Inch & Co. is appealing a York County court ruling that blocks the company from building a warehouse on land south of Route 30 in Manchester Township.
The move continues a nearly two-year-old battle over the 52.1-acre site, which borders the Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Some neighbors have opposed the warehouse plans since they became public, arguing the development would lead to increased traffic and spoil the serenity of the cemetery grounds.
But the legal fight centers on whether the land was properly rezoned for industrial use. It had been zoned for low-density residential development.
Cemetery owner Matt Seyler alleged the rezoning constituted illegal spot zoning, a claim upheld by the township’s zoning hearing board and then in a 56-page ruling last month by York County Court of Common Pleas Judge N. Christopher Menges.
Inch affiliate Penn Avenue Partners LLC is appealing the county decision to Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, according to court records.
“We were totally expecting it,” Seyler told biznewsPA, arguing that the county decision was “pretty airtight and pretty thorough.”
“We pretty much expect the same from Commonwealth Court,” he added.
Jeff Inch, co-owner of York-based Inch & Co. declined to comment.
What’s the issue: Whether Manchester Township officials engaged in spot zoning when they changed the parcel’s classification to industrial.
Spot zoning is not easy to define, but claims can arise when a parcel is zoned in a way that may be inconsistent with a municipality’s broader plans or that does not appear to benefit the community as a whole.
The parcel may be similar to surrounding properties but treated differently and in a way that largely benefits the owner, according to court definitions.
In the Inch & Co. case, the argument revolved around whether the township rezoning fit existing legal criteria for spot zoning.
In testimony before the zoning hearing board in October 2023, Inch & Co. argued that the site’s proximity to Route 30 and Interstate 83, as well as a commercial district, justified the rezoning and that the parcel is next to land used by Met Ed for essentially industrial purposes.
The construction and real estate developemnt company’s plans called for a warehouse of 422,000 square feet, according to court records.
In their testimony to the board, Seyler and other neighbors decried potential harms from developing a warehouse.
The zoning hearing board upheld Seyler’s challenge to the zoning in a November 2023 decision, which Inch & Co. appealed to county court the next month.
The background: Seyler purchased the Prospect Hill Cemetery in 2021.
The previous owner, 700 North George Street Associates LP, carved out a portion and asked for it to be rezoned industrial before selling it to the Inch affiliate, also in 2021.
Inch & Co. co-owner John Inch Jr. was a Manchester Township supervisor at the time but abstained from voting on the rezoning, according to court documents.
