BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — A warehouse proposed for an area of Freemansburg Avenue that officials and residents say is plagued with roadway safety issues was rejected Monday by the Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners.
And after nearly two hours of back-and-forth with developers, who planned the 866,350-square-foot facility for 1600 Freemansburg Ave., commissioners voted unanimously against the proposal.
The room, with nearly every audience seat filled, roared with applause.
Since the development would’ve been basically cut in half by the border of Freemansburg and Bethlehem Township, the project also had been reviewed by the borough, whose officials had signed off on preliminary plans.Developer Trammell Crow Co.'s proposal
Since the development would’ve been basically cut in half by the border of Freemansburg and Bethlehem Township, the project also had been reviewed by the borough, whose officials had signed off on preliminary plans, according to developers.
The warehouse would be on 116 acres, including 69 in the township and 47 in Freemansburg, and would sit within the General Industrial Zoning District.
That area would allow the development as a permitted use, according to township zoning code.
The township Planning Commission in November voted against the proposal.
Many of the residents who came forward on Monday supported the idea of the township going to court to further fight the proposal if needed.
Traffic, environmental effects
Senior Vice President John Pollock of Trammell Crow Co., the company looking to secure the area and develop, said the proposed warehouse would sit upon a former limestone quarry site.
At this point, the whole project was “speculative,” especially since the land hadn’t yet been bought from the current owner and a tenant hadn’t been selected to operate out of the warehouse, officials said.
Developers still said they’ve done their homework.
“The developer and his consultants have diligently worked with both the representatives in the borough as well as the township representatives to get us to this point,” applicant attorney Catherine Durso said.
“That includes the engineer, the planner, the outside consultants and as well as PennDOT.”
Langan Engineering’s AnnMarie Vigilante described the preparation of the project’s transportation impact study and its “conservative” outcome. She said PennDOT at this point had no further significant comments on the study.
Ordinance states developers only had to look into traffic impacts for the surrounding quarter-mile from the property — in this case, out to Willow Park Road and Stefko Boulevard.
The study area included six nearby intersections and the site access point.
Developers have said estimates show 17 total truck trips to the site during morning peak hours of 6-9 a.m., as well as 26 trips during the afternoon peak hours of 4-6 p.m.
That would be a 50/50 mix of traffic going east and west, Vigilante said.
Throughout the day, the development reportedly would see 1,481 daily vehicle trips, including 520 trucks and 961 passenger vehicles.
But that number ultimately depends on the tenant that ends up occupying the space if the project was approved, developers have said.
The site was planned to include 153 loading docks and 198 spaces for parked trailers.
A provided growth factor from PennDOT accounting for a five-year outlook also was implemented into the study.
Site access was proposed off of Freemansburg Avenue, which is a PennDOT roadway.
Developers said an exclusive eastbound left-turn lane and westbound right-turn lane would move to the site, and the main driveway would be signalized while a second drive would be included for emergency access.
Current property owners have undertaken a clean-fill operation for a decade that’s “closely watched” by the EPA, engineers said.
That comes following a time of illegal dumping that happened on the site but has been cleared since then, they said.
“No additional action was necessary from an environmental perspective,” said Jason Engelhardt, of Langan Engineering’s Lehigh Valley office.
The site owner since 1988, John Tallarico, before the vote said he's only gotten one noise complaint after years of operating on site. Those businesses have included clean fill and mulch operations as well as a composting facility.
Tallarico said he heard where the residents were coming from in regard to the traffic concerns, but wanted to "leave that to the experts."
However, he said he'd be open to take questions from the public about the environmental criteria he and his partners have had to meet over the years to operate on the former quarry site.
Commissioner comments
“Here’s my issue with the traffic study, that five of the six intersections weren’t even done in Bethlehem Township,” commissioners Chairman John Merhottien said.
He was met with applause from the crowd.
Vigilante said the intersections involved were vetted by PennDOT and township staff, and the study involved “bigger” and signalized intersections “in the general vicinity.”
“The larger intersections that are impacted the most, right, with the amount of volumes, if they operate efficiently, ones that are getting less volumes are going to operate efficiently,” Vigilante said.
Commissioner John Gallagher said the trip count was “a little deceiving,” and no matter what, that much traffic would come with increased roadway repairs and pollution involved.
Vigilante said the trip counts would be managed through a PennDOT permit.
'Who's more important to you?'
Township resident Tom Keefer said, “This is not an accident waiting to happen, this is a death waiting.”
He said a recent, similar case regarding a proposed warehouse in Palmer Township ended up going in the municipality’s favor, after officials denied the proposal and were taken to court by the developers.
Durso said that case involved a conditional use, where the one proposed from the township would involve a use permitted by right.
“There’s a problem now. How can it be an improvement by adding more vehicles?”Bethlehem Twp. resident Regina Fleissner
Some residents were even more concerned about stormwater management, as the new site could see runoff to nearby Nancy Run and potentially the Lehigh River.
Resident Regina Fleissner said the development overall was “just illogical.”
“There’s a problem now,” she said. “How can it be an improvement by adding more vehicles?”
Resident Steven Mayer said that while the developers and engineers involved are acting in a legal manner with their pre-development work, it would set a glooming precedent moving forward.
“It’s going to take the courage to step up and say, ‘These people shouldn’t have this happen to their community,’” Mayer said.
Brian LaFlamme, another resident, said he felt the township already had a legal right to object to the project.
“It does not safeguard the interest of the public traveling along Freemansburg Avenue and especially the homeowners along Freemansburg Avenue,” LaFlamme said. “It only safeguards Trammell Crow.
“Who’s more important to you? Who’s more significant? A multi-billion-dollar company or your own citizens?”
“I just want to say that you guys aren’t from here, because if you were from here, you would understand that this is literally a nightmare scenario."Bethlehem Twp. resident Rachel Angst
Rachel Angst said she lives in “one of the closest houses to this project.”
Speaking to the developers, she said, “I just want to say that you guys aren’t from here, because if you were from here, you would understand that this is literally a nightmare scenario.
“There’s no way that this is in any way is going to make our community better or stronger.”
