South Whitehall planners move forward on warehouses
“If sidewalks were built today it would be a sidewalk to nowhere.”
More than 900,000 square feet of warehouses along Crackersport and Eck roads in South Whitehall Township is moving closer to reality.
The South Whitehall Township Planning Commission Thursday recommended final plan approval for Black Creek Group’s construction of an industrial complex featuring three warehouses, along with recommendations for waivers and deferrals related to curbs, sidewalks and street trees.
The board of commissioners will vote on the final plan during its 7 p.m. meeting June 19 in the municipal building at 4444 Walbert Ave.
Commissioners granted preliminary plan approval last February and conditional approval in May 2018.
The plan includes a 640,305-square foot warehouse fronting Crackersport Road, one totaling 125,000square feet along the northwest side, and another spanning 141,900 square in the northeast corner near Eck Road. All are to be less than 50 feet high.
The land area is bisected by the Norfolk Southern rail line, with the smaller buildings planned for north of it on nearly 33 acres, and the larger warehouse south of the tracks on roughly 54 acres.
It is in the Industrial/Commercial Special Height Limitation zone, where warehouses are permitted by conditional use.
— Fidel Gonzalez, project manager with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, representing the developer.
Planners recommended a deferral from the ordinance requirement of sidewalks along the perimeter of the property pertaining to the frontage along the east side of Eck Road, which is to be realigned in order to straighten out an existing “S” curve.
They agreed with attorney James Kratz, representing Black Creek Group, that sidewalks won’t be necessary because there are none there now to connect to, and because the developer is proposing them on the west side of Eck Road.
“If sidewalks were built today it would be a sidewalk to nowhere,” said Fidel Gonzalez, project manager with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, representing the developer.
A deferral also leaves the township with the option to require them in the future, township Engineer Brian Harmon said.
A waiver was recommended from the requirement of 6 inches of curb height in order to conform to the PennDOT standard of 8 inches.
Curbing is proposed along the entire frontage of Crackersport and Eck roads, said Gonzalez.
A second waiver recommendation from the requirement of street trees within the township right-of-way was granted due to the existence of utilities in the area along the eastern frontage of what will be the realigned Eck Road.
Jim Murray, senior vice president of industrial development for Black Creek Group, said the company would provide the amount of trees that the ordinance requires, but will plant them nearby and away from where utilities are present.
Commissioner Robert Bielecki, who was not present, said in a written statement that he would like a commitment from Black Creek Group to “stagger the release of trucks away from peak hours at the critical intersections,” and suggested it be enforceable and apply to present and future property owners.
He said a direct outlet to the west, specifically Blue Barn Road, would alleviate congestion at the Route 309 intersections.
In response, Commissioner William MacNair said they will look in the future at ways to get access on the western side.
“To kind of spread the traffic to different intersections,” he said.
Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.