For the second time in as many years, a Northampton County Court judge has rejected an appeal by a developer to build a warehouse or other major commercial site near Palmer Township homes.
In December 2022, Charles Chrin Real Estate Trust submitted a conditional use application for a multitenant flex manufacturing or industrial building on about 12.5 acres along the 1400 block of Van Buren Road. The property is south of Route 33, near the plethora of warehouses that have sprung up in the last decade at the Charles Chrin Interchange.
After three hearings before township supervisors, the board denied Chrin’s application Oct. 2, 2023. Chrin appealed to Northampton County Court, butPresident Judge Craig Dally denied the appeal in a ruling Feb. 27.
Dally wrote in his decision that supervisors found Chrin failed to provide specific information about the possible uses for the site, its specific operating hours and the number of employees. At one point during the supervisors’ hearings, a Chrin representative said the company was not contemplating warehouses.
But Dally wrote, “Ultimately, the board found Chrin’s evidence to be speculative based upon the overall lack of information required by [township] zoning ordinance.”
The ruling is a win in the township’s effort to curb the growth of warehouses and other massive commercial buildings, according to Palmer Township Manager Robert Williams.
“What the township is affirming is the municipal authority to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our community,” Williams said.
He said township officials had concerns that the proposed development did not provide enough specifics for the municipality to plan for such things as future traffic needs.
Messages left with a Chrin representative and the trust’s attorney, Marc Kaplin, were not returned. The Chrin Real Estate Trust is part of the Chrin Cos., a family-owned business that includes waste disposal, excavation and land development.
Dally’s ruling follows a similar decision last year by county Judge Samuel P. Murray rejecting an appeal by Bethlehem developer Lou Pektor to build a manufacturing facility in the same block on Van Buren Road. That proposed development was near the 55-and-older Highlands of Glenmoor community.
Residents there opposed the development, and township supervisors rejected the project in early 2023.
Instead of appealing the county court decision to a state court, Pektor settled last month with the township, winning approval to build 320 apartments and 92 townhomes along both sides of Van Buren Road. Pektor and developer Abe Atiyeh previously proposed warehouses, truck terminals or manufactured homes along the property. Pektor has said he intends to acquire Atiyeh’s land for the proposed residential housing.
Williams said he believed Palmer is the only Lehigh Valley municipality that has won back-to-back decisions against two developers affirming the township’s local authority to determine appropriate or adequately planned development.
The area in both cases is just south of 28 warehouses either built or proposed for construction in or near the Chrin Commerce Centre. Palmer officials in recent years have taken a harder stance on projects.
Contact Morning 첥Ƶ reporter Anthony Salamone at asalamone@mcall.com.
