NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Another controversial warehouse plan has come to Lehigh County.
North Whitehall Planning Commission on Tuesday discussed a proposal to build a 547,500-square-foot, 50-foot-high warehouse at 3121 Route 309, about a half mile north of Orefield Middle School.
The 71-acre site is largely undeveloped, containing an existing residence, agricultural land and woodlands.
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission recently voted to give an unfavorable recommendation to the project, saying it is not consistent with Future LV, the LVPC's vision for the region.
But that plan is not law, and according to North Whitehall Director of Operations Jeff Mouer, the use is allowed according to township law.
“We do want to be thoughtful developers. We want to be responsible neighbors."John Pollock, principal at the warehouse development company, Trammell Crow
John Pollock, principal at the warehouse development company, Trammell Crow, said the company would try to mitigate any negative impacts from the warehouse.
“We do want to be thoughtful developers; we want to be responsible neighbors,” Pollock said. “We want to hear your [the planning commission] input, we want to hear the residents’ input.”
About 50 people attended the meeting, many voicing opposition to the project.
Key concerns included congestion on Route 309, the safety impact of having more tractor-trailers on a road so close to schools and the impact to the environment.
The warehouse would be built “on spec,” meaning the developer does not have a tenant for the building.
Truck traffic in the area
At the LVPC’s May 23 meeting, even though the commission gave an unfavorable recommendation, it recognized that the warehouse project is allowed under the township zoning ordinances.
The proposed land parcel is zoned for light industrial uses such as warehousing, meaning the township can't stop such projects from being built.
But LVPC members still did not feel the project was a good fit for the area, especially because of the amount of traffic generated by the proposed warehouse project.
It is estimated to generate an average of 903 total vehicle trips per day, of which 600 will be passenger vehicles and 303 trucks.
“It’s occurred to me that with the number of vehicle trips per day — almost 1,000 — I hope North Whitehall Township knows how much more it’s going to take to take care of their roadways,” LVPC member Steve Melnick said at that meeting.
“I can only imagine what’s going to happen to those roadways.”
But at Tuesday’s meeting, Pollock said similar warehouse projects in operation generate only about half of the projected vehicle trips.
He also argued that the traffic generated would not affect the roads as much as people feared.
“It is a heavily trafficked corridor without this project,” Pollock said. “Our numbers do sound scary. They are a drop in the bucket in the volume of traffic on 309 in this area.”
Several residents said the road could not handle that additional traffic.
“I can't get out of my driveway because people don't want to let you out,” said Karen Cate, who lives along Route 309.
The traffic engineer with the project said PennDOT’s Route 309 betterment project would help with current congestion on the road.
The project will include new traffic signals at six intersections. PennDOT also will widen the roadways, put in 8-foot shoulders and add new turning lanes at the intersections.
According to the current plan, some of the trucks from the warehouse would go onto Orefield Road to turn left at the light onto Route 309.
That intersection is among those to be improved in the betterment project.
Orefield Road resident George Singerline said the two-lane road can't safely handle the influx of truck traffic.
"Someone is going to get hurt, and it's probably going to be me," Singerline said.
Other concerns
Planning Commission Vice Chairman Robert Korp told the audience that the township has to have multiple areas for every type of use in its zoning ordinances — no matter how much community members might not like them.
“If a warehouse must be permitted somewhere — and it must, we're not allowed to have only one — this is probably the better location for it,” Korp said.
But Korp also said he thought the design of the site was “short-sighted and insufficient.”
“We're gonna have to see more," Korp said. "There's a lot more to be proved here. Just because a warehouse can be here doesn't mean it should be here.
“There are many other profitable uses of the land that would have less detrimental impacts on the surrounding road network in the community.”
"Poor or rich, from your property you could appreciate the local environment. You can’t anymore."North Whitehall resident Nicholas Smith
Planning Commission member Kathy Crawford asked if there would be any facilities such as showers or sleeping areas for truck drivers.
“In this area, there is a tremendous shortage of facilities for truck drivers, for overnight parking or rest areas,” Crawford said.
Catherine Durso, a lawyer with Trammell Crow, responded, “Part of the issue is that what you're describing is not a warehouse facility. It's a trucking terminal, which most places don't want, which is why everybody has the problem that they have.”
Crawford said, “I completely understand, I don't want a truck terminal or a truck stop next to my house, either.
“But the fact of the matter is that these truckers, when they don't have that, they stop on the roads. They have no place to throw trash, so it goes out of their truck. There's no place to use facilities, so — I’ll stop there.”
Crawford said some warehouses in the area provide showers for truck drivers. Pollock said it is difficult to require tenants to provide that.
North Whitehall resident Nicholas Smith lives near the UNFI warehouse in Schnecksville. He said he understands that people need jobs, but also feels that the warehouse has made his quality of life worse.
“Before that went in, in Schnecksville, poor or rich, from your property you could appreciate the local environment. You can’t anymore,” Smith said.
Staff writer Phil Gianficaro contributed to this report.
