EASTON, Pa. — A hearing for a proposed million-square-foot Easton Commerce Park warehouse will continue at an undetermined date after four hours of testimony from the developer Thursday.
Easton’s Zoning Hearing Board held a special hearing for the project, backed by Scannell Properties, to address a special exception to reroute a stream and potential contamination on the site, about 10% of which sits on city land.
“The proposed project will relocate the unnamed tributary, place it above ground or daylight it and require various other improvements."Attorney Marc Kaplin of Kaplin Stewart
Council chambers, and the lobby, were filled with residents — many from the Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse group — and attorneys representing the opposition to the project.
Attorney Marc Kaplin of Kaplin Stewart presented two expert witnesses — Bogia Engineering’s Donald Haas and environmental consultant Jeffrey A. Smith.
“The proposed project will relocate the unnamed tributary, place it above ground or daylight it and require various other improvements," Kaplin said.
"Such as the construction of a 40-foot-wide pave access road, a culvert for crossing the unnamed tributary, and the addition of various utility crossings, including a 12-inch water line, a gas main, multiple storm water management pipes, storm water management facilities and storm water outfalls.”
Permit problems
Kaplin laid out the argument that as the developer had procured all necessary permits for the project from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and other agencies, it had met the standards for the special exception in Easton.
“You've got to give an awful lot of weight to the findings of the DEP," Kaplin said. "So therefore, it is our position that the extensive review process undertaken by my client and its professionals in obtaining the approval of DEP to permit the channel relocation and floodplain encroachments, together with the maps, the plans, all the material we're going to send, more than satisfy my client's burden."
Last month, the city Planning Commission recommended that the zoning hearing board not approve the special exception.
It cited concerns with the relocation of the watercourse, the construction of the stormwater basin and the roadway within a floodplain on part of the property in Easton.
Attorneys representing residents potentially impacted by granting the special exception tried to question Haas’s status as an expert.
Haas said he had testified in such a capacity in at least three other cases, and city solicitor Robert Nitchkey and the board accepted him.
Haas explained that the rerouting project not only would avoid causing issues for the property and its neighbors, it effectively would improve the area.
“Once we relocate, it essentially daylights it," Haas said. "So now we're providing habitat connectivity, letting the fish go back up the stream with our proposed design.”
Haas said additional floodplain work would help reduce water velocity during floods and mitigate issues.
Questioned about permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Haas said the developer was at the “final stages,” which would require an escrow account — likely $100,000 to $200,000 — for maintenance of the tributary.
Haas said the escrow would be posted just before construction was imminent. He said that's not uncommon, as developers often want approval for the project before investing.
'New conditions will be an improvement'
Smith’s testimony largely addressed site contamination, and the potential for contaminated soil to impact the tributary, which runs into Bushkill Creek, and nearby residents.
According to Smith, cutting and filling on the property will see, “in many cases, tens of feet of fill placed on top of where residual contamination, as we found from our characterization, may exist.”
At 10 p.m., the hearing was paused, with an unspecified date to continue.Easton Zoning Hearing Board
Smith said metals were the primary concern. He said there were no volatile organics or other contaminants found “that are more challenging, more problematic from an environmental cleanup standpoint.”
“So again, we're taking it out from an area that's artificially conveyed at the site associated with surrounding soils that we know have metals contamination," Smith said. "That's a potential concern.
“We're filling over that, and we're going to move that channel to a place that doesn't have those conditions. So it's, in my opinion, from the standpoint of what we know about the site, what we characterized, and what the differences are between the existing conditions and new conditions, the new conditions will be an improvement.”
At 10 p.m., the hearing was paused, with an unspecified date to continue.
Kaplin said he felt his experts had effectively proven Scannell was entitled to the special exception.
'There's still a lot missing'
Following the hearing, Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse’s Colleen O’Neal said she felt that the developer’s case did not meet the requirements for the special exception.
“They don't have all of their permits, which has been very, very clear." O'Neal said. "If it's only to $100,000 or $200,000 escrow to get their Army Corps of Engineer permit, they're not willing to put that into escrow to get their permit.
“It sounds like there could be something else going on there. So they don't have that permit, and they've alluded to having other things that we haven't actually seen yet."Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse’s Colleen O’Neal
“It sounds like there could be something else going on there. So they don't have that permit, and they've alluded to having other things that we haven't actually seen yet.
"So we're really looking forward to having all of the documents that they've put together made accessible to the public, which they promised they would send a thumb drive to our city.
"And that our city will make all of this information accessible online through a special portal link.”
O’Neal said that “there’s a lot still missing” from the case, not only in regard to permitting, but for her own side to present.
Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse releases renderings
Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse has released new interactive renderings so visitors could see how the proposed project would look as compared to how the property currently stands.
“We are trying to hold our cards close to our chest right now. But it's really just apparent that [Scannell] haven't done their due diligence and that they are going to keep trying to slide things under the radar."Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse’s Colleen O’Neal
“Our coalition had some donations, and we are working with a firm, and they created these amazing three-dimensional renderings of the site within 3 feet of the actual plans that are being presented by Scannell,” O’Neal said.
“We want the public to see what they're actually trying to do to our environment and to our city. So you could go onto the website and there's a 3D renderings page, and you can access it through Instagram or Facebook, or just go onto the website.
"And you'll be able to use a slider to see the before and what is proposed to come, what the proposed mega warehouse will look like.”
The group's site also contains explainers on the project, a list of upcoming meetings, information sheets, documentation related to the project, testimonials and more.
O’Neal was apprehensive to dive into the case she will present with Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse at the next meeting, but encouraged anyone with questions on the project to reach out to the organization.
“We are trying to hold our cards close to our chest right now," O'Neal said. "But it's really just apparent that [Scannell] haven't done their due diligence and that they are going to keep trying to slide things under the radar."
