East Allen Township and Rock Lehigh Valley, a subsidiary of Rockefeller Group, continued the hearing regarding airport property in the township Feb. 19.

This meeting was well attended by local residents.

The property in question is zoned for agricultural use. Rock Lehigh Valley asked the township to change the zoning to commercial so the developer could build a warehouse. Supervisors denied the use for several reasons, one of which was the potential for more truck traffic on Weaversville Road. Township residents supported the move.

Rock Lehigh Valley countered with a request for a curative amendment to the township’s zoning ordinance.

The state’s Municipal Planning Code requires every municipality to provide space for every type of building or business. Rock Lehigh Valley countered, with legal action, claiming it wanted to construct a logistics center, not a warehouse. Logistics centers are not defined in the zoning ordinance.

Rock Lehigh Valley brought in Dr. Zach Zacharia, a supply chain professor from Lehigh University, to explain the difference between a warehouse and a logistics center. As Zacharia explained, supply chains use warehouses to store materials and products awaiting further action. Storage is expensive and inefficient, he said.

A good example is that electronic parts are often outdated quickly and must be scrapped if they are not used. Under the new logistics supply chain, the goal is to increase the flow of goods, not to simply store the goods. Logistics centers must pack delivery vehicles to meet the latest information received from the retailer or the route driver.

Another distinguishing characteristic of a logistics center is inside height. Containers are stored in random order and are retrieved based on computer-driven information. They can be of varied height, but the industry optimum is 50 feet because mezzanine levels can be used as intermediate storage. Warehouses are often limited to the height of the forklift or the robotic systems that select products.

The problem for Rock Lehigh Valley is what East Allen Township’s attorney Kimberly Freimuth discovered. There is nothing in the zoning ordinance definition to prohibit a logistics center from operating under the definition of a warehouse, even though the internal operations are different, she said.

Freimuth also noted the height limit for warehouses in the township is 50 feet. The height limit was originally set lower and was challenged in court. Based on the new standard heights for warehousing, the height limit was adjusted to conform to the new norm.

The other item of interest is traffic. The current opinion is there is too much truck traffic in the area. The amount of traffic using roadways along Willowbrook Road was set and approved based on a 2013 traffic study conducted by The Pidcock Company.

Traffic Engineer Brian Harmon testified the FedEx Ground building is under the allocation of the 2013 study. As he explained, the classification of the buildings is critical because each type of building is assigned a traffic allocation.

Those building types have changed since the 2013 study. The allocation from the 2013 study remains as the approved top limit. Changes in the traffic allocation for the different types of buildings determine how large the buildings can be.

Before the session, two buildings on Willowbrook Road were vacant, but Rock Lehigh Valley now has potential clients for the properties.

“Companies make logistic decisions based on current and projected data,” explained Johanna Chervak, project director. “Their information is usually six to eight months out. The construction process is usually 12 to 16 months. We need to start building the project based on marketing projections that show the potential need.”

The plan for the building along Radar Drive would require approval for a road extension by Allen Township past the proposed building to a designed emergency exit onto Weaversville Road.

Harmon noted this was a preliminary design. Truck traffic on Weaversville Road is restricted to trucks with 45-foot trailers. Area residents are quick to point out the nature of the roadway makes any large truck traffic a hazard. Freimuth explained Allen Township requires two means of ingress and egress if Radar Drive is extended.

There was some discussion on the effect of actual traffic count. Actual traffic counts are required once the buildings are up and operational. The actual usage cannot exceed the 2013 approved limit. Adjustments would need to be made to the size of the buildings to reduce traffic allocations. The practicality of the actual traffic study impacting buildings already built and operational is remote.

The meeting adjourned after the testimonies. The hearing will continue 7 p.m. March 30 at the Allen Township Fire Department, 3530 Howertown Road.