WILSON, Pa. — A grassroots community group has amplified its call to action against the controversial Easton Commerce Park warehouse.
Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse Coalition last week revealed the launch of a new billboard campaign against a massive warehouse proposed at 1525 Wood Ave.
The billboard, near 17th Street heading west on Route 22 from Easton to Wilson, reads “Scannell Properties’ mega warehouse here?” along with an arrow pointing toward the property, and a website address, NoMegaWarehouse.Org.
“I feel like it really puts some energy back into the campaign. I think that was really helpful, an energy boost, and it was fun, a little punk rock, and it had some really good responses.”Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse Coalition's Colleen O’Neal
The sign aims to “inform residents, businesses, and travelers of the negative impact Scannell Properties’ proposed one million square foot mega warehouse will bring to the region,” the coalition said.
The coalition’s Colleen O’Neal said her group’s message will appear on the billboard for 10 seconds every four minutes, for the next six months.
“People are really excited about it,” O’Neal said. “I got to talk to a lot of people. There was a little bit of surprise, but mostly just excitement.
"And I feel like it really puts some energy back into the campaign. I think that was really helpful, an energy boost, and it was fun, a little punk rock, and it had some really good responses.”
O’Neal said she hopes drivers along the route may have noticed the billboard over the Memorial Day weekend and visited the website to learn about the project and its opposition.
She said the group saw an uptick in donations and petition signatures over the course of the weekend.
Scannell Properties intends to build the massive warehouse, with the bulk of the property sitting in Wilson, and a substantial sliver in Easton.
Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse Coalition has campaigned against the project since its inception, calling attention to the potential for issues with traffic and the environment.
Final decision on project tabled
In May, the group attended an Easton Planning Commission meeting to voice concerns, and drew a sizable crowd to City Hall.
Over the course of hours, experts from Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse presented expert testimony showcasing damage the project potentially could do, as well as the legal outs the commission could use to vote down the project.
The warehouse would result in “economic decline, irreversible health hazards, traffic nightmares, unbearable noise and light pollution, catastrophic environmental fallout."Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse Coalition report
The report cited impacts including “economic decline, irreversible health hazards, traffic nightmares, unbearable noise and light pollution."
Also, "catastrophic environmental fallout, and the illegality of the proposed development based on the inadequate application by the developer, Easton’s SALDO and the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Green Amendment.”
A final decision on the project has been tabled until July 2025, allowing the developer and the planning commissioners to take in all the information presented.
The group also appeared at a Wilson Area School District board meeting in an attempt to get the members to vote against Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance for the project, which developers have said would be vital to the warehouse construction.
The board did not vote on the LERTA that evening.
According to Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse, the LERTA would “rob the school system of tens of millions of dollars over a 10-year period, disenfranchising two and a half generations of high school students in one of the smallest districts in the Commonwealth.”
'Be there, everywhere they turn'
A statement from Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse reads, “The billboard hopes to raise awareness and support of the opposition to the out-of-state developer’s speculative proposal," saying there's no "end-user" attached to the project.
"And [offer] ancillary support to other groups in the region fighting back against absentee developers who are trying to take advantage of outdated zoning regulations that did not and could not foresee the boom of extractionary warehouse corporatocracy.”
“We’re going to be there, everywhere they turn. We plan on that.”Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse Coalition's Colleen O’Neal
Despite opposition to the warehouse, the organization has made it clear it's a “non-partisan grassroots community coalition focused on sustainable regional economic growth,” emphasizing the importance of “smart growth” that benefits the community as well as the developers.
O’Neal said members of Stop Wood Ave. Warehouse are continuing to research the details of the warehouse and potential legal strategies to combat it.
It's also connecting with local government officials to discuss the topic, she said.
And it’ll also follow Scannell very closely to stay on top of the project’s progress with those same officials, she said.
“We’re going to be there, everywhere they turn," O'Neal said. "We plan on that.”
