Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
An announced public auction of a farm property adjoining Martinsburg borough has some residents concerned about what changes the sale of the farm might bring.
Some residents along Locust Street in Martinsburg are worried that the property will be used for a housing development and State Street will see a substantial increase of automobile traffic in the neighborhood.
"I don't know what is going to happen to the property," said Margaret Steinfurth, who lives on the corner of Locust Street and State Street.
Steinfurth's residential property includes a yard, which borders the farm property up for public auction. Steinfurth's property is within Martinsburg borough, but the farm property is in North Woodbury Township, which does not have zoning.
For Steinfurth, that means that the new owner of the farm property could use the farm for nearly anything, including a use that would increase traffic on a segment of State Street, which currently does not see much traffic.
The Sept. 29, 2022, edition of the Herald contains a notice of a public sale of part of the estate of W. Gene Henry, who died in February 2021. The sale is of 300 State Street, a property known to many in the area because of its stone farmhouse and proximity to Henry's Pond.
The public sale notice, which appears on Page B-7 of that week's Herald, states that the auction will be held by Wisecarver's Auction Service on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, starting at 9 a.m.
The sale notes that the real estate up for auction includes:
2 story stone farm house, house trailer (rental income), 2 story barn w/large enclosed storage shed and milk house, 2 car garage, chicken house, storage shed, equipment, large pond ...
The advertisement states that the 11-acre farm property is
"in the heart of beautiful Martinsburg" but the farm is located in North Woodbury Township.
North Woodbury Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Joseph D. Donaldson told the Herald that the township does not have zoning, so the use of the property would not be controlled by that method. However, the use of the farm property could be affected by other factors, such as water and sewer ines and the proximity to Martinsburg borough.
Chairman Donaldson told the Herald that the proposed use of another property nearby, which recently changed ownership is being reviewed by the township's engineering firm, Stiffler McGraw of Hollidaysburg.
A property in the township is proposed for additional mobile homes. It is in the Spring Manor Mobile Home Park and is the rectangular strip between Henry's Pond Lane and Ake Lane.
The new owners of the Spring Manor Mobile Home Park had representatives at the July 2022 meeting of the North Woodbury Township supervisors to discuss the expansion of the mobile home park.
The minutes of the meeting on July 7 noted that the expansion of the mobile home park could not proceed without some additional planning and review by township officials. The minutes stated:
After much discussion, the Township and developer agreed that a stormwater management plan needs to be submitted for review and approval. A Land Development Plan will not be required. Also, if they are going to run their stormwater to the neighboring pond, a letter of approval from the owner of the pond will be needed. It was also discussed that developer will need to comply with all required DEP as well as soil and erosion requirements and provide proof of compliance to the Township.
The current owner of the Spring Manor Mobile Home Park is Mobile Realty, LLC.
Officials from Mobile Realty, LLC, did not return a telephone call from the Herald seeking additional information. However, the Mobile Realty website states that it is "a division of Elite Realty Advisors, LLC that manages manufactured home communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland" and that "the managing members are licensed real estate professionals in the state of Pennsylvania and Maryland."
Traffic concerns
Steinfurth said that she and her Locust Street neighbors fear that if the new owners of the Spring Manor Mobile Home Park get permission to add additional mobile homes the park and whomever buys the Gene Henry estate farm also builds multiple housing units, state street will turn into a very busy local street.
"My porch is right there," Steinfurth said. "I wouldn't like it if there were cars going up and down [the street] all day."
The executor of the W. Gene Henry estate, William Replogle, did not return a telephone call from the Herald.
Author's Note: Margaret Steinfurth is the mother of Herald Publisher Allan J. Bassler.
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