‘Do the right thing.’ Marion Township residents voice concerns about possible travel plaza

If you drive along Jacksonville Road in Marion Township, it won’t take long before you notice dozens of white yard signs with big, red letters reading: “NO REZONE.”

The signs are in reference to a rezoning near Interstate 80’s Jacksonville Road/Howard exit that would make a proposed travel plaza possible. At a public hearing Wednesday to discuss the matter, about 70 residents packed the township’s municipal building to the point where people had to stand outside and watch through windows.

Scranton-based travel plaza company Onvo has proposed developing a travel plaza off of the exit along Walt Road, but the area is zoned for agricultural preservation and development, not commercial. And with the Interstate 99/Interstate 80 interchange project’s finished product no longer linking the interstates directly to Jacksonville Road, the pre-existing commercial zone around the interchange will be going away.

Township solicitor Louis Glantz recommended that the township’s supervisors work on a plan to find space in the township for a zone of that sort before a business exploits an exclusionary zoning policy and develops an unregulated commercial business anywhere in the township.

“Every township in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is required to have a zone for everything — you may not like it that way, but that’s the law,” Glantz said. “If you don’t, any developer can come in and say, ‘I want to plop my truck stop right there, and you can’t stop me because your ordinance is exclusionary.’”

While Onvo has yet to submit any official rezoning requests or development plans to the township, Glantz said a business coming in and developing an unrestricted commercial business in the township through the exclusionary zoning law would be “the last thing” the township wants.

The sooner that a commercial district is built, the less likely it is that the law will be exposed, he said.

Originally, when Onvo first showed interest in developing there, the supervisors had planned on rezoning 17 parcels along both sides of Walt Road near the exit for highway commercial use. But after a township planning commission meeting late last month, it was determined that only 40-45 acres on the east side of Walt Road would need to be rezoned.

The potential size decrease did not satisfy the many rezoning objectors at the hearing though, as 26 frustrated township residents got up to speak, each voicing concerns about what could come if the rezoning is approved and travel plaza is developed.

Environmental, crime concerns

Andrea Royer, a 12-year Marion Township resident who previously spoke about her concerns at a county commissioners meeting on Aug. 19, was the first to speak at the public hearing.

“I am not against progress. I’m not against development. I’m against development without information. I’m against development without us having some sort of plan in place that gives us control over what happens,” Royer said passionately.

She continued, “If you look up Onvo and do just a few Google searches, you can find a boatload of information about different sites that they have where all of the surrounding areas have had their water contaminated, deeds that are now marked and they’re not able to use the groundwater — that’s exactly what we live with, and once that happens, there isn’t remediation. It takes years to fix that.”

Her environmental concerns were echoed by nearly every other resident who spoke, with many bringing up issuessuch as increased strains on septic systems, ruined farmland, increased noise and light pollution, runoff from impervious surfaces, wildlife displacement and more.

Another common concern brought up at the hearing was the direct link that a travel plaza would create from I-80 to Jacksonville Road, which many residents fear would bring an increased rate of crime to the area.

Carly Miller, 21, who’s lived in the township her whole life, warned of the human trafficking-related dangers that travel plazas and truck stops can bring to a small-town community.

“If we bring something in like [a travel plaza] ... for these kids, that is an open door for them to go to a whole different side,” Miller said. “When we bring something in like that, think of all the crime possible — prostitution, sex trafficking, kids disappearing. ... [Marion Township] is a safe haven to me. I don’t want these kids to have a door open for them where they’re going to be unsafe.”

Residents request transparency, exploration of all options

Several residents asked the supervisors to slow the process down, explore all possible options and provide consistent, transparent updates.

“This is the most significant decision, that I’m aware of, that the supervisors have had to make regarding the future of how the township builds itself out,” said Matt Ford, a 29-year township resident. “It is being rushed. That is absolutely apparent to all of us. ... The transparency has been poor.”

He requested that the supervisors take their time when planning for a commercial zoning district, recommending that they wait until the November election is over to finalize a decision.

“I beg you, think about the residents here,” said Michele Sweeley, who’s been a township resident for over two decades. “We voted you in. There is an election coming up. We can also vote you out. I’m not being rude, I’m not throwing it at any particular person, but you are here to represent us — we voted you in. Please, please, do your job, do the right thing.”

Another public hearing planned

While the supervisors indicated that they likely won’t wait until November to make a decision due to the uncertainty of when a developer could exploit the exclusionary zoning law, another public hearing on the matter is tentatively planned for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24. To better accommodate the large crowd, they hope to hold the meeting at the Howard Fire Company’s hall.

At that meeting, Glantz is hoping that residents will use the hearing to create a list of conditions for the possible commercial zoning district so that the township will be able to better regulate and enforce light, noise and other environmental regulations, the size of the developments there, how many studies developers must complete and more.

While no official conditions for a commercial district were determined Wednesday, some residents offered suggestions such as putting the district in a location within the township that’s unappealing to developers, which Glantz said could be possible as long as the land there is technically “developable.”

Some residents also recommended leaving the commercial zoning where it is now, just without direct access to the facility once the interchange project is complete.

“There are real concerns, both short term and long term,” township resident James Burris said. “[The rezoning] will fundamentally change the character of the township, and who knows what future changes are in store, and what issues that could bring. ... We can’t vote on this very important issue as a township, and since you have the final say, I just ask that you consider our concerns and hear our voices before you make a choice.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM.