mumma had plenty of time to obtain the permits, especially after preliminary plans were court-approved in 2005.

But no progress was made by the developer.

The controversial plans date back to 1999, when they were first submitted by Mumma.

Those preliminary plans were rejected by the township’s three-person board of supervisors, also because of incomplete water and sewer plans.

However, the state courts reversed the decision, forcing the board to approve the documents in January 2005.

Five years later, in October 2009, the developer returned with final plans, with a statute of limitations deadline looming.

Similarly, the township denied those plans last month, citing unfinished water and sewer modules, among other ordinance violations. As soon as the vote was taken, Mumma’s attorney — Charles Suhr — informed the board that it would be taken to court, resulting in this week’s suit.

Overall, the plans depict 268 mobile units atop farmland, situated in upper Adams County.

The plans have generated controversy since they were first submitted in 1999, as they were proposed at a time when the township did not have a zoning ordinance.

Supervisors rejected the proposal. But a long legal battle ensued and resulted in the Commonwealth Court reversing the township’s decision.

Preliminary plans were OK’d in 2005, and the developer did not resurface until the fall of this year.

The plans are opposed by Save Our Rural Heritage, a preservation group featuring area farmers, neighbors and preservationists.