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HAZLETON — The city planning commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to grant conditional approval to a huge development on the southern end of Hazleton that has the potential to generate hundreds of jobs and millions annually in tax revenue.
But about 20 of the residents who live near the planned 1.4 million square-foot warehouse and distribution center are not happy and made sure to express that before the planning commission voted.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jeff Cusat said the development could “be the savior” for a city that has been granted financially distressed status by the state.
“This is huge for the city, county and the school district,” said Cusat.
It’s still unclear what the building will be used for, although previous media reports cite a city official who mentioned warehousing for sports drinks.
Officials presenting plans Tuesday would not confirm that, saying only there is no tenant signed up yet.
Residents raise concerns
During a somewhat chaotic meeting, residents approached the table where commission members sat to voice their objections and also peppered the project’s engineer with pointed questions.
“Put it in your backyard,” resident Paul Stulb told commission chairman John Lenchak.
About a half-hour into the meeting, two uniformed police officers entered the room and things settled down after that.
Stulb and many of the others live in Birch Knolls Estates, which is adjacent to the building site.
He said a basin for runoff water will be located right next to his home, and he’s concerned about flooding issues and the basin becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Deven and Mark Jones were also worried about flooding.
“Our property already floods,” Deven said after the meeting. “Where’s all that water already running down going to go?”
But Paul Szewczak, of Liberty Engineering in Allentown, said the land will be graded and the development has been designed to control runoff, even if the retention basins overflow.
“Ponds are designed to control the 100-year storm event, which is basically a hurricane,” he said.
Chris Cannon, who lives in Birch Knolls with his mother, voiced what many other residents were thinking.
He believes such a huge building would be better suited for one of the Hazleton area’s industrial parks, either Valmont or Humboldt.
“This thing is a behemoth,” he said. “This is like eight Walmart Supercenters. Do the math.”
Cannon wonders how he will be able to enjoy his property going forward.
“We will not get a moment’s peace,” he said about noise from truck traffic and other operations. “This is hundreds of feet from my mother’s bedroom window.”
Solicitor responds
Planning Commission Solicitor Joseph Baranko said many of the issues that residents were bringing up were not in the purview of the commission.
He said the site for the building is in an industrial zone, and the proposed warehouse is a permitted use there.
“Use is a done issue,” said Baranko. “We’re dealing strictly with the development of the land.”
In the end, the commission approved the combining of seven lots into two, plus the footprint of the building.
That puts the developer on track to break ground by June.
“Basically, they have the green light to go,” said Baranko.
Szewczak said the project still must obtain city building permits and permits for things such as soil-erosion control.
“We’re in compliance with all the regulations,” he noted.
‘Real beauty’
The developer, Blue Creek Investments LLC, is set to build on wooded land off Route 309 near the PennDOT license center and near where the highway meets the Arthur Gardner Parkway.
A future phase of the project includes another building nearby that totals more than 560,000 square feet.
The 95-acre site is near other industry, a rail line and quick access to Interstate 81.
“That’s the real beauty of this property, it’s location to the interstate,” said Szewczak.
Before approving the project, commission member Lenchak said: “Hazleton needs construction. Hazleton needs jobs. We have to have some type of innovation in Hazleton.”
In response to the residents, Lenchak said they were the ones who decided to build in an area next to an industrial zone with lots of vacant land.
Plus, he said, if he votes to wrongly disapprove a project, he can be taken to court for violating the law.
“You are ruining the value of our property, period,” resident Stulb told him.
As to their next steps, Stulb and the others weren’t sure. But one person did mention consulting with an attorney on any legal options to stop the construction.
Boon for city
Mayor Cusat said the property is not in a state tax-incentive program known as KOZ, and the developer has not asked for any tax breaks thus far.
To put into perspective how beneficial the development could be, he said it could add approximately $150 million of taxable property to the city’s tax rolls. That would be about a 15 percent boost, all from only one project.
He said previously reported estimates of 400 to 600 jobs were based on a “potential occupant.”
But even with the uncertainly surrounding what the building will house — it could be manufacturing as opposed to warehousing — the mayor is looking forward to a financial boon.
He said employee taxes alone would generate millions annually for Hazleton, and that’s to mention nothing of the earned income and mercantile taxes collected from construction workers plus real-estate transfer taxes from the sale of the seven different pieces of land to the developer.
Cusat also believes the Blue Creek undertaking could lead to development of much of the vacant land that now sits along the Arthur Gardner Parkway.
“Lots of properties around it will become more valuable as well,” said the mayor.
