TodayS.U. can build townhouses if they pay taxes, Shippensburg Township says
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Article RatingIf the Shippensburg University Foundation completes a plan to build a 21-unit off-campus townhouse complex, Shippensburg Township authorities want the property to remain in the taxable column.
Supervisors Saturday granted a conditional-use request for the project with the demand that it remain on the tax roll.
The proposal - 21 townhouses for students on a 3-acre property on Hot Point Avenue that was previously a farmette - needs a conditional-use permit since it calls for residential development in an area zoned for commercial use.
Township solicitor Jim Robinson advised supervisors to call on the foundation to leave the property on the taxable list because the townhouse plan does adhere to normal tax-exempt requirements.
Robinson said his research is “not definitive” as to whether the township has the authority to require taxable status as a condition, but he said recent court cases indicate that the foundation's proposed use does not qualify as tax exempt, in his opinion.
“If nothing else, we can indicate to the foundation that the township does not think this is a tax-exempt use,” Robinson says. “It's a profit-maker, and doesn't serve the university. Rather, it serves people who want to attend the university.”
Other properties exempt
Crystal Miracle, the foundation's director of finance and administration, told supervisors last month that the intent is for the property to remain taxable - at least on a temporary basis.
However, the foundation has sought and received tax relief in the past. The foundation's multi-story Stone Ridge Commons apartments for student use - assessed at $2.9 million - and the foundation's new conference center - assessed at $3.2 million - have been declared tax exempt by the Cumberland County appeals board.
Miracle and John Clinton, executive vice president of the SU Foundation, both left Saturday's meeting without a public response. Neither returned phone calls to The Shippensburg Sentinel Monday.
Formed in 1977, the Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to solicit private financial resources to support Shippensburg University. Its website cites $41 million in assets managed by the foundation.
Other stipulations
In addition to the tax request, supervisors attached other conditions to the foundation's request, specifying that:
€ The townhouses be encircled on the east, west and north with an 8-foot-high fence to discourage residents from crossing nearby private property.
€ Sidewalks be built along the property's frontage on Hot Point Avenue.
€ The townhouse complex be managed by 24-hour professional managers, not student personnel.
€ That the Vigilant Hose Co. - Shippensburg Township's first-response fire department - be alerted as the first responder for any emergency call at the site.
