Regarding the article “Rural property owners concerned that housing developments will alter Hempfield lifestyle” (Feb. 15, TribLive): Westmoreland County, and in particular Hempfield Township, are growing faster than their infrastructure can keep up with.
The Republican-led local politicians appear to not want to represent the people.
I have been to many meetings — township, school board, etc. — and have to date only seen land owners speak for rezoning. There are always many people against rezoning, but their concerns seem to fall on deaf ears.
First you can build houses in agriculture zones. By switching to suburban residential, land owners have the option to build on smaller lot sizes and to build duplexes, triplexes and even quadruplexes. Once the zoning is approved, land owners can do as they wish within the rules.
Neighboring properties will experience a large increase in their value. That also means, when Westmoreland County reassesses property values — and they will! — property taxes will skyrocket, and in some cases people on fixed incomes will be forced to sell. Property generally can’t be passed down to family members who cannot afford the taxes. That is when a developer comes in and buys the property, and in some cases receives a tax credit from the local politicians.
If politicians truly represented the people, they wouldn’t rezone and destroy a family’s long-term investments, and they would acknowledge the long-term impact of living around duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, etc. They should ask themselves, “Is it good for families, schools and property owners?”
Todd Neptune
Hempfield