Residents of Willow Ridge and other neighboring Willowbrook Road communities came out in full force during the May 13 Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting. Nearly a dozen residents spoke of fumes, noises and garbage coming from a property in the 1400 block of Willowbrook Road.
What was once a recycling center, as it was zoned in 1996, has since become a “garbage dump” according to residents. The current property owner bills itself as a garbage pickup and disposal center, something the property is not zoned for. Residents spoke of trucks running throughout the night and heavy machinery moving piles of garbage from daybreak until late in the evening. Fumes from the machinery have made it so residents said they cannot sit outside their homes or open windows.
“It feels like minor earthquakes,” one resident said of the constant machinery noises, to the nods of his neighbors.
Another resident has started recording the noise with a meter, which is reaching 80 to 90 decibels.
One resident presented photos of garbage blowing from the property, including industrial trash and mattresses. Some neighboring residences have seen rodents coming from the facility. Supervisor Dale Hassler acknowledged that the fire department was called to a neighboring property because idling trucks at the property emitted so much CO, that it set off a home’s alarm.
Along with the noise and fume complaints, several residents alleged that landfilling is taking place on the property, putting the neighboring creeks and stormwater basins at risk of pollution from unknown chemicals.
Township Manager Ilene Eckhart said she and the zoning officer visited the property several times to investigate and deliver warnings.
“We realized there was a lot more material being put into that site,” she said. “The use we see there is no longer a recycling facility, but a junkyard.”
She said a meeting was also held to review ordinances with the property owner. However, during the latest visit on May 13, the site remained unchanged, prompting Solicitor Lincoln Treadwell to start the process of a zoning ordinance violation.
Once the notice of zoning violation is issued, the property owner has 30 days to comply or appeal, a process residents said could take far too long.
Supervisor Gary Behler asked Treadwell what the borough could do to cease operations at the property more quickly.
“What I’m hearing tonight is really bad,” he said.
Treadwell advised supervisors to file a complaint with the courts to authorize a preliminary injunction. If granted, it would restrain the garbage pickup and disposal center at the property from practicing any use outside of its zoning until a court can rule on the matter. He called the process “difficult” but urged supervisors to try.
Supervisors unanimously voted to hold a special meeting on May 19 and formally request a preliminary injunction.
Treadwell urged residents to continue taking notes and recording complaints.
“We will need witnesses if we get to the point where we have a hearing,” he said.
The Board of Supervisors meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. has been cancelled.
