How Big is Too Big?

    When Benderson Development first approached the Township in April 2005, they were planning on building the shopping center on just the 44.5 acre tract already zoned R-2 (Planed Commercial).  Apparently after getting such a warm reception from the Township, later in 2005 (before any release of information on the project to the public) the developer decided to expand the project to adjoining land.  These additional parcels would need to be rezoned to R-2, but would add 28% to the size of the project.

    The proposed changes to the text of the Zoning Ordinance contained a number provisions designed to increase the size of the shopping center (a summary of the details is below).  For the developer, size equals money.  The income from a shopping center comes in the form of rent based on the cost per square foot of retail space per year.  Any increase in the square footage increases their income throughout the entire life of the shopping center, which is many decades.

    To evaluate the increase in size of the "Secret Shopping Center," I gave copies of the old and new ordinances to a licensed Pennsylvania Professional Engineer.  From this information they were able to approximate the impact on the potential size of the shopping center.  The results of their analysis were both surprising and raise some serious concerns.  Here is the summary of their findings:

[For reference, the Ephrata Wal-Mart is about 220,000 square feet.  This facility will probably be two to three times that size.]

    The changed granted to Benderson Development more than DOUBLED the potential size of the facility.  The next question is what does this do to the Developer's bottom line?  Research on the Internet indicated that other facilities in our area are being leased at a cost of roughly $13. to $15. per Square foot per year (1).  Multiplying those rates by the potential square footage gives the potential gross annual income for the new facility:

Potential Annual Income of "Secret Shopping Center"

(1) Rental Costs for other facilities in our area:
Wildflower Commons, Ephrata, PA = $13.50/sq ft/yr [new facility on US 322 west of Ephrata]
Granite Run, Lancaster = 13.50-14.95/sq ft/yr
With a new facility in this prime location, the actual rental costs may be higher than these other facilities.

    Looking at the potential income for the project over just the first ten years, we can get an idea of the "Value" of the changes in the Zoning Ordinance and Map that were given to the Developer:

Approximate Value of Zoning Changes

(1) Over ten years, based on differences in square footage allowed by the revised Zoning Ordinance and Map.

    The value of the changes given to the Developer represent a potential increase of around $50,000,000. in the first ten years of the shopping center if built at the maximum allowed size.  If they were to keep the size in the plan already submitted, they would be reducing their potential income by around $30,000,000.  Ask yourself this... If you were the Developer, in business for one purpose - to make money, would you cut your potential income by thirty million so that the locals could have less traffic congestion... when you live in a different state and wouldn't have to deal with any of the problems that an oversized shopping center will create?

    To me, the biggest question this raises is why the East Cocalico Township Supervisors became the driving force behind the Zoning Ordinance and Map changes.  In most situations, I would expect a negotiation in which both sides get something of significant value.  In this case, the only reason that I ever heard stated by the Supervisors is they we are getting 60 "Park and Ride" spaces from the Developer. Yes, there will also be increased tax revenue from the shopping center, but there will also be significant costs to support it in the future - police and fire department services, increased use of our already limited water supply, traffic problems,  and other issues which may more than offset any gains from the additional tax revenue (this may be why it was not discussed).

    The 60 "Park and Ride" spaces to be provided by the Developer (when the Township's own studies indicate that at least 100 are needed) are, by provision in the revised Ordinance, allowed to be included in the parking requirements for the project.  In reality, they don't have to provide extra parking spaces, just to provide the "Park and Ride" signs.

    Our Township Supervisors struck a deal that gave the Developer what may represent $50,000.000. in extra revenue over the first ten years (and continuing every year thereafter) in exchange for some "Park and Ride" signs plus a significant strain on local municipal services, and what may well become a real  traffic nightmare.  Definitely a superb negotiating job!

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Summary of Concessions to the Developer
[That increased the Possible Size of the Project]

 1) The revised Ordinance added 12.5 acres to the land available for construction of the
    shopping center.
2) About 3/4 of a mile of Riparian (=river) Buffer Zone was erased from the site, adding
    about six acres to the land available for building.  Riparian Buffer Zones were required to
    protect wetlands (which are present on the site) and streams from the adverse
    impacts of development.
3) The total area of Impervious Cover (buildings, parking lots, streets, etc.) was limited
    to 60% by the previous Ordinance.  The revised Ordinance allowed for up to 70%,
    greatly increasing the area on which to build.
4) The Ordinance requires interior landscaping for the project.  This improves the visual
    appearance of the project, but takes away from the area in which stores can be
    constructed.  This requirement was decreased from 10% to 8%, also increasing the
    area for construction of stores.
5) Parking spaces were reduced in size from 10x20 feet [the size at Wal-Mart in Ephrata]
    to 9x18 feet.  The number of parking spaces required was also reduced.  The
    Minimum Required Off-Street Parking Spaces Per 1,000 Sq. Ft. of Gross Floor Area
    was lowered from 6 to 5.  The number of truck unloading spaces was also reduced.  In
    a facility of this size, that represents a huge area that would have been used for parking
    that can now be used for store space.

Table showing all of the revisions in new Zoning Ordinance.

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