Poultry farm, feed mill proposed in Codorus Township
Speaker Brian Kaltreider moderates a question from the audience at a meeting about a proposed poultry farm and nearby feed mill in Codorus Township on April 19. (Clare Becker, The Evening Sun)
(Codorus Township, York County) — A proposed poultry farm and nearby feed mill in Codorus Township, York County, has raised opposition from its neighbors.
Blueprints on file with the township show the proposed farm would be built at 2856 Daron Road, and the feed mill is planned nearby at 2820 Daron Road. Online tax records list Hillandale Farms, a national egg supplier, as the owner of both properties.
Local poultry farmer James Bailey is also listed on the blueprints, as is TeamAg, an Ephrata-based engineering company.
Bailey confirmed last week that he currently owns a poultry operation and is looking to build another in the township, but he declined further comment. Representatives from TeamAg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Efforts to reach a Hillandale representative to speak on the project were unsuccessful.
Word of the proposal has meanwhile spread through the township over the past two weeks, prompting dozens of residents to raise questions about the proposed operation’s impact on the community.
About 45 people attended a Codorus Township planning commission meeting March 26.
Bailey and project engineers presented blueprints to the commission during that time, said Brian Kaltreider, a former township supervisor who attended the meeting. Residents raised concerns about proposal at the meeting, Kaltreider said.
Members of the planning commission could not be reached for comment regarding the meeting. It was not immediately clear what the next step would be for the proposed chicken operations.
Community members have since launched a group called Friends of York County Family Farmers dedicated to fighting the proposal. The Friends started with a core group of about 10 neighbors, including Kaltreider and Snyder Mill Road resident Mike Wickham, but has expanded to recruit help from agricultural and legal experts.
The group is working to obtain an attorney, Kaltreider said, and is in the process of setting up a bank account to accept community donations to go toward legal fees.
Photo by Clare Becker, Evening Sun
Members of the audience look at photographs showing the impact similar chicken farms have had on the land and farm neighbors at a gathering in Codorus Township on April 19.
More than 100 people attended the Friends’ first public meeting April 19 at the Jefferson Rifle Club, and 75 residents signed a petition opposing the farm. Attendees heard presentations from experts who spoke about the effects that a large-scale chicken operation could have on the community.
The next meeting of the Codorus Township planning commission is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 30, at the Codorus Township municipal building, 4631 Shaffers Church Road.
Township staff said as recently as April 17 that there were no plans for the commission to discuss the poultry operation proposal at the next meeting, but the agenda is subject to change up until a week before the meeting.
This article comes to us through a partnership between the Evening Sun and WITF.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
