Plainfield Denies Bid to Build Concrete Plant Near Rt. 33
By Tom Coombe, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
Feb. 8–Plainfield Township’s Zoning Hearing Board rejected a plan Wednesday night to put a concrete plant — and its 90-foot silo — on land near Route 33.
The zoners heard a presentation from Four Winds Concrete, which wanted to build on roughly 10 acres along Jacobsburg Road. In order to do so, the company needed two variances from the township: one for the plant and one for the silo. The land is part of the township’s highway interchange zone, and the silo would have been 65 feet taller than Plainfield allows.
The zoners also heard from residents and business owners concerned the plant would add more trucks, noise and dust to the neighborhood.
Ultimately, the plan failed because of a simple legal issue. Township law requires applicants to meet five criteria before getting approval. The first issue the board needed to consider was whether the property had unique characteristics. The board rejected the proposal.
That’s good news for residents such as Fred and Claudia Uelses of Bushkill Township. They live near the property and said they worried about a 90-foot silo near their home.
“All of the sudden, we’re faced with an Empire State Building,” Fred Uelses said before the vote.
The zoners also heard concerns from ICS, a local software company, and the Colonial Intermediate Unit, which has its Colonial Academy on Jacobsburg Road.
Frank Casilio, who owns Four Winds with his wife, Sherri, tried to convince residents that his business would be safe and clean. No more than 50 trucks would come in and out of the plant each day, he said, and they would take measures to minimize dust — they’d be fined by the state otherwise — and noise.
“Sherri and I want to be good neighbors,” he said, the type of people who residents could call up if they had problems with the plant. This would have been Four Winds’ third plant in the Lehigh Valley. Casilio said the company has facilities in Bethlehem and Center Valley.
William Schmauder, a township resident and former Plainfield supervisor, said the concrete plant would have been less of a nuisance than a truck stop, which is what the property used to be.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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