Huntington Twp Developer Files for Bankruptcy

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Gettysburg Times Staff Writer Published: June 23, 2010

The developer that sued Huntington Township for rejecting a proposed 270-unit trailer park has filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Middle District Court in Harrisburg.

Court documents docketed May 7 by developer Robert Mumma and CACO Three Inc., formerly known as McDermott Concrete, list the total amount owed to creditors as $122,083.78.

Mumma has proposed a 270-unit trailer park in Huntington Township near York Springs, at the intersection of Idaville-York Springs Road and Pa. 94.

Township supervisors rejected the project in March, but Mumma quickly filed an appeal in Adams County Court.

It is unclear if the bankruptcy case will have any impact on Mumma’s appeal. “We don’t know — we don’t think it does,” said Huntington Township Board of Supervisors Chairman David Boyer, adding that township Solicitor Bob Campbell is researching the situation.

In addition to failing to pay creditors, Mumma has not paid the township engineering and review fees. Boyer estimated that Mumma owes the township “several thousand dollars.”

The trailer park project has drawn fire over the years from preservationists, as the development would be situated in the heart of the Upper Adams Fruit Belt. It has also been the subject of lengthy legal action. Mumma submitted preliminary plans for the development more than 10 years ago, when the township did not have a zoning ordinance. The township passed a zoning ordinance Nov. 11, 1999, which would prohibit the development from being placed atop land that is zoned for “agricultural preservation.”

Supervisors rejected the plan that year, mainly because of incomplete water and sewer modules. A long legal battle ensued in court, with a Pennsylvania judge overturning the decision. The township asked the State Supreme Court for a decision, but the court refused to hear the case.

In 2005, the township reluctantly approved the court-ordered project. Final land development plans were submitted in Sept. 2009, with a five-year statute of limitations deadline set to expire. Similarly, the three-person board rejected those plans in March 2010, because of incomplete water and sewer modules.

CACO Three took the township to court, again. The appeal is being reviewed by Adams County Court.