Are you just now finding out about the banquet hall?

If  you pass by this property occasionally, and would have been at the January "public hearing" had the required signage been posted, your rights to speak out against this were violated.  You may request signage be posted for 21 days and a new, valid public hearing be scheduled.

Per our existing ordinances, a 4 X 4 foot sign is required to inform the public residing in the vicinity of the property that a conditional use permit has been applied for.  Signage has never been posted, and as a result, many residents are just now finding out about this conditional use permit application.  Ordinance # 73 requires signage be posted in accordance with Section 19.03 D on page 159 .  If this has not been complied with, it constitutes grounds for adjourning and rescheduling the public hearing.  It was never done, and therefore, there has never been a proper public hearing.  Only a handful of people were notified by mail, and even this was not done prior to the required 15 day notice.

If you fit the criteria above, attend the planning commission meeting tonight, March 1 at 7:30 PM, and DEMAND that an appropriate public hearing be held.  They are trying to slide this under the radar of the public, and betting that we're not watching.  There are lots of questions that must be answered - why are our representatives sanctioning a use that clearly does not fit in our zoning code, and why are they trying so desperately to keep you from finding out about it?

Why your presence at the March 1st meeting is so important

The vote by the Manchester Planning Commission on this conditional use permit has been tabled until the March 1st meeting.  This means that a vote COULD happen on this date.  We need as many area residents as possible to take action and voice their opposition to this IN PERSON and IN WRITING.  There are numerous reasons why a facility like this is undesirable in the proposed location: a significant increase in traffic seven days per week, a significant impact to rural roads that are not designed to support traffic generated from a seven day per week facility like this (aren't our roads in bad enough shape?), noise in the form of loud music, partying/shouting, the environmental impact to our area from potentially hundreds of people per day passing through and using our resources, littering our roads, trespassing, wandering inebriated people, and the negative effect that having a banquet/rental hall in close proximity to our/your property will have on our property values (THINK: would you purchase a home next to a seven-day per week banquet hall, operating during prime outdoor activity time?  Not likely!)

In addition, there are numerous reasons that a banquet hall does NOT qualify for a conditional use permit under the existing Rural/Agricultural zoning that is currently in place.  The owners of the property and some people on our planning commission keep re-naming the facility in an attempt to detract from the simple fact that a banquet hall does not qualify.  In the first public notice this facility was referred to as a "special events facility".  It has since evolved into a "country club house".  What is a country club house, you ask?  Funny you should ask...there isn't a definition for it, nor is one provided in our zoning.  I've searched the web trying to figure out exactly what a "country club house"is, and no one has an answer.  Not even Miriam Webster.  What we do know is that the primary and principle reason for the proposed business and it's location lies in the selling of food and (alcoholic) beverages.  Under the zoning, food and beverage sales MUST be incidental and accessory, as in selling a hot dog on a golf course (where the primary function is golf), NOT the main purpose of the business.  Otherwise, we could all open restaurants and banquet halls.  The closest I could get, and it is still a stretch, is that maybe you could call a home that is located in a private community on a golf course that is part of an exclusive country club a "country club house".  No matter what they call this, it is still a banquet hall, with food and beverage sales the primary source of business and income.  (I'll expound on that later with links to the specific ordinances - you can find all of them on the township's web site here.
     
If you haven't already contacted the Manchester Planning Commission and our township officials, please do so.  Their contact information is available at the township's web site (see link above).  Your voice matters, but only if people hear you!  Be heard.