N. Lebanon supervisors approve plans for vacant bank demolition. What will take its spot?

Action taken by the North Lebanon Township Board of Supervisors recently will allow a long-vacant bank building to be demolished and a coffee shop, sub shop and cellphone store to be built in its place. 

The building, located at 2303 W. Cumberland St., was a former location of Waypoint Bank and American Bank. Its last occupant, Santander Bank, vacated the building, which has become overgrown with tall weeds. 

The supervisors approved a preliminary and final development plan of real estate broker Frank Messina to demolish the building and construct a new one on the Lebanon Valley Mall pad site, which will likely house a Starbucks, Jersey Mike's, and Verizon.  

Starbucks and Jersey Mike's currently have stores in North Cornwall Township.

Mitchell Kemp, of SLD Planning and Consulting, project manager for the proposed development, told the supervisors that today's food chain restaurants typically plan for more drive-through and take-out business than indoor dining, so there will not be a need for an abundance of parking spaces near the building.  He said drive-through traffic will travel counter-clockwise around the building.  

The township zoning law does require, however, that the planned building must have a designated number of parking spaces available to customers and employees. Kemp said the developer plans to enter an easement deal with the Lebanon Valley Mall to have 24 spaces across the mall access drive, to be designated for exclusive use by the three lessees of the building.  

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Resident asks about noise complaint

Also at the meeting, Scott Lengel, who lives on Prescott Road, returned to inquire if township officials have investigated his previous complaint about a noise issue. Lengel told the supervisors at their May meeting about work being done on a leased property on the west side of Prescott Road where hundreds of semi-trailers were parked.  

Lengel reported at that meeting that a few workers spend all day pounding on the trailers with, what sounds like, sledge hammers, and they play loud music with a loud booming base beat.  

He questioned why, with all the acres available to the workers, they chose to do loud work across from two well-maintained residential properties, rather than at a location one-fourth of a mile north, across from farm fields.  

At this week's meeting, Lengel told the supervisors he was reluctant to return to another township meeting, but the loud noise has continued. 

"They beat on the trailers and play loud music from when the sun rises until it sets," he said. "It is really, really bad, really bad. When I go away from the house, I dread coming home. I tried discussing the matter with the workers, and even invited them to come to the house for a soda, so that they could hear what it sounds like, but they don't want to give me the time of day."

Lengel asked if the supervisors knew the name of the business doing the work on the trailers or if they determined if the operation was legal. They were not able to answer either question. 

Township manager Cheri Grumbine said the Lebanon County Planning Department, which serves as the township's zoning enforcement officer, had been made aware of the complaint but she is not aware of a determination being made whether the noise-producing operation violates any section of the zoning ordinance. The property is zoned "Industrial".

Approval was given, by the board, to contribute $25,000 to the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail organization to be used on work being done to extend the trail.  Board chairman Edward Brensinger said the trail in the township currently goes from a trailhead behind the Lebanon Valley Mall to Long Lane. The money will come from the park and recreation fund, accumulated from fees paid by developers.