Sunnyside is the largest tract of undeveloped land in the city of Lancaster. Plans have been discussed since 1999 to develop three hundred townhouses, single family homes and apartments on the peninsula of the Conestoga River.
That proposal was temporarily dropped when the county proposed moving county offices to Sunnyside, where they would have much needed space for expansion. The county also considered building a Youth Intervention Center on the property in 2005. Last year they endorsed a plan to have Community Basics develop Sunnyside.
The plan stalled because of complications in deeding the property to Community Basics. The county considered declaring the tract a blighted property and condemning it so they could then transfer it. The only problem: the property isn't blighted.
Now the county has decided to deed Sunnyside directly to Lancaster City, which avoids the necessity of condemning the property. The city isn't thrilled. There's an abandoned quarry which could be a big liability. Filling the quarry with water was considered, to make it into a man-made lake - but it would be too deep. The quarry could be partially backfilled to make it shallower before filling it with water, but that would be a large and expensive project.
The county has agreed to keep twenty acres surrounding the former Brenner Quarry. Still, Mayor Rick Gray is cool to the idea of the city inheriting the property - and the liability - without any funds to help it develop the planned housing project.
Comments(5)