1.9-million-square foot warehouse development gets OK from Dover Twp. planning commission
A controversial warehouse complex got the recommendation it needed to advance to the next stages.
The Dover Township Planning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend the proposal to the township's Board of Supervisors. The meeting was standing-room only with dozens of residents attending to voice their concerns and ask questions.
The developers, Hines, presented a preliminary plan that consists of three warehouses totaling 1.9 million square feet near Canal Road and Bull Road in Dover Township.
The proposal has caused an uproar among residents in the area who just fought against a large solar farm being placed in that same location. The solar farm was approved after eight long, contentious meetings.
The warehouse developers said the solar farm is a neighboring property and they are actively working with them to meet all requirements for development.
Many of the concerns residents raised about the solar farm were voiced about the warehouse complex. The biggest worry was about the expected increase in traffic at the intersection of Bull and Canal Roads, which is one of the busiest intersections in the area without a stoplight or roundabout to help direct traffic.
The development group acknowledged the traffic situation is tricky, but they plan to add a temporary stoplight to the intersection. This was a concern when they first presented the plan in September 2023, so they had a traffic impact study completed and it has been approved by PennDOT, which owns the roads that would be affected by development.
According to the developers, there would be around 500 to 600 more trucks using those roads each day, but that could be as high as 750 trucks. However, they can't know the exact number because they do not have tenants for these warehouses yet.
The traffic at that intersection isn't something the planning commission has control over, though. Commission Chair Michael Hoffman said the traffic issue at that intersection would be up to PennDOT to solve, whether or not this project was approved because PennDOT owns those roads.
Teri Marlowe, a resident and a teacher in the township, asked the commission if the developers had asked for LERTA approval. LERTA rewards new development by allowing property owners to pay property taxes at a reduced rate for up to 10 years.
Marlowe said the school district is facing a $3 million deficit and this property could bring in $2 million in tax revenue if it's developed. She said that providing them with LERTA approval would not help the district.
Township Solicitor John Baranski said that the developers are not seeking LERTA approval and even if they decided to now "they've shown their hand."
Baranski told the packed room at the beginning of the meeting that the commission cannot deny the proposal if it meets all of the legal requirements. The developers said the land is already zoned as an industrial property and has been for nearly 20 years. They added that the site, which previously housed Glen-Gery, is actively owned by the applicant, Bull Road Logistics, and that their plan implements development planning that the township has had for years.
Baranski added that the commission does not make final decisions on any project, and this is just the first step in a long process the developers must go through to see this project realized.
The warehouse proposal will now go to the Dover Board of Supervisors following several revisions requested by the planning commission.
One of those was to determine if the developers could use an existing easement to extend utilities, as they put forth in their preliminary plan. The developers say they can use that tract because they own that land, but they must meet with an adjoining property owner to finalize that portion of the plan or come up with another solution.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Warehouse development gets OK from Dover Twp. PA planning commission
