Joseph Fitzpatrick, lead attorney for Rockefeller Group, disappointed East Allen Township residents Oct. 27 by delaying a zoning hearing for a warehouse development on Weaversville Road.

After hearing of the delay, most residents interested in making comments left the township’s board of supervisors meeting before it even began.

Dan Barnhart, one of the residents who stayed for the meeting, expressed his opposition.

“These warehouses will ruin the entire Valley,” he said.

Chairman Roger Unangst noted there will be another hearing scheduled, and residents will be allowed to make comments at that time.

“We can’t have the comments on the record now. The next hearing will be advertised and posted as required,” he said.

Resident Joellen Vitalis asked that a map of the proposed warehouse be posted online.

“All we have is a hearing notice posted on the property. There is nothing that tells us what the proposal is,” she said.

Solicitor Joseph Piperato indicated the details of the proposal are explained at the hearing.

“We really do not want to make comments or proposals outside the hearing,” he said. “Comments might jeopardize the impartiality of the process.”

Residents expressed their opposition to the conditional use hearing held by supervisors Oct. 12. At that hearing, VerTek Construction Management presented a plan for a warehouse-style building with individual tenants. The new business center would be on the corner of Airport Road and Route 329.

Supervisors closed the conditional use hearing Oct. 12. A conditional use hearing is a judicial process with strict guidelines. One of the rules is additional input is not allowed once the hearing is closed. Several residents indicated their desire to make comments on the proposed construction, but Unangst asked that they refrain from making comments. Piperato added his warnings as residents attempted to voice their opposition.

One resident asked that the minutes of the meeting reflect the testimony.

“That is not the purpose of the minutes,” township Manager Deborah Seiple replied.

Piperato explained the full testimony was available from the court recorder, but there was a fee involved.

Supervisors received the testimony of the Oct. 12 conditional hearing earlier in the day. They must render a decision by Nov. 26.

The board will discuss the matter at its Nov. 9 and possibly its Nov. 17 meeting.

A conditional use hearing is a recent requirement in the township. Prior to September, warehouses were permitted in certain zones without additional consideration. The board changed the ordinance to require a conditional hearing after traffic complaints made from residents.

Supervisors are permitted to debate the Ver-Tek Construction Management proposal. Supervisor Mark Schwartz was adamant in his request for more capacity to stage trucks waiting to load or unload. The proposal allows for staging along the access route to the warehouse. Schwartz found this idea inadequate.

“We need to have a separate staging area, similar to something you might see at a truck stop, where trucks can pull into designated parking areas,” he said.

According to Unangst, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission had conditions it wanted to add.

The board wants to address the intersection of Jacksonville Road and Route 329.

“With the additional anticipated traffic from the VerTek proposal, we need to look at correcting the intersection of Jacksonville Road and 329. It’s too tough to see oncoming traffic. Trucks going down 329 would go down Jacksonville Road to 512,” Schwartz said.

The VerTek Construction Management proposal does not show traffic projected for Route 329.

Seiple posts the agenda for the hearings on the township’s website, eatwp.org. The next scheduled meeting is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the municipal building.