Opponents of the proposed FedEx warehouse plan in neighboring Allen Township attended the Feb. 5 meeting of the Hanover Township Council to express their concerns about the development.

Members of the group, StopFedExHub, had made a number of presentations to the Allen Township Planning Commission at a recent meeting and provided some additional detail to the Hanover council.

The group opposes the warehouse project bec ause its members say it would create havoc in the area, ranging from increased traffic on local roads to noise and environmental pollution.

"The thing is, we already have an approved plan for large warehouse operations like the one proposed," said John Mattaboni. "PennDOT and Chrin planned a new exit on Route 33 to handle large warehouse operations. The FedEx plan for Allen Township is in the wrong place."

Mattaboni asked Hanover council members to support the local effort against the project.

"Route 78 was built with the sole purpose of relieving tractor-trailer traffic on Route 22 and now we are going to clog the highway," said Robert Nadar, who is working with StopFedExHub. According to NaTrdar, the Lehigh Valley ranks 14th in the nation for bad pollution and Route 22 is the 52nd worst commute in the country.

"This project only adds to the already bad problems," he said.

The traffic numbers given by StopFedExHub are 14,000 more vehicles, of which 1,800 are tractor-trailers and 580 are delivery vans.

"That is 14,000 more vehicles every day. Traffic on Route 22 will be at a standstill most of the day," said Nadar.

The traffic that would be generated by the warehouse hub, according to the plan presented to the Allen Township Planning Commission, would access the warehouse on Airport Road and Race Street, which are in Hanover Township.

Nadar did not attack the jobs created by the project.

"Sure there are 880 proposed jobs, but only 262 are new. FedEx is going to close down its other operations here and transfer people into the area. No one is opposed to the new jobs, they should put the facility on Route 33 where they have the means to handle the traffic," he said.

Mattaboni and Nadar say the evidence they have points to some collusion between FedEx and the local government.

Mattaboni explained his reason for drawing that conclusion.

"A year ago, Allen Township changed its ordinance on height restrictions from 35 feet to 60 feet," he said. "The building proposed by FedEx has a 53-foot structure. Someone knew well ahead of time that they were going to build on this site and they greased the skids by changing the zoning regulations."

Nadar cited other examples that lead the opposition to conclude that local officials knew about the proposal and tried to keep it a secret as long as possible.

"No one wants this kind of traffic in their neighborhood," said Nadar.

After the meeting, council Chair Bruce Paulus indicated no one from Hanover had contacted officials at Allen Township.

"It is still early in the process. We intend to talk with them about our concerns," he said.

In other matters, Hanover approved the 2013 Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan.

According to Township Manager Sandra Pudliner, the council approval of the regional plan was overlooked earlier in 2013.

The council also voted to approve conveying a real estate parcel behind the Han-Le-Co Fire Station to the Lehigh Valley International Airport. The airport maintains the parcel as part of its security perimeter.

In other business, the council revoked a provision of the township code that limits the term of the chairman of council.

The council chair is elected by the board annually at it reorganization meeting. Limiting the term through an amendment seemed superfluous by present council members.

Council appointed Barry Schultz to the township's zoning hearing board to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of John Martucci who was appointed to fill a vacant township council seat.

They also appointed Robin Trexler to the Planning Commission to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Peter D'Ambrosio.