LOWHILL TWP., Pa. — Three proposed warehouse projects in Lowhill Township remain on hold following a Tuesday evening meeting.
Updates were given at the township board of supervisors meeting.
Two of the projects — one measuring 100,569 square feet on 21 acres at 7503 Kernsville Road and the other measuring 312,00 square feet on 43 acres at 2766 Route 100 — are in litigation.
The developer for both projects is Core5 Industrial Partners, a real estate property company.
The third proposed warehouse project, at 2951 Betz Court, measures 299,800 square feet on 51 acres.
"All three are contentious."David Brooman, solicitor, Lowhill Township
CRG Development Services LLC, the developer for the Betz Court project, requested and was granted a hearing before the board of commissioners on Nov. 14 at Fogelsville Fire Company, township solicitor David Brooman said.
CRG is maintaining that its final plan is the same as its initial or preliminary plan for which it got deemed approval by the court on Nov. 16, 2022.
In May, the state Department of Environmental Protection preliminarily denied a permit for the Betz Court project.
CRG had applied to the DEP for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit for discharge purposes. The DEP is reviewing CRG’s permit application.
Developers are required to get NPDES permits if anything from activities on the site would drain into bodies of water, as an effort to keep the water clean and safe.
According to the DEP, if permits are denied, a developer can appeal. If that appeal is denied, the developer can resubmit an application.
Working through legal process
Supervisors Chairman Curtis Dietrich has said that if the permit is ultimately approved, the township likely would file an appeal.
All three warehouse plans have been denied by township supervisors because of concerns over safety, environmental impact and preserving the rural character of the 2,000-person township.
"All three are contentious," Brooman said.
Lehigh County Judge Michele Varricchio has ruled that the Core5 Kernsville Road plan was rejected by the supervisors with a quorum, meaning the denial will stand, for now.
Questions remain about whether the supervisors’ reasons for that denial were valid under the law — and whether the warehouse developers can get the permits needed to move forward.
Judge Varricchio will hear oral arguments about the Kernsville Road warehouse plan at 2 p.m. Thursday in Lehigh County Court.
As for the Route 100 warehouse project, the township has appealed a decision by county court to Commonwealth Court.
The lower court agreed with Core5’s contention that its preliminary plan is essentially identical to its final plan.
