PALMER TWP., Pa. – The Palmer Township Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night denied conditional use approval of two proposed warehouses. The vote was unanimous.
The projects, offered by Exchange 12 LLC and developer Abe Atiyeh, consist of two distribution centers on a 36-acre lot at 1492 Van Buren Road, which is on the road's west side just south of Route 33. One building would cover 128,900 square feet and the other, 138,700 square feet.
The land is located in the Planned Industrial/Commercial zoning district, which is zoned for planned industrial and commercial use. Warehouses, distributions centers and trucking terminals are all conditional uses requiring the approval of the board of supervisors.
The denial was based on the applicant's inability to meet various approval conditions, the board said. For one, Atiyeh was unable to show that the warehouses would not have negative community impact.
In his denial motion, Supervisor Michael Brett specifically cited the lack of information about the type of tenants who would be in the facilities, the hours of operation and the number of employees. Because of this, supervisors said they could not evaluate the project's impact.
At a June hearing for the project, similar concerns were raised, which drew ire from Atiyeh, who said Palmer was the only township in which officials ask who tenants are before approving a project. At that time, township Solicitor Charles Bruno said it is difficult to evaluate the impact of a project without identifying the tenants and what is going to be done in the buildings.
Other reasons mentioned Tuesday night included drainage and grading issues, as well as the impact warehouse vehicle traffic would have on Palmer Township roadways.
Tuesday night's hearing did not involve testimony or evidence. Supervisors made their decision following a brief deliberation. In April, the Palmer Township Planning Commission recommended against the project, consistent with a vote made in 2019 before Atiyeh owned the property.
Atiyeh's proposal then was heard before the board of supervisors for multiple sessions, during which it drew criticism from township officials and some residents.
