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Moulden conceded they had not obtained permits for the trailers prior to them being delivered to the 1.25-acre church property at 127 Woodcrest Road, but that was because of time constraints.
"At the time they were donated, we really didn't have time to go through everything that was necessary," Moulden said. "So that we didn't miss out on getting the trailers, we had the trailers moved onto the property."
"Unfortunately, when you had this gift of these trailers and you had to move them, you really should have come to us right then. You could have started the whole process. Now we're working backwards," Supervisor Victor Matagna told the group.
As far as the neighbors' other complaints, Moulden contends they are baseless. He said while people may have seen some dirt spread on the site to level out holes in the lawn, there has been no digging, particularly in the old cemetery area. He explained that someone did clear out weeds and found an old marker that was moved to a safe, visible location, but that was the only one, and no graves were disturbed.
Moulden also denied charges that there are people living on the property. He explained that there is a trailer that is used for administrative office work, so people may be seen going in and out from time to time, but there is no one living there.
When the township receives a complaint about a zoning violation, the supervisors leave the matter completely in the hands of the zoning officer. "We, as a board, stay out of it. That's why we have a third party respond to it, and if you satisfy him, you satisfy us," Supervisor Curtis Mason said.
In spite of that, the supervisors have been drawn into the situation during their township meetings. They heard from both sides of the issue at their Sept. 17 meeting, where several of the church's neighbors spoke during public comment. They asked what had been done since they complained two weeks earlier and asked for action, plus they presented the supervisors with a petition with 23 names on it.
The neighbors left the meeting after giving their comments and before the church group arrived, so there was no opportunity for dialogue between the two sides.
"I'm trying to figure out why there isn't a neighborly attitude toward the church up there," Moulden said.
The church has been in operation at Woodcrest Road for at least 15 years. "Our intention is to have a private religious day school there for the children that are mostly members of our congregation," Moulden said.
The township zoning officer has visited the property, and there are some actions that need to be taken, including applying for permits for the trailers and checking to be sure that the site can be used for a school.
"He gave us some things that we needed to do, and we thought that there weren't any problems," Moulden said.
