WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners forwarded three separate requests by the developers of a new warehouse along South Church Street during Monday night’s workshop meeting.
Two of three ordinances would defer the required installation of curbing for the project, which is officially located at 3585 S. Church St. The first would defer curbing installation along the project’s Columbia Street frontage of about 650 feet. The second would defer curbing installation along the South Church Street frontage over roughly 1,850 feet.
The third ordinance commissioners forwarded would defer the required installation of sidewalks along the project’s South Church Street frontage over roughly 1,690 feet.
The developer – MRP Industrial – plans to demolish the former Bon Ton distribution center that is currently on the site to build a 504,900 square-foot warehouse.
Bohler Engineering officials, representing MRP Industrial, argued that currently there is no sidewalk along that corridor of Church Street. They added it was their preference that the road would not be used as a pedestrian roadway.
Commissioner Thomas Slonaker voiced his opposition the sidewalk bill. He said unquestionably the safest scenario would be to “get people off the damn road.” The most direct method to accomplish this, he noted, would be to construct the sidewalk.
Bohler representatives reiterated three separate times their request was a deferral, not a waiver. If at a future date commissioners determined the sidewalk was needed, they could make it a requirement and the developer would follow the law. Currently, Bohler said it is not warranted and that the township would need to contemplate an interconnected sidewalk strategy before it would be warranted.
The argument did not impress Slonaker. He called the “deferral not a waiver” strategy little more than an attorney’s manipulation of words.
The developer first made the requests last month. Facing almost certain defeat, the articles were pulled and reconstituted into three separate bills, which appeared on Monday night’s agenda. Commissioners will vote on the bills at their regular board meeting Feb. 10.
In other news, the board interviewed eight candidates for fill the vacant commissioner seat. The interviews delayed the start of Monday night’s meeting by about 15 minutes.
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