— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem Township’s Board of Commissioners bowed to reality and voted Monday not to appeal a court decision in favor of a huge warehouse on the township’s border with Freemansburg.
The huge warehouse, to be developed by Trammell Crow of Dallas, will add traffic to the already busy Freemansburg Avenue corridor, and westward toward the City of Bethlehem.
Nobody in the township wanted it, but the reality is that only two things mattered: the land is privately owned and a warehouse is allowed on the site of what was once a quarry and later a dump.
The warehouse will be built on 70 acres near where Freemansburg’s Main Street connects to Freemansburg Avenue. The land is on the north side of the avenue (on the right as one drives toward the city).
The Board of Commissioners said that in return for not continuing an appeal that was doomed to fail, the township was granted concessions by Trammell Crow, which is a division of CBRE Group.
Those 14 items are listed here starting on page 90 of the agenda. Or go to the township website and click to the left on Agenda / Minutes, or in the center for most recent agenda.
The township never had a chance. The law was on the developer’s side, and while CBRE Group’s $30-plus-billion in annual revenue is daunting when compared to the township’s budget, this came down to the law.
Private property can be developed within the bounds of the zoning code. The warehouse is a permitted use. That was it. There was never a chance of stopping this.
Ten residents spoke during Monday’s meeting, raising issues of truck traffic, noise and pollution. Freemansburg Avenue is a state road, so any concerns will have to be raised to PennDot.
The township has until Friday to appeal the Northampton County Court decision but opted against that. If there is an appeal, the Trammell Crow concessions would be dropped.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 