Swatara Township blocks effort to build four warehouses near residential area
The township's unanimous vote to deny a zoning permit to the developer comes after months of opposition from residents.
Brett Sholtis / WITF
People wearing Swatara Action Team tee shirts celebrate after the township board of commissioners voted unanimously to deny a permit to the developer Monday, Feb. 10, 2020.
(Swatara Township) — The board of commissioners voted unanimously to deny a conditional use permit to a developer that wanted to build four warehouses next to a residential neighborhood.
The no vote comes after three months of fierce opposition from people who live in the township. That opposition began with a small group, said Tom Garlic, who lives near the proposed site and got a letter from the township notifying him of the developer’s plan. He and others started attending meetings and asking questions.
“When we showed up in November, they weren’t expecting it,” Garlic said. “Then they had to give us time to talk, and it just kept getting longer and longer.”
Brett Sholtis / WITF
Resident Tom Garlic gives public comment Wed. Jan. 15, 2020.
That group quickly snowballed, with more than 400 people signing petitions to stop the effort by January. Residents of Swatara Township were joined by people from other nearby towns, who brought up issues ranging from water runoff and radon gas to the effect on traffic along the already busy 322 corridor.
By the time the township voted Monday night, Republican state Representative Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County had also weighed in, formally recommending that the board vote no.
“I have great apprehensions about this project after speaking with numerous constituents who have important concerns that adding warehouses to this area would negatively impact them so much that their quality of life would be forever changed,” Mehaffie said in a letter.
Township commissioner Shaela Ellis said it was great to see people showing up at meetings. However, she voted to deny the permit because she said the developer failed to answer key questions about things like environmental impact, traffic and safety in its application.
“We don’t want to do something that’s going to adversely affect the residents, but at the same time, development isn’t always a bad thing.,” Ellis said. “It depends on the situation, and we found this situation wasn’t the best.”
CRG Integrated Real Estate Solutions had hoped to build a 1.1 million square foot complex where about 400 workers would repackage and ship everyday consumer products.
CRG Vice President Frank Petkunas declined to comment.
Longtime environmental advocate Eric Epstein helped the group that became known as “Swatara Action Team.” Epstein said now the focus is on making sure the township has a vision for “smart growth” going forward.
Tom Garlic said he plans to stay involved and make sure the patch of woods that almost got paved over is protected in the future.
Brett Sholtis was a health reporter for WITF/Transforming Health until early 2023. Sholtis is the 2021-2022 Reveal Benjamin von Sternenfels Rosenthal Grantee for Mental Health Investigative Journalism with the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. His award-winning work on problem areas in mental health policy and policing helped to get a woman moved from a county jail to a psychiatric facility. Sholtis is a University of Pittsburgh graduate and a Pennsylvania Army National Guard Kosovo campaign veteran.
