EASTON, Pa. — There was a plan for the way the community meeting would be run.
Attendees would go from station to station, learning the basic facts, and discussing issues with officials who had some background on the impacts that the proposed Easton Commerce Park warehouse on Wood Avenue would have on the community.
But that fell to pieces just moments after the start of the meeting.
West Ward resident Colleen O’Neal stood up and made it clear to the representatives from Scannell Properties – they would answer questions about Easton Commerce Park in front of the whole crowd at once.
There would be no “divide and conquer” strategy here, she said.
That Dec. 19 meeting between Easton residents and the people behind a 1 million-square-foot warehouse – largely situated in Wilson Borough, but with an increasingly vital sliver sitting in the city – was originally meant to smooth over relations between the two parties.
If anything, it served as a unifying moment for upset citizens of the city, the borough, and the surrounding area to raise their voices against a project many had told them was inevitable.
Fast forward a month — the group has expanded its member base with experts from various backgrounds, launched a meeting schedule, mailing list and website, and made connections to local and regional politicians to combat what they consider an environmentally detrimental eyesore for the region.
And hanging upon the chain link fence surrounding 1525 Wood Ave. in Easton — where the rusty old Pfizer Pigments plant once stood — is a sign reading “DEFEND OUR CITY DENY WOOD WAREHOUSE,” though O'Neal says her group is not responsible for it.
Roots of discontent
Last Wednesday, Easton’s Planning Commission was scheduled to discuss Easton Commerce Park. But 1525 Wood Ave. had been removed from the evening’s agenda.
It certainly isn't gone for good, but members of Stop the Wood Ave Warehouse wouldn't have to travel to City Hall to speak out against the development that night.
“We're not trying to bring a huge corporation to court, but we are trying to protect ourselves in a way that the city is not going to be able to.”Colleen O’Neal
Nevertheless, they say, much work remains.
“We're not trying to bring a huge corporation to court, but we are trying to protect ourselves in a way that the city is not going to be able to,” O’Neal said.
“So we've spoken with some attorneys who are working with us daily. And then there are large national organizations, environmental organizations, that do support small initiatives like this. So, yeah, we're not trying to go into a long legal battle. But if that's what it turns out being, you know, we have everything to lose.”
Land use attorney Charlie Courtney, who represents Scannell Properties, said the Dec. 19 meeting with the community was needed to help him and the developers explain the plan effectively to the community.
“I think very often when these projects are proposed, the rumor mill starts," Courtney said. "So it’s always a great plan to have an outreach meeting where the plans can be presented and we can give the public the opportunity to ask what they want to ask.
"Which is why we had proposed the meeting the way we had proposed it, but it worked out."
Environment, traffic among concerns
As O'Neal puts it, her group isn't the sole opposition to the project. Individuals and other organizations have expressed discontent as well, making for a potential fight with several fronts.
Health concerns top the priority list for Stop the Wood Ave Warehouse.
Its website showcases environmental studies and commentary expressing concerns over “traffic, road deterioration, toxic runoff, air quality and asthma, creek contamination, soil contamination, and noise pollution.”
Wilson Borough Council approved the project in September over the pleas of neighboring Easton and Palmer officials, who requested delaying action.
While Scannell officials and members of Easton City Council have said the project is inevitable and the best path forward is to find ways to make the developer help the region, O’Neal said “That’s not a real solution at all.”
“I understand they’re trying to find ways to work with the community and the developer, but what’s it going to take? A high school kid dying in a crash on the way to school?" O'Neal said. "Is that what it’s going to take? Is it going to take 10 years of asthma rates increasing in the West Ward, and the adverse effects of that?”
And even if Scannell or another entity cleans up the grounds of the former pigment plant – a multimillion-dollar project in and of itself – the impacts of a new warehouse operation could prove detrimental to nearby residents and students – something that could impact generations of people, according to O’Neal.
She said while the developers can make promises, it’s ultimately up to whoever purchases or rents the facility once it’s completed to make good on those assurances, and many of those fighting the warehouse don’t trust that will pan out in their favor.
A tenant or specific use of the proposed warehouse has not been identified.
The solution, O’Neal said, is to learn as much as possible, organize, educate, and make a presence in the community — whether that’s in Easton, Wilson, Palmer, Forks Township, or elsewhere.
“We want to be more proactive. We're going to be prepared with our presentations," O'Neal said. "There's a lot of us working to reach out to more Palmer folks, as well as Easton and Forks and Wilson people, because I don't think a lot of the residents know what's going to happen or know what the long-term effects of this are going to do to the neighborhood.”
Not a 'NIMBY' situation
Despite the passionate opposition to construction, the point remains: The project has already been approved in Wilson, and Easton’s Planning Commission is in a position where it can't avoid recommending approval.
“If it's a permitted use, and it doesn't even require a special exception within Easton’s zoning, then those normal zoning considerations are irrelevant,” Easton Solicitor Joel Scheer said.
But Easton does have a land development ordinance that demands developers submit plans for dealing with wastewater management, ground suitability, and other environmental factors, Scheer said.
“One of the components should be reviewing the traffic issue. So that is probably the most glaring element that's going to take some scrutiny,” Scheer said.
The property is not far from the 13th Street interchange of Route 22 in Easton.
“But even with the traffic, once PennDOT has actually voiced what they would require to give a highway occupancy permit when you consider the preemption doctrine – which is that they control those roads that we're concerned about – that takes a lot away from, ultimately, the discretion of the planning commission because it must act upon what evidence is presented,” Scheer said.
“Their discretion is somewhat limited to whatever our city land development plan requires. The issues have to be within the province of our ordinance, and we cannot go beyond that.”Joel Scheer
If the commission finds all the elements of the checklist are addressed, they technically have no room for opposition. Unless the developer fails to secure a highway occupancy permit, there are few to no options available to block the project.
“Their discretion is somewhat limited to whatever our city land development plan requires. The issues have to be within the province of our ordinance, and we cannot go beyond that,” Scheer said.
Ultimately, if the planning commission fails to recommend the project, Scannell can appeal to Easton City Council, which would likely grant a hearing and end up reinforcing the idea that the project hits all the marks.
And that could cost the city substantial amounts of money in the process.
But O’Neal sees the potential struggle as an absolute necessity, imagining the impact on 13th and 25th streetswith increased traffic and overflow from crashes.
“Think about the traffic impact on 13th and 25th Street, especially 13th Street. If there's a backup, or there's an accident on 22, or all the backup that we're going to be seeing that's going to affect our first responders, getting to medical emergencies, getting to fire emergencies,” O’Neal said, adding Wilson and Forks will feel the burden as well.
“This isn’t a NIMBY situation,” O'Neal said. She calls it a complicated venture against a facility that she and many others see as a potential harbinger of environmental ailments, health concerns, and direct dangers to residents across the region.
And if local government committees and commissions can’t help, O’Neal said, she and her compatriots will jump back in and reconfigure their strategy.
As she puts it, they're the ones who have everything to lose.
“I think that when any public official voted into office turns to the people that they're meant to represent, and tells them that there is an absolute ‘no’ for something that's incredibly important to their health and well-being, not only in the now but for generations, then maybe they need to reconsider how they're approaching this situation,” O’Neal said.
