The $100 million, 650,000-square-foot shopping complex is proposed for a former 90-acre farm across Harrisburg Pike from Long's Park.

Those in favor were Carol Simpson, Larry Downing and Michael Flanagan; Nancy Keebler and Rick Casselberry voted no.

The opposition was represented by attorney Bill Cluck, who believes the township's approval of the plan was a violation of its own stormwater ordinance.

"We'll see them in court," Cluck said. "They violated the law by going against their own ordinance."

"The commissioners spent a good deal of time understanding all of the issues that went into this plan," said Benjamin H. Bamford, senior development manager for the developer, High Family Partnership. "And certainly we think now that they have given us a majority positive vote, we'll be able to move ahead with plan development."

The plan involves encroaching on the floodplain of Little Conestoga Creek, which flows to the rear of the tract.

The developers would compensate for that by digging down in the flood plain to allow a volume of floodwater to move through it similar to what floods there now. That would prevent spillovers.

But the proposed flood plain configuration still would be 4.5 acres short of what is there now. Cluck said this flood plain deficit is not allowed under the law and the board cannot change the ordinance to suit a developer.

"You do not have the power to modify your ordinance," Cluck said.

A plan for the site with a 6-acre floodplain deficit was defeated by the commissioners in a 3-to-2 vote in September with Flanagan joining the nays.

Monday, Flanagan changed his vote, saying he had intently studied all of the minutes, as well as comments by those both for and against, and "found compelling" comments by the township's engineer that High's plan will work.

Even though the flood plain still shows a 4.5-acre deficit, High's engineer, Gerald McClune, said the new plan adds more of a streamside buffer and would improve the quality of the water being discharged into Little Conestoga Creek.

Some residents spoke in favor of the project. Larry Pulkrabek told the board, "This (project) is the future. Don't buy into the idea that change is bad and that you have to put on the brakes."

Residents downstream from the planned development, most of whom live in Manor Township, are still not sold on the plan.

Arthur O'Connor said flooding is bad already, and he fears it getting worse. He said he was told to plant trees to the rear of his home to serve as a buffer. He did that, he said, and subsequent flood waters have all but wiped them out.

Flanagan said 18 conditions are being attached to High's approval, most of which require that discharge and volume coming from the site is not to exceed what is flowing from it now.

The conditions also require stage-by-stage inspection and approvals from all levels of government from the township to the state Department of Environmental Protection to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Besides, he said, the board is "approving a concept." There are many approval steps the project must go through before its completion.

On the conditions, Bamford said he had not yet had the chance to look them over, but from what he heard from the commissioners, there was nothing "we felt was going to be an issue."

The Crossings project would consist of 45 commercial lots ranging from 500 square feet to 132,000 square feet in four main buildings.

The project includes a $27.5 million plan to improve traffic flow by reconfiguring the intersection of Harrisburg Pike and Route 30.

The Crossings at Conestoga Creek is expected to generate 459 new daytime car trips and 1,476 new evening trips every day on weekdays and 2,332 new trips on Saturdays.

E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com