Warehouse project wins Allen’s approval

Supervisors OK preliminary plan set forth by developer David Jaindl, despite objections about truck traffic

Developer David Jaindl moved closer Tuesday to seeing his warehouse development in Allen Township become reality, but not without pushback from one township supervisor.

Dale Hassler went against his fellow board members in opposing preliminary plan approval, reiterating the position he stated during a presentation earlier this month.

Addressing Jaindl directly before a small gathering at the fire house on Howertown Road, he said that placing the proposed industrial park seven miles from Route 22 rather than along a highway didn’t make sense to him, that all of the road widening proposed will still result in a glut of trucks on two-lane Route 329, and that the zoning change by a previous board allowing for the use by right was the only reason it would get approved.

“The barn door is open, we can’t stop you,” he said.

Jaindl, in response, said “warehouses go where the land is zoned for,” and must have water and sewer available, which the site between Howertown and Seemsville roads does.

“You do have warehouse development in areas that are very similar to this,” he said.

Jaindl also responded to Hassler’s stated concern from the Feb 14 meeting that the warehouses could potentially sit unoccupied due to their distance from Route 22 and Interstate 78, stating that more than 95 percent of the warehouses his company has developed are occupied.

As part of the 4-1 vote for preliminary plan approval, Jaindl agreed to add a “no truck” mast arm above the driveway connecting the property to Howertown Road to prevent trucks from entering and exiting from that point.

He also agreed to conduct a final traffic study 18 months from the time that the last of the six warehouses is occupied.

He said they have tweaked the plan since it was first rolled out by including enhanced landscaped berms, dark sky lighting, and reorienting the buildings to minimize the impact on surrounding neighbors.

The extension of 4,100 feet of water line north toward Mud Lane is voluntary, he continued, and intended to help the residents in that area.

“We don’t want it,” someone in the audience called out.

Jaindl said that 32 of the 40 acres he is setting aside to the township as a conservation easement are usable open space, when he was only obligated to provide 5.6 acres, and that it’s “up to the board” to decide whether to accept that in lieu of cash.

Hassler said he would like both, with the money to go toward improvements at nearby Howertown Park.

He said the park “was decimated” by road widening along Route 329 last year.

“We can always use some improvements there,” he said.

Jaindl said he would consider that proposal and grant the contribution upon recording of the final plan.

He will also continue to try to pry the necessary right of way from a Shell gas station at Route 329 and Howertown Road to add a southbound right-turn lane to the other turning lanes at the intersection that he has agreed to undertake.

Sue Lindenmoyer, of Mud Lane, said all of the truck traffic that will be generated by Jaindl’s development, in addition to that from the nearby Liberty Property Trust industrial park planned for Route 329 west of Savage Road, will be too much for the roads to handle and will be a burden for the community.

“I don’t understand why you want to put all of these trucks on a little two-lane road,” she said.

Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer