UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — The owners of a proposed coffee roastery told township supervisors Thursday they're frustrated by what they said was a system not set up for small business owners.
Nowhere Coffee Co. co-owners Juan and Lauren Vargas spoke at the meeting after Upper Macungie Zoning Officer Marvin Walton denied a permit for the business' planned roastery at 1115 Trexlertown Road.
The couple said they already signed a lease on the property and bought a $50,000 roaster.
Walton determined that the roastery is classified under “manufactur[ing] and/or bulk processing” of food products, which is not allowed in the Neighborhood Commercial zoning district of the property.
“You gave no guidance. You ask no clarifying questions,” Lauren Vargas said. “You did not find the exact word roasting in your zoning code.
"And you were permitted to make a unilateral assessment of my business and reject our application with zero visibility into how or why.”
Supervisors Vice Chairman Sunny Ghai said the process is the same for every business, and it would not be fair to allow one business to not follow it.
“I do support small businesses, it’s not that I don't," Ghai said. "But we still have to follow the laws that we have today. We can't just make an exception."
The Vargases own two coffee shop locations, one in Emmaus and one in South Whitehall Township. The business recently was in the spotlight because President Joe Biden visited the Emmaus location last month.
About a dozen customers and employees came to the meeting to support the couple, Juan Vargas said.
The Vargases have appealed the denial to the township zoning hearing board. The tentative date for the hearing is March 13.
'We're listening'
In his comments, Juan Vargas criticized Walton for not asking him and his wife for more information before denying their permit.
“There's a lot of work that went into the permit application that Marv [Walton] so quickly denied with not a single question, site visit or anything along those lines,” Juan Vargas said.
Lauren Vargas said the township should accept permit applications online, and that someone at the front desk of the township asked if she had her files on a floppy disk.
“It is blatantly clear to me that this system is outdated and inefficient by design," Lauren Vargas said. "Keeping independent business out of this township is apparently a feature, not a bug, of your organization.”
Ghai later clarified that the township employee misspoke and meant to ask for a thumb drive. The township does not have anything to read a floppy disk, he said.
Assistant Township Manager Kalman Sostarecz said the township is converting its system to accept permit requests electronically, with a tentative launch date of January 2025.
He said it's a complicated process that has taken a lot of time and funds.
Board Chairman Jeff Fleischaker said he asked the township manager to work to improve the communication and customer service of the township’s operations.
"This board is not empowered to gavel down and change. It just doesn't work that way."Board Chairman Jeff Fleischaker
Fleischaker said the board of supervisors can't change zoning decisions, but it can address complaints about outdated zoning laws.
He said all concerned residents should participate in the current review of the township land use laws.
“We're listening," Fleischaker said. "We're doing what we can to make sure that we are adapting over time. But this board is not empowered to gavel down and change. It just doesn't work that way."
An intense discussion
Juan Vargas then came back up before the board and said his business does not have time to wait for land use laws to change.
Lauren Vargas previously said that even waiting until the zoning hearing on March 13 will hurt their business.
“We're gonna go round robin on this for the next three years, but it doesn't quite matter,” Juan Vargas said.
“Because we’re not going to be here in three months. We're not going to be here in six months. We're not going to be in Upper Macungie because you've already wasted our time.”
Juan Vargas left the room after finishing his comment.
“We are asking for the same level of respect that you gave someone with the last name Jaindl."Nowhere Coffee Co. co-owner Lauren Vargas
Lauren Vargas then criticized the board for whispering to each other while her husband spoke.
“We are asking for the same level of respect that you gave someone with the last name Jaindl, that you gave someone who has a massive warehouse or that you give anybody else who you have decided is allowed to succeed in this township,” she said, echoing discourse on social media about the situation.
“Maybe it's because they follow the ordinances that are set up to protect the citizens,” township Planning Commission Vice Chairman Paul McNemar shouted from the audience.
“I already heard you online, Paul. You can go away now,” Lauren Vargas responded as she went to leave the room.
“Maybe you should read the code and learn it before you waste all our time,” McNemar said.
Former supervisor Kathy Rader, who previously was a township zoning officer, said Upper Macungie has to follow the Municipalities Planning Code’s process for changing the land use laws.
“You cannot possibly think of every single use out there unless you have a crystal ball," Radar said. "And as things change, and change quickly… it is very difficult not just for this township, but for all townships to keep the zoning ordinance up to date.”
Lehigh County Commissioner Ron Beitler later weighed in on social media. He said as a small business owner, he empathizes with their complaints, but the issues they raise are not unique to Upper Macungie.
"Small businesses face higher barriers, with the costs of even simple projects quickly escalating into the tens of thousands," Beitler wrote.
"This is a problem. It should not be this way. And it's structural. It involves state and local government."
Beitler said he would speak with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission to see if they could make recommendations for municipalities to better work with small businesses.
Fleischaker said township staff could try to move up the Zoning Hearing Board date, but the hearing docket is filled quickly with other applicants.
