The Ligonier Country Market will need to search for a new home this year now that the Ligonier Township supervisors rejected a request Tuesday from the Waterford Volunteer Fire Department to rezone its property for commercial use.
That would have allowed the market vendors to sell their their wares there.
The three township supervisors who were allowed to vote on the matter — Dan Resnic, Wade Stoner and Stephanie Verna — unanimously opposed the request to reclassify the fire department’s 26-acres on Fire Hall Road, off of Route 271, from an agricultural zone to a commercial one.
Property zoned for agricultural purposes in the township does not permit retail sales.
The two other township supervisors, board chairman John Beaufort and Paul Knupp, have been prohibited from voting on the issue because of their ties to the Waterford fire department. Beaufort’s brother is the fire chief; Knupp is a member of the fire department.
Solicitor Dan Hudock said the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission had issued a ruling that barred Beaufort and Knupp from voting on the rezoning request because of a conflict of interest.
“I don’t want to revisit this whole thing on commercial (zoning),” Resnic said.
At the board’s April 15 meeting, the three supervisors failed to approve it but also failed to formally table the rezoning request for further review.
Resnic said he wanted to make it clear to the community there would not be a farmers market at the fire department property.
Judy Ebberts, who spoke on behalf of the fire department, said the Waterford department did not seek to have the issue raised at Tuesday’s meeting.
Stoner said he believes there are better options for the fire departments other than rezoning the land from agriculture to commercial. Seeking variances or getting conditional uses approved, could be options.
Ebberts declined to comment following the meeting and Robert Derk, Waterford fire department president, did not attend the meeting.
The Ligonier Country Market had applied to Ligonier Township for a special events permit to use the fire department property for its Country Market this season, but without the rezoning to a commercial use, the supervisors never voted on the request.
Despite being blocked from using the fire department property, the Country Market’s website still lists the site for its farmer’s market season it says will start May 16.
Kelly Svesnik, Country Market director, could not be reached for comment following the meeting. A voicemail on the Country Market phone said it is not accepting applications for the 2026 market season.
Svesnik had said earlier this month the organization has other options, but declined to reveal what those options might be. There was some discussion in February about moving the market to Ligonier Borough, but concerns were expressed over the thousands of people who patronize the market, crowding Main Street.
The Ligonier Country Market had for 25 years operated in a field owned by the Loyalhanna Watershed Association. The site is just off West Main Street in Ligonier Township, near the intersection of Route 30.
The Country Market lost its lease for use of the watershed association property in January when it could not come to an agreement on the conditions the association wanted in the new agreement, including reducing the number of vendors from about 130 to 75, adhering to a rain cancellation policy and eliminating a November holiday market.
Despite not having a lease with the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, the Country Market’s special events permit for using the watershed association land, had been approved and remains valid, said Michael Strelic, township manager.
The township supervisors did agree to refer to the planning commission the question of what is the best approach for zoning the properties of the township’s three fire departments — Darlington, Waterford and Wilpen.
Derk previously had told the township supervisors the fire department properties were misclassified with an agricultural designation, which limits their ability to expand their fire halls to no more than 25% of the existing structure. The fire department wants to expand its fire hall, Derk had said.
To help provide a classification for a farmers market, which does not exist in the zoning ordinance, the supervisors want the planning commission to create a definition for such an activity and where it could be located.
Beaufort said he would hope the planning commisison would consider the issue in the next few months.