Application for warehouse complex off U.S. 322 receives tough scrutiny from residents

The turnout at Swatara Township’s administrative building Wednesday evening remained consistent with the first two hearings held for members of the public to offer their views on a proposed warehouse complex off U.S. 322.

Nearly 300 people attended this third public hearing, which was a continuation of the original one held in October. There will be at least one more meeting before commissioners vote on whether the applicant Mushroom Hill, LLC will be granted a conditional use permit in the township.

At the next public hearing, there will be no more cross-examination; however, the public will be allowed to make comments about the proposed 1,196,000-square-foot complex comprised of four buildings on 165 acres.

Mushroom Hill, which is seeking the conditional use permit because not all of the zones allow for warehouse construction, is made up of mostly investors from Conshohocken-based CRG Integrated Real Estate Solutions. The land is currently owned by Smith Land and Improvement Corporation.

The current proposal has the complex spanning three zones: commercial general, light manufacturing and residential.

A bulk of the two-hour public hearing Wednesday was devoted to Eric Epstein, a Swatara Action Team member. He said the information the applicant – Mushroom Hill, LLC. — supplied to the township and its residents is unsupported, outdated, and not-factual.

Part of the developer’s application noted that tractor-trailers aren’t going to use Chambers Hill Road, which residents said is already a concern. One resident provided video evidence, a one-minute clip, showing a tractor-trailer pulled over on the shoulder disrupting traffic. The driver only had one option to get off Chambers Hill Road — put it in reverse and back out.

The video, as well as residents’ comments, focused on safety as a top priority. Student safety, specifically, is a worry that residents said needs to be taken seriously, considering the proposed structure and its access routes are near Central Dauphin School District property.

In addition to Central Dauphin’s board of directors voting unanimously Monday night to approve a resolution asking the township to add three conditions onto the conditional use application, residents continued to pile on more conditions throughout the meeting.

Residents said if they don’t ask commissioners for a list of conditions now, then the project will move forward without properly addressing issues such as safety, environmental factors and property rights.

Following the two-hour public hearing, the community and the township agreed to continue the public hearing at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the administrative building located at 599 Eisenhower Boulevard.

Once the public hearing is concluded, commissioners will have 45 days to decide if they are going to approve or deny a conditional use permit. Commissioners have neither voiced their opinions about the proposed warehouse complex project nor voted on the proposed project yet.

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