David Jaindl’s warehouse project along Seemsville Road received one of two approvals needed from East Allen Township at the supervisors meeting Jan. 24.

Although the warehouse project is in Allen Township, improvements to Seemsville Road and the Kopper Penny intersection are needed to accommodate the projected increase in traffic. Employees will enter the compound from Howertown Road. Trucks will go down Seemsville Road.

After a traffic analysis prepared by AnnMarie Vigilante of Langan Engineering and approved by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the decision was made to relocate Seemsville Road. Based on engineering by PennDOT, the new Seemsville Road will be 650 feet east of the existing intersection with Route 329. The land is part of the Northampton Area School District and originally reserved for school building expansion. The new location is entirely in East Allen Township.

For the project to move forward, East Allen Township needs to grant certain waivers and prepare an intermunicipal agreement between the two townships.

At this latest meeting, East Allen supervisors looked for resolutions on two concerns about the project.

First, Supervisor Mark Schwartz indicated in prior meetings that stormwater runoff on the southern sections of the existing Seemsville Road were excessive. Under the new arrangement, the existing Seemsville Road will end in a cul-de-sac and not intersect with Route 329. Schwartz contends the stormwater problem will increase.

Vigilante explained expanded stormwater basins along Seemsville Road and further north coupled with an expanded detention basin at the cul-de-sac would be sufficient to control stormwater. Jaindl did agree to install curbing and a dedicated inlet to the detention basin. According to Schwartz, this arrangement would efficiently direct water into the basin. The basin at the south end of Seemsville Road is calculated to hold stormwater in the event of a 500-year storm. For clarification, a 500-year storm means a storm with a 0.2-percent chance of occurring in any given year.

The township will accept curbing at the cul-de-sac but agreed to not require curbing along all of Seemsville Road.

A second matter of concern was the detention basins. The developer’s proposal has detention basins protected by chain link fencing. The borough wants buffering and trees to make these detention ponds look more natural. The developer agreed to include the details in the final plan.

The next step in the process is getting an intermunicipal agreement in place. Allen Township Solicitor Lincoln Treadwell has a preliminary draft that is under review. East Allen wants to ensure all maintenance responsibilities are with Allen Township. East Allen receives no revenue from the property adjoining the existing Seemsville Road. The developer will maintain the traffic signal at the intersection of the new Seemsville Road and Route 329. All other items are Allen Township’s responsibility including, as Schwartz emphasized, keeping the inlet pipe at the cul-de-sac on Seemsville Road clear.

Supervisors are expected to review the intermunicipal agreement and vote before the end of February.

The developer proposed a time frame of 36 months for the project, although it may be done sooner, supervisors agreed.

In other news, East Allen is getting into a bind on clearing permits. Codemasters serves as the zoning officer for the township, but the company has limited personnel. Supervisors want to present their needs to Codemasters and see what can be accommodated. The township is looking at having a zoning officer on site 16 hours a week for 28 weeks.

Township Engineer James Milot will coordinate with Codemasters.

The county has endorsed repairs or replacement for the Jacksonville Road bridge, according to Milot. Grant funds might be available. The bridge is in disrepair, but a complete rebuild at this point is out of reach for the township to handle alone. The township inherited the bridge from the county and has been trying to give it back. A complete rebuild is not on the schedule yet, but this is more progress than in the past few years.