EASTON, Pa. — A Northampton County judge ruled Monday that Moore Township Zoning Hearing Board didn't violate the law when it rejected relief for two warehouses, 488,000 square feet in all, planned for 41 acres of Southmoore Golf Course.
“The actual plan per se wasn’t denied. The plan submitted needed certain zoning relief, and the zoning hearing board denied the zoning relief,” said Moore Twp. Solicitor David Backenstoe.
Though Northampton County Judge John Morganelli’s decision could require revisions to current plans, dealing a partial setback to developer Water’s Edge at Wind Gap LLC, it is not a fatal blow to the project.
Northampton County Judge John Morganelli’s decision holds that manmade steep slopes on the golf course property are subject to township land use regulations, and existing woodland preservation and berm requirements also apply to the site.
“The actual plan per se wasn’t denied. The plan submitted needed certain zoning relief, and the zoning hearing board denied the zoning relief."Moore Twp. Solicitor David Backenstoe
A lawyer for Water's Edge, Marc Kaplin, said Tuesday he plans to file an appeal with the Commonwealth Court.
In a win for the developer, Morganelli also determined that township officials can't impose restrictions on the proposed warehouses beyond those spelled out in zoning regulations.
Additionally, the company will not need to contribute land or pay a fee to the township for open space preservation.
If Morganelli’s ruling is upheld on appeal, the developer will be able to revise their plans to comply, Backenstoe said.
The plan's process
Determining how Moore Township’s regulations applied to the proposed warehouses first fell to the township’s consulting engineers and zoning officer, who issued a letter laying out several ways they believed plans for the two warehouses failed to comply.
Kaplin asked the township’s zoning hearing board to overturn several determinations in that letter.
After the board declined, Water’s Edge filed an appeal in Northampton County Court.
When Water’s Edge applied for preliminary land development approval in 2021, warehouses were allowed by right in industrial zones.
Soon after, Moore Township’s board of supervisors voted to make warehouses subject to the conditional use approval process rather than allowed by right.
However, when a landowner applies for preliminary land development approval, zoning and land use laws effectively freeze in time for the length of the approval process.
As a result, officials and residents in Moore Township have very little power to stop the proposed warehouses from being built.
Unless there are major changes to plans for the Southmoore warehouses, by-right zoning rules will continue to apply, said Backenstoe.
