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Board approves Pereira Properties land development for Big Oak Road site with conditions on trees, sidewalks and frontage work
Summary
Middletown supervisors granted preliminary and final land development approval for Pereira Properties’ proposed contracting office and warehouse at 2351 Big Oak Road, SLD 24-2, subject to conditions including tree replacement, conservation easement for wetlands, stormwater controls and fees/financial contribution for frontage improvements.
The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved preliminary and final land-development plan SLD 24-2 for Pereira Properties, allowing construction of a contracting office with accessory warehouse, outside storage and parking at 2351 Big Oak Road.
Attorney and project representatives described the plan as a near–mirror of the existing Pereira facility on the opposite side of Big Oak Road. Counsel said Pereira intends to retain the current facility and operate both sites. The application had previously received a favorable planning-commission recommendation and zoning hearing-board relief for tree-replacement requirements.
Key conditions recorded in the motion require the applicant to: comply with the township subdivision and zoning ordinances except where relief was granted; address any remaining review comments; accept a partial waiver from a curbing/cartway widening requirement in exchange for a financial contribution toward frontage improvements as estimated by township engineers; pay a fee in lieu if sidewalks cannot be installed along the frontage; coordinate with the township engineer to determine how many replacement trees can be accommodated on-site; place wetlands and associated woodlands in a conservation easement to preserve them; and provide off-site replacement trees or pay a fee in lieu as laid out in the zoning hearing-board decision dated June 14, 2023.
During public comment, members of the township’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) warned the board the number of trees removed would require replanting of many hundreds of trees under the ordinance’s "100 replacement trees per acre" rule. Lauren Leroux, EAC chair, cited an initial calculation of about 411 required replacements before the zoning variance, and urged supervisors to withhold approval until the township confirmed where off-site trees would be planted. Pereira’s project engineer and counsel responded that: the zoning hearing board had granted relief limiting on-site replacement to a number that can be reasonably accommodated; Pereira would plant as many trees on site as physically possible and, where the site could not accommodate required replacements, coordinate with township staff on off-site planting locations or pay a fee in lieu determined by the township.
Township engineering testimony and applicant statements said the plan avoids wetlands disturbance and that wetlands and adjacent woodlands would be preserved in a conservation easement. The applicant also described a stormwater management design with an infiltration basin and an existing MPDES permit from Pennsylvania DEP (PADP) to control rate, volume and quality of runoff; township engineering staff said the proposed system represented an improvement over the existing, unmanaged site. Pereira’s representatives said the development would consolidate more intensive operations closer to the railroad tracks and move office facing toward residents, with operating hours remaining consistent with current hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). The applicant said truck traffic would not use Woodburn Road and would seek highway access toward the nearby state routes.
The supervisors voted to grant preliminary and final approval with the stated conditions; the motion carried 5-0.
Votes and immediate next steps: the board made approval conditional on addressing outstanding review comments and completing required plan modifications. Township staff will work with Pereira to finalize the cost estimates for sidewalk installation and frontage improvements, determine the number of replacement trees that can be accommodated on-site, and record a conservation easement over wetlands and woodlands shown on the plan.
Public concerns to monitor: EAC members and residents pressed for clarity on the number and placement of replacement trees and on long-term flood and stormwater implications; township staff and the applicant said the stormwater system will reduce runoff relative to current conditions and that wetlands will not be disturbed.
