The
Journal of the POCONO PLATEAU ©2022, All Rights Reserved
VOLUME 26, NUMBER 19
March 25–April 8, 2022
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Overflow crowd attends Tunkhannock warehouse conditional use hearing by Lori R. Cooper
Route 903. The property is currently owned by Ashwalt It was a packed crowd, Properties, LLC and is in a spilling over to the hallway on C-2 General Commercial Zone. March 23 for the TunkhanThe conditional use hearing nock Township public hearing is an opportunity for presentaregarding an application for tion of testimony and evidence conditional use approval of the with a stenographic record. for a warehouse. The proposed “Conditional use” means location is on Route 115, near “special exceptions, subject to
certain criteria.” Atty. Richard Williams attended for the land developer, Route 115 Associates, along with an engineer. Atty. Abigail Jones from PennFuture.org represented the Tunkhanna Fish Association, a private fishing club on the Tunkhannock Creek, to the east of the proposed
An illustration of the site and the proposed structure from a handout distributed at the hearing.
warehouse. PennFuture.org is an organization to “empower citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations.” Jones, who is working pro bono, states that her organization is a “watchdog for the environment.” PennFuture.org also represents the “Our Pocono Water” campaign and has submitted a letter of opposition on their behalf. She stressed that any member of the public can submit proposed conditions, such as noise barriers, or reducing the size of the overall facility. The board of supervisors has put a public notice on their website, longpondpa.com, requesting comments by April 6. The proposed warehouse will be a total of 949,460 square feet with 153 loading docks and 769 total parking spaces on 68 acres. The developer plans to have the facility operating 24/7 365 days a year and estimates an average of 300 trucks coming in and 300 trucks going out each day. The facility is expected to have 475 employees. Residents of the nearby communities expressed concern that traffic could potentially block entrance to their communities and prevent emergency vehicles from entering if needed. Another
major concern expressed was the traffic when there are large events at the adjacent Pocono Raceway. Concern was also expressed about the effect of a warehouse on water, sewage and septic. At this point the developer has stated that all of those areas will need further exploration, and more perc tests need to be done, although some testing has been done, along with plans for storm water flow, wells and septic. Approvals from DEP and the Monroe County Conservation District will be required befor a warehouse can be constructed. Limiting the amount of time trucks can idle, and outside lighting limits were suggested by residents. Linda Albanese, who resides in Brier Crest Woods abutting the property, said “The roads are not equipped to handle the trucks and I’m concerned about the traffic, noise and lighting, especially given that this is a quiet community.” A mailing was sent to all Tunkhannock Township residents reading “Say no to warehouses in our neighborhood.” The flier noted concerns about air, water, noise and light pollution as well as fire and traffic hazards and asked for community support at the hearing. It See WAREHOUSE HEARING, page 2