A group of Upper Saucon Township residents continue to express strong opposition to a Lehigh Valley developer’s plan to build a warehouse and trucking terminal in the township.
Nearly a dozen residents spoke out against the project during a special meeting of the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors Tuesday night at Southern Lehigh Middle School.
The developer, Kay Lehigh LLC, is seeking the township’s approval to develop the project on a 119-acre property off Route 309 near East Valley Road. If operated at full capacity, the three-building truck terminal would bring in more than 800 trucks per day.
Earlier this year Kay Builders sought a zoning change to build a mixed-use development project of apartments, family homes and retail stores on that same piece of land. The company then pivoted to warehouses seemingly in response to negative feedback from both the public and the township’s board of supervisors on its earlier proposal.
While the township’s zoning code does not specifically prohibit truck terminals in Upper Saucon Township, it does require any property developed for that purpose be located no closer than 500 feet from residential housing. The developer said this provision is “exclusionary, arbitrary and unduly restrictive” as it relates to warehousing and trucking and has filed a curative amendment that proposes eliminating the 500-foot provision altogether.
Jason Englehart, project engineer from Langan Engineering, testified for Kay that the project includes a 500-foot exclusion area that satisfies the definition of a setback measurement, though township planners have argued that some existing properties do not comply with the 500-foot rule.
Residents opposed to the project say the uptick in truck traffic will lead to congestion and a higher risk for crashes in an already accident-prone area of the township.
“I think the project is outrageous,” Upper Saucon resident James Largay told the board of supervisors, adding that he’s circulated a petition among neighbors against the project that has garnered nearly 300 signatures. “Rather than seek a compromise to their original housing development plan, Kay threatens to disrupt nearby neighborhoods and the entire township by building a huge warehouse and truck terminal next to residential areas.”
The township’s board of supervisors will hold a special meeting to make a final decision on the project Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Southern Lehigh Middle School auditorium.
Peter Blanchard is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
