Michael Gamzon, of Griffin Industrial Realty Inc., was on the agenda at East Allen Township’s workshop meeting Jan. 11, proposing a 371,000-square-foot warehouse, with a build-out for 76 dock spaces, on the site of MC Ironworks at 7230 Beth-Bath Pike, Route 512. The site has an active rail line that cuts in front of the property and borders Monocacy Creek.

According to Gamzon, warehouses of similar size usually generate 1,400 trips per day - about 700 vehicles. The traffic is a significant increase over present use.

The site is now closed, and it appears the fabricating mill also has closed.

Supervisors were concerned about the number of trips on that section of Route 512. Gamzon does not have a specific client for the site and indicated the traffic counts were set by industry standards for the type and size of the facility.

“We will have a 150-car parking lot. Traffic will probably be lower than the standard,” he said.

Gamzon asked for an exception to the zoning classification, which is presently light industrial.

“If we kept the existing designation, we would not need to be here. Light industrial applications have an expected traffic load of 2,445 trips,” he said.

The plan includes much-needed improvements to the roadway. A tractor trailer with a load of steel from the existing building has a tough time making a turn to go south on Route 512.

“We want the traffic to go south. It cannot go into Bath,” Chairman Roger Unangst said. “There needs to be physical restrictions, so traffic cannot go north.”

According to Gamzon, the improvements will include access routes and deceleration lanes.

“We will make whatever changes we need to keep the traffic headed south. We need to make sure that [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation] will concur,” he said.

Exiting the area will be controlled by a stop sign.

“I think you are going to have a problem making a left turn at that point of the road,” Supervisor Mark Schwartz said.

Gamzon said the plan is under review by Penn- DOT, adding he has an informal approval.

Supervisors hammered on the need for adequate staging of tractor trailers.

“We need to be sure that there is enough room on site for rigs to park. They cannot be queued into the street or park anywhere else,” Unangst said. “We need to be sure that there will not be a gate that locks someone out during off-hours.

Part of the plan includes a berm around the site. There was some concern the northeast corner of the property has grading that may interfere with a berm. Concerns about the berm can be handled with a formal land development plan.

Another concern for the board is water for fire-suppression equipment. The site relies on well water, and there was a question if a well would be sufficient to meet fire needs.

Supervisors have 30 days to formalize the list of conditions for the site. The township’s planning commission approved the concept and use.