Dingman residents objects to zone change

Public hearing set for September 26

By TOM KANE

MILFORD, PA - A Dingman Township resident and a number of residents who have signed his petition say that a proposed zoning change will endanger the Borough of Milford water supply.

The proposed change, they say, will encourage development that may affect the underlying aquifer and endanger the purity and supply of the water, which flows to the Borough of Milford’s water supply source.

Vito DiBiasi made these accusations to the Pike County Commissioners at their meeting on August 16. “I’m calling for a moratorium on any development up there until the dangers to the water supply can be addressed,” he said.

DiBiasi said he had over 1,200 signatures on a petition he submitted in 2004, and has over 500 signatures this year.

The property, which includes the new Milford Hills Development, is adjacent to the intersection of I-84 and Route 6, west of Milford in Dingmans Township.

The proposed change would reassign a portion of the development from neighborhood commercial (NC) to resort commercial (RC). The Dingmans Township Board, who will hold a public hearing on the issue on September 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the township hall, 118 Fisher Lane in Milford, is proposing the change.

NC zoning allows commerce development that serves the immediate neighborhood, like a grocery store. RC zoning allows commercial development that serve the wider public, like a shopping mall or motel.

Three Milford businessmen own the property and have an interest in developing it more widely.

DiBiasi claims that the zoning change would be contrary to the county’s recently released comprehensive plan. He cites two studies of the borough’s water supply to support his claims. First, the Source Water Protection Plan, done for the borough by hydro-geologist Todd Giddings in 2004, states that “the springs are vulnerable to impacts from contaminants in the surface water flowing into Sawkill Creek in the vicinity of the springs.”

The other study is the Sawkill Creek and Vandermark Creek Watershed of July 2005. In an appendix, it said, “Although intensive commercial development of this land would have minimal impact on the wildlife habitat in most of the watershed, it could have a major impact on the Sawkill Creek and the aquatic life of its lower reach as well as on the Milford Borough public water supply.”

“This is the smoking gun that I have been looking for,” DiBiasi said.

“The study concludes what the county comprehensive plan advocates: the need to protect this riparian area from degradation associated with land development and sprawl,” he said.

Township response

“The proposed change would restore uses that once existed at that site,” said Karen Kleist, township treasurer and secretary. “We are proposing to change just a section of the site, not the entire site.” The change would allow small commercial ventures that are more than “mom and pop” operations, she said. “We are putting several restrictions on things like the storing of hazardous material and will limit what can be included there.”

Kleist said the township is aware of the presence of the aquifer. “We need to strike a balance between needed development in a heavily trafficked area and the borough’s water supply,” she said.

County planning response

“The comment period for the comprehensive plan has just been completed, so we are not ready to address an issue like this until we have examined all the comments,” said Sally Corrigan, director of the Pike County Planning Department. Corrigan said that the area around the property in question has been designated as a “growth area.”

Water company responds

“The area of the change is in Zone Two, which is the primary capture zone for our water,” said Tom Hoff, Vice Chairman of the Borough of Milford Water Company.

Hoff said Dingmans officials are aware of the issues involving the aquifer. He said representatives from Dingmans are members of the water company’s Source Water Protection Committee formed in 2001. “The township board members have received a copy of our protection plan along with a report from our hydro-geologist consultant,” he said.

The water company has an easement on nearby properties to drill two monitoring wells that would indicate what affect development would have on the water quality, and would monitor new lots that are developed.