HARMONY — Residents and community leaders of Harmony and Jackson Township were motivated Tuesday night to take action after state officials failed to show up at an informational meeting about flood plain development.

The meeting was organized by Historic Harmony to get more information about rules and regulations controlling development in the Harmony-area flood plain due to concerns over a proposed development called Creekside Manor.

John Ruch, Historic Harmony president, said he had talked to Dan Fitzpatrick of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development more than a month in advance of the meeting.

Fitzpatrick did not respond to calls and e-mails and did not attend the meeting, Rush said. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection eventually responded saying that it would not send a representative, Ruch said.

“I apologize that our responsible public officials chose not to be here tonight,” Ruch said to attendees.

Creekside Manor was originally proposed in 2002 by developer Don Rodgers. It would be built on land in Jackson Township bordered by Mercer Road, Wise Road, Route 19 and the Connoquenessing Creek.

The land is encompassed in the flood plain zone designated by the Federal Emergency Management Administration, although the special rules and procedures for proposing development there have been unclear, which was one reason Tuesday’s meeting was called.

Harmony property owners saw extensive damage to their properties in 2004 when the creek flooded due to Hurricane Ivan. This development could potentially affect everyone who live in the flood plain because it would reduce the drainage of the land, Ruch said.

“If this is built, several million gallons of water in the next flood will have to go somewhere else,’ he said.

The property also qualifies for the national register of historic places since it was once part of the Ziegler farmstead original founded by Mennonites.

The latest version of the development has not yet been submitted to Jackson Township, though Ruch had a map he said he got from the developer showing plans to build more than 500 new residential buildings, mainly townhouses and apartment buildings. Ruch also had photographs showing that trees on the property had been cut down in March, which renewed concerns from residents.

The next step will be to join forces and make a formal plan to protest the development, Ruch said. Officials from Jackson Township, Harmony, Historic Harmony, Zelienople and the Harmony Business Association would be included, he said.

That strategy also was recently proposed by Harmony Council President Jim Hulings in a one-page letter about the development sent to borough residents as a part of the monthly borough newsletter.

“To protect our community, we need to form an action group of concerned citizens. We will need folks from Jackson Township, Zelienople Borough, Harmony Borough and other neighboring communities to ‘step up to the plate’ and do what is best to protect our communities from the threat of flood damage and continued loss of the natural beauty in the Connoquenessing Creek area,” the newsletter said.

At the suggestion of Harmony Mayor Cathy Rape, attendees of the meeting circulated a paper to write down their names and phone numbers so they can help with the process of protesting the development.

“All of you should be calling the DCED, and let’s have a plan here for people that want to do something,” Rape said.