Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners delayed a vote June 13 on a major zoning change in a Fullerton neighborhood.

The issue involves a requested adaptive reuse zoning amendment change that would allow affordable housing projects in residential areas of Whitehall, this first one called Fullerton Lofts.

Pathstone, a nonprofit organization, is planning a 49-unit residential development at the long-idled Fuller Sportswear garment factory at 215 Quarry St.

Residents from that neighborhood packed the commissioners’ meeting room to voice their objections for more than two hours, offering a range of concerns — from parking issues to a reduced value of their homes.

“No matter what you do to that building, it is not meant for residential use,” resident Brian Brobst said. “We can’t have another 50 cars there; there’s not enough room.”

Michele Fabik also spoke on the parking issue.

“It’s like a grown-up game of musical chairs,” she said, adding the parking problem is unfair to both existing residents and those who would live in Pathstone’s proposed 49-unit apartments, as everyone would be deprived of the “safety and dignity of adjacent off-street parking.”

Attorney John VanLuvanee, counsel for developer Abraham Atiyeh and property owners, said the public was not given adequate notice regarding the rezoning issue. He also alleged the township’s wording in a public notice was questionable. The board and Whitehall Township Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. took strong exception to the lawyer’s comments, saying the township is transparent in its business. Information on the issue was posted on the township’s website as well as in a legal advertisement in Whitehall-Coplay Press.

Commissioners Vice President Dennis Hower called some other statements made during the meeting “unfair.” He said over the past four years, the township has made attempts to reuse the former Fuller Sportswear factory, via grants and programs, but was unsuccessful.

Many of the residents who spoke at the meeting said they moved to Whitehall for a better life for their families. Commissioners President Phillips Armstrong said this also is the case for people in need of affordable housing.

“These people need a better life, too,” Armstrong said. “Something has to be done.”

The matter will be sent to the board’s seven-member legislative and legal committee, set to meet 7 p.m. July 13 for a public hearing in the commissioners’ meeting room.

Commissioners are expected to have the adaptive reuse zoning amendment change for a vote at their Aug. 8 meeting.