With two items on the agenda on July 26, the Hanover Township Zoning Hearing Board settled in for a long session.

Joseph Roberts, representing Ice River Springs, a water bottling company located at 734 Roble Road, asked for a variance on a water tower the company constructed.

Hanover Township restricts the height of towers and ancillary structures to 20 feet.

The township's height restriction is intended to insure that a structure does not interfere with flight patterns at Lehigh Valley International Airport.

The tower, constructed by Ice River Springs, is 21 feet high.

Because of the location of the tower, adjacent to an existing warehouse and largely away from the flight path, airport officials did not object to the request for variance.

Hanover's Zoning Hearing Board members had a brief discussion after reviewing the location and the drawings.

The board approved the variance unanimously.

"Somehow this height requirement was overlooked during the planning process," said Township Manager Sandra Pudliner after the meeting.

The Ice River Springs bottling facility is one of eight bottling plants for the Canadian based company.

In a second issue before the board, Attorney Lisa Pereina, representing Airport Associates, L.P., the owners of the Airport Centers Shopping Center, requested a postponement. Airport Associates is requesting the granting of a variance to add a third mall sign on Irving Street.

There are local objections to adding the sign.

The board granted the delay and moved on to the second item on the agenda.