On Monday afternoon local building inspectors arrived at the Lancaster Stand and plastered “Condemned” notices all over the tobacco barn that has become the centerpiece of the protests against the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline. The notice was conducted by West Lampeter Township zoning officials, and overseen by the Conestoga Township Supervisors. The barn is privately owned by Justin and Susan Cappiello, who have granted permission for Lancaster Against Pipelines to hold the Lancaster Stand events on their land, including use of the tobacco barn.
Lancaster Against Pipelines leadership immediately met with West Lampeter Township building code officials. LAP representatives were told that any kind of community meeting in that space to resist the pipeline constitutes an illegal use of the tobacco barn. They were also informed that they could be fined up to $1000 per day if usage of the tobacco barn continued.
Lancaster County landowners are being cited for hosting and attending meetings in their own barn while seeking to protect their farm against billionaire outsiders who want to run an export pipeline through their land.
“Every day, families across Lancaster County use their barns for gatherings, church meetings, family reunions, storage, and countless other “non-agricultural” purposes. It’s clear to us that this is not about proper or improper use of a barn. Our community is simply exercising its First Amendment right to peacefully oppose a threat to our health, safety, homes, and land. We call on our supervisors to defend that right,” said the people from the Lancaster Stand
“We call on Conestoga Township supervisors, who have the final say in this issue, to stand up for the most basic rights of Lancaster County residents to express peaceful, legally protected opposition to the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. Presently, the supervisors appear to be obstructing those rights on behalf of Williams Partners from Tulsa, Oklahoma,” the group added
The Conestoga Township supervisors meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. at 3959 Main Street, Conestoga PA 17516.
