At the Feb. 24 board meeting, a Stone Ridge development homeowner asked Allen Township Board of Supervisors to consider eliminating the easement for a pedestrian path that connects the residential Stone Ridge neighborhood to nearby commercial development.

Marc Francola, a resident in the development, told supervisors he wanted the township to eliminate the easement for pedestrian access that created a path out from the development onto Stonegate Road. The path creates security and privacy concerns for his family and others in the neighborhood as currently constructed, Francola said.

“We saw the plans, and we knew the easement was there,” he said. “I did not expect it to be that wide open. We did not think there were going to be the issues we are seeing now. People are traversing that path at 10:00 at night.”

He also expressed concerns about vehicle lights affecting homeowners in the area because of how open the path is.

“When people drive down Stonegate Drive, the car lights shine directly into our living room,” Francola said.

If the path were to get closed off, that could address the issues with the vehicle lights, Francola suggested.

Francola said he would like to see the path’s complete removal, eliminating that point of pedestrian access to the development.

A township easement exists that allows for pedestrian access; however, the path itself is owned by the neighboring property owners, said B. Lincoln Treadwell Jr., township solicitor. Additionally, Stonegate Road, which the path connects to, is a private drive, township officials said.

“I am not opposed to getting rid of it, but I do not think the burden of removing the path should fall on the taxpayers of the township,” said Paul Link, board of supervisors vice chair. “That cost should fall to the homeowners’ association or the property owners.”

This is not the first time supervisors have received a request of this nature. A similar request to remove a different path at another location was denied by supervisors, said Gary Behler, township supervisor.

He and other supervisors said more input from other residents in the development would be needed.

“I think everyone who lives there in the development should have a voice because it was in the original plans,” Behler said.

Supervisor Sean Sculley wanted to ensure safe pedestrian travel options remained if the path was removed.

“I do not think taking the long way around is a huge issue, but I want to make sure that is actually a safe option,” he said.

Supervisors agreed to send a letter to other residents in the development and hold further discussions on Francola’s request at a future meeting.

In other business from the meeting, supervisors unanimously approved the addition of Keycodes as a third-party building code inspector for 2026 and added the accompanying deposit fees to the township’s general fee schedule.

Township supervisors also unanimously authorized Berkheimer to collect the township’s 2026 real estate taxes.

The board of supervisors was expected to hold a meeting March 10 at the township municipal building, 50 Snow Hill Road.