Huntington Township OKs conditional use for manufacturing at 255 Whitechurch Road, subject to setback variance

Huntington Township supervisors voted to approve a conditional-use request allowing a manufacturing tenant at 255 Whitechurch Road, with the approval conditioned on obtaining a variance from the township's 100-foot street setback requirement and on proceeding consistent with the plans and testimony presented at the hearing.

Chris Hoover, a civil engineering consultant with Hoover Engineering, told the board the property contains an existing 15,000-square-foot building and that the applicant proposes an approximately 18,000-square-foot addition (and a potential future building of about 17,000 square feet) that would meet the required setback. "Our particular property is 29.9 acres," Hoover said while reviewing the site plan, noting more than 1,200 feet of frontage along Whitechurch Road and existing tree lines that could be supplemented for buffering.

Jeff Fortuna, a representative of the prospective tenant LCDM, described the company's work and local operations: "LCDM, we design and manufacture parts for our grain systems," he said, adding the local site would employ about 10 people. Fortuna estimated truck movements as roughly "1, 1, maybe 2 trucks a day" and characterized most loading and trucking as daytime activity.

Neighbors raised questions about stormwater, wetlands and long-standing site upkeep. An adjacent landowner asked whether a proposed stormwater BMP (best management practice) would discharge to the on-site stream; Hoover said the design would capture runoff and discharge through a structure to the stream, and that stormwater design must ensure post-development runoff does not exceed pre-development rates. He also said the wetlands shown on the plan must be avoided or permitted if impacted.

Tom Lush, a nearby resident, told the board the site had become overgrown since earlier approvals and warned against repeating past maintenance failures: "And it looks terrible," Lush said, urging the township to ensure the property is maintained. Company representatives responded that they are prepared to clean up the site promptly after acquisition and invited residents to visit an existing facility as an example of how they maintain properties.

A supervisor read the motion that the board approved: that the plan addition be approved upon the applicant obtaining a variance or other relief from the 100-foot setback requirement and proceeding in accordance with the submitted plans, exhibits and testimony. The record shows the motion was made and seconded and an "Aye" was recorded; the board noted that relief from the zoning hearing board would be required because the existing building encroaches a few feet into the required setback.

The board closed the hearing record and indicated that final land-development review (including planning commission review and required stormwater and other engineering approvals) will occur as part of subsequent approvals before construction proceeds.