At the end of a long South Whitehall Township commissioners meeting on Sept. 7, consulting engineer Mark Bradbury stepped forward during courtesy of the floor to ask for consideration of a warehouse proposal.

Bradbury said his client, Dave Thomas, developed plans for a warehouse on a 16-acre property along Eck Road in 2009.

On the site, which borders the Norfolk-Southern Railroad, Thomas proposes to build a 150,000-square-foot warehouse with 30 dock doors.

Due to a zoning change, the warehouse, previously allowed “by right,” will now have to meet conditional use approval for the location.

Thomas will not be able to use the design proposed for the warehouse prior to the zoning modification because of a 225-foot setback requirement.

Township Manager Howard Kutzler said the move to conditional use gives staff and the public a better chance to review warehouse plans to minimize their impact on the environment and nearby residents.

Kutzler said Eck Road is a small, two-lane country byway which will have to be taken into consideration along with water and sewer issues.

Board President Christina “Tori” Morgan commented on the issue.

“We need to give staff a chance to look at this project and gives us some guidance,” Morgan said.

Bradbury was not ready to quit for the evening.

“We’re looking for positive direction on how to approach this,” he told the board. “We’d really like to move forward with this project.”

Commissioners, however, declined comment on the matter.

Resident Alex Tamerler then spoke out on the issue.

The long-time owner of Greentree Nurseries is seeking to retire and to sell his land to a warehouse developer.

“I have 70 acres adjacent to this with the same problems,” Tamerler said. “People in Upper Macungie have taken a stance against warehousing.

“School taxes would be dramatically higher without warehouses.”

With the possibility of two large warehouse projects along Eck Road, the issue is expected to be examined by staff and reviewed by commissioners.