At their Dec. 14 meeting, the East Allen Township Board of Supervisors granted conditional approval for the final land development plan of Vertek Construction Management, who have proposed a 450,000-square-foot warehouse off the intersection of Route 329 and Airport Road.
The board also granted Vertek a waiver from the township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO), allowing them to place sidewalks outside the street right-of-way, which permits Vertek to place the sidewalk farther from the road to improve safety.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re waiving the sidewalk,” Supervisor Mark Schwartz said. “It means that we’re saying that the sidewalk doesn’t have to be in the right-of-way, it’s going to be on the developer’s part of the property, but it’s safer that way because it’s farther away from the road.”
In other business, the board voted to adopt the township budget for 2018, with no tax increases for East Allen residents.
The budget keeps the township property tax rate at 6.5 mills, which is the same rate as the previous two years. The rate calls for 65 cents on every $100 of an assessed value.
During the public hearing for the adoption of the budget, Lori Fox, representing Citizens for Accountability & Responsible Development in East Allen Township, presented the board with two examples of municipal budgets that provide “clarity” to the reader.
“One of the the things that we’re looking for in the spirit of transparency is just more clarifications,” Fox said.
Fox went on to seek such clarifications on various facets of the budget from the board.
The group’s goal, according to their website, is to “command transparency, accountability and responsible growth while enhancing services to foster a stronger, more valuable community in which to live.”
