Why is HAMPDEN TWP. the midstate's fastest-growing area? Residents are drawn to the low tax rate, schools and recreation

Aerial photos at the Hampden Twp. municipal building tell you all you need to know about population growth in the township during the last 35 years.

Each photo shows the same scene, separated by 10 or more years. The Conodoguinet Creek snakes through each of them. But as they move forward in time, the number of houses in the photo multiplies while the open space shrinks.

Hampden Twp., with 17.7 square miles, is the growth champion of Cumberland County and the midstate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates released this month showed the township population at 26,669 as of July 2007, an increase of 2,534 people since the 2000 census. Many midstate municipalities shrank in the same period.

The main draws? Low taxes, recreation and schools.

"We depend on growth," said township manager Mike Gossert. "We have the lowest first-class township property tax in the state of Pennsylvania."

That's $18 on every $100,000 of assessed valuation. That tax rate has stood for 25 years.

Low taxes are only one factor in Hampden Twp.'s attraction to home buyers. Another is the township's recreational opportunities, including the municipal pool and the Armitage Golf Course.

But nearly every discussion of why the township is popular touches on the Cumberland Valley School District, top-rated academically in the midstate based on PSSA test scores.

"I'm really excited about the new school for my daughter," said Mike Guimond, the general manager of Sun Motor Car-BMW in Mechanicsburg. "She's going into fifth grade. She'll be at Good Hope Middle School."

Guimond and his wife bought a house in the Pinehurst development about a mile north of Interstate 81. He wanted good schools, and the proximity to his job and to the interstate made it doubly attractive.

His wife works in Hershey, and their two children take riding lessons at a stable near Hershey. They've moved into Hampden Twp. twice, with a stint in Lancaster between.

Keith Sealover, the agent at Keller Williams Realty who sold them their house, said Hampden Twp. is "the primary nucleus of activity on the West Shore."

"It's a very well-managed township," he said. "It's known in the builder and developer community to be a friendly township to work with."

Sealover said he believes the township's central location and access to highways are key factors in why it is attractive, but he acknowledged that for many buyers, it's the schools.

"We loved the area and wanted to stay in the school district," said Neena Agarwal, who moved with her children from Silver Spring Twp. to Hampden. "We wanted to stay in the Cumberland Valley School District."

Some students find the CV schools too large, and some residents worry that Hampden is too friendly to builders and developers. Yet new residents keep coming.

But for how long? Gossert said he believes that most of the buildable land will be gone by 2020, when Hampden Twp. at present growth rates will reach its maximum population of about 35,000 people.

"We will run out of land eventually," he said.

DAVID DEKOK: 255-8173 or ddekok@patriot-news.com