DEP to take public comment on warehouse proposal

The developer behind a controversial warehouse proposal for Lowhill Township will take its project before the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection during a public hearing next week.

The warehouse, at 100,569 square feet, is proposed to be built on nearly 22 acres at 7503 Kernsville Road and developed by Core5 Industrial Partners, which also has industrial properties in Berks and Monroe counties.

The township previously rejected this and two other warehouse proposals, and all three have since gone to court to appeal the decisions.

The DEP hearing will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Germansville Volunteer Fire Company, 6011 Memorial Road.

The hearing will consider Core5’s February application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to allow the discharge of stormwater from the construction area into Cherith Brook, a tributary to Jordan Creek.

DEP Regional Communications Manager Colleen Connolly said the purpose of the hearing is only to solicit public comment from residents, not for the DEP to make a decision on the application. She added that the department is still reviewing the application and that there isn’t an estimated timeline for when it would make a decision.

People interested in testifying about the application should indicate so before the day of the hearing by emailing Conolly at coconnolly@pa.gov.

Attendees at the hearing will include representatives from the DEP’s Waterways & Wetlands program and the Lehigh County Conservation District.

To limit future warehouse development, Lowhill supervisors last month approved a zoning ordinance amendment that added clarification so the phrase “storage buildings” will no longer be misunderstood as permitting warehouses. The phrasing instead would be “self-storage facility or unit.”