What to know after Marion Township rescinds rezoning ordinance tied to truck stop plans
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Supervisors rescinded December 2025 rezoning that would have allowed a truck stop.
- Residents sued, saying rezoning lacked required public hearing and legal notice.
- Township to draft resident protections and explore moving commercial zoning with neighbor.
The Marion Township supervisors recently voted to rescind a December 2025 ordinance that rezoned eight parcels of land near Interstate 80 from agricultural to highway commercial, a move that would have cleared the way for a truck stop.
About 60 residents a public hearing for the ordinance’s rescinding in late March, where 15 spoke against the truck stop and in favor of killing the ordinance.
FULL STORY: Marion Township supervisors rescind contentious rezoning ordinance. What’s next?
Here are six key takeaways:
- Scranton-based travel plaza company Onvo had expressed interest in building a truck stop on the formerly-rezoned land last fall, but no development plans have been submitted.
- Township residents Lisa and Matt Ford filed a lawsuit in January against the township, claiming the December ordinance was approved without a public hearing or proper notice.
- The supervisors also rejected three alternative proposals to rezone land to highway commercial. Supervisor Herb Chapman was the only one in favor of the first item, and the other two failed without a motion.
- Township solicitor Louis Glantz said the rezoning was intended to replace highway commercial acreage the township will lose when the Interstate 99/Interstate 80 interchange project wraps up around 2030. Without adequate zoning, a business could exploit an exclusionary zoning loophole to develop a project anywhere.
- Supervisor Don Moore said the township plans to add protections for residents — covering building height, light and noise exposure, groundwater testing and potentially more — before pursuing any future rezoning.
- The supervisors will work with neighboring Spring Township to explore accommodating Marion Township’s highway commercial zone, an idea raised at a recent Nittany Valley Planning Commission meeting. Timelines for that collaboration have not been set.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 11:51 AM.