Salem Township planning commission tables Daniels concrete plant plan after residents raise safety, noise and environmental concerns

The Salem Township Planning Commission on July 3 voted unanimously to table a land-development application by property owner James Daniels for a storage yard and concrete batch plant at 1855 State Route 819 following technical deficiencies in the submitted plan and sustained public objections.

Paul Holleran moved to table the application; John Durco seconded the motion, and Holleran, Durco and Planning Commission Chair Connie Mattei voted in favor. The vote followed an engineer’s review listing numerous required plan corrections under the township’s subdivision and land development ordinance (SALDO), and several residents’ accounts of noise, traffic and environmental concern.

Holly Lorenzo, senior project engineer with Apex Companies LLC, read a detailed list of items the plan must correct or include before the commission can move to final approval. Lorenzo said the plan must show deed-book and tax-map references, a statement of purpose, total acreage, topographic contour lines and all existing buildings as of the engineer’s 6-17-24 stamp. She listed requirements for showing water lines and hydrants, identifying Boggs Hollow Road, Kennan Drive, SR 819 and River Lane, and demonstrating setbacks, off-street parking calculations, ingress and egress points, stormwater management approval, SEO/DEP approval of on-lot sewer, and WCD/DEP erosion and sediment control/NPDES permit approvals. Lorenzo also said a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit is required for state-highway access and that the plan needs revision numbering, correct seals and other formatting items.

Several residents spoke against what they called the plant’s impacts. Lisa Segina said she had not known about the development until recently and listed noise from early-morning truck activity, truck backup alarms, banging forms, reduced property values and concerns that millings and tar could enter natural springs and well water. "It looks like a cover up and clean up," Segina said, and urged that Daniels be required to cover legal and additional planning fees as an example to others.

Holly Lorenzo said that under the site’s DEP permit there is a requirement for six-month sampling and that, since the permit was issued, she was not aware of contamination in concrete runoff. James Daniels said DEP had advised that millings should not sit in place for more than two years and that material on site is rotated regularly; he said an engineer monitors dust controls. Carmine Pontillo asked whether an environmental-impact study had been performed; Lorenzo said DEP addressed the plant in a July 5, 2022 report that found the plant exempt from plan approval and operating-permit requirements based on the project's calculated dust emissions, and she said the plant includes a dust collector.

Residents also raised questions about permits and taxation. Debbie Perino asked whether necessary building permits had been pulled and whether taxation reflected the use; Perino’s concerns were noted and she was advised to raise them with the Board of Supervisors at its July 17 meeting. Resident Lynn Ticherich asked whether Salem Township has zoning and expressed worry about traffic speeds on SR 819 when pulling out of Kennan Drive. Resident Ron Muir said he hears plant-related noise at 3–5 a.m. multiple nights per week.

Commission Chair Connie Mattei and staff acknowledged the community concerns and the outstanding technical items. Mattei said that supervisors can, in some cases, give final approval while third-party items remain outstanding, but that a mylar could not be signed or recorded until all township requirements and third-party approvals were satisfied. In light of the technical list and public input, the commission tabled the application for further review.

The meeting also included an update that the township is considering revisions to the SALDO; the commission adjourned and set its next regular meeting for August 7, 2024 if there is an agenda.