A citizens group wants Upper Mount Bethel Township officials to hear from independent experts before considering zoning changes proposed for a major industrial development project.
The township’s board of supervisors has a hearing on the proposed changes scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, at the Potomac Street Community Park.
Concerned Citizens of Upper Mount Bethel Township’s lawyer Robert Rust sent a letter to the township on Aug. 21 requesting that the supervisors reject the amendment or defer consideration until a later date.
The proposed zoning amendment comes at the request of development company River Pointe Logistics, which is looking to construct up to 6 million square feet of buildings on 725 acres in the township’s industrial district.
The proposed changes would allow 100-foot-tall buildings and increase the allowable building footprint from 300,000 square feet to 800,000 square feet, or up to 1 million square feet under an additional approval called a conditional use.
Supervisors have said they support the changes, which were negotiated with developer River Pointe principal Lou Pektor. The changes will make it easier to bring in manufacturing to the development, as opposed to warehouses, according to the supervisors.
Warehouses would bring more traffic, fewer jobs and less tax revenue, the supervisors have argued.
Many residents who have attended recent meetings about the proposed amendments have said the developer knew what the zoning conditions were when he purchased the property. The township should not alter existing zoning restrictions to make way for bigger buildings, they said.
The group has gathered the signatures of about 200 people opposed to the text amendments on a petition, which it plans to present to supervisors at the hearing.
Before any amendments are passed, the group wants supervisors to attain testimony from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, which reviewed the proposal and had multiple objections to the amendment as written.
The group also asked that the Northampton County Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection provide findings and recommendations regarding the environmental impact of the proposed amendments.
Some of the supervisors have stated publicly that they have met with Pektor regarding the development and text amendment.
The citizens group letter asks that supervisors who met with Pektor recuse themselves from voting at the hearing.
However, township solicitor Ron Karasek said there is nothing inappropriate about supervisors individually meeting with the developer, as long as it was fewer than three of them at once, which would constitute a quorum for the five-person board.
Supervisors routinely meet privately with residents, businesses and developers regarding township business, Karasek said.
“I would expect that is what you want your supervisors to do,” Karasek.
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John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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August 30, 2020 at 05:30PM
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A developer helped craft zoning for a 6M-square-foot project. Residents demand outside scrutiny. - lehighvalleylive.com
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