Jan 28, 2010 Planning Commisssion Mtg Recap

Hello NW4SD Supporters,
The Planning Commission met on January 28, 2010 at 7:30 pm to discuss Section 10.03E Safety of our township’s SALDO in regards to Walmart’s Land Development plan. Mr. Schock and Mr. Newton presented information that they believed represented their compliance to that issue and all other changes requested of them. Discussion between Walmart’s representatives and the Planning Commission went until shortly after 9:00 pm. This left less than an hour for the audience to present information and their opinions AND for the Planning Commission to vote on their recommendation to the Board of Supervisors before 10:00 pm.

After clarifying to the commission and Mr. Newton that none of the information being presented by NW4SD was obtained from “anti-Walmart websites”, as was inferred prior in the meeting, NW4SD reminded the commission of Cpl Jill Mahady’s opinion on the impact of Walmart on state police coverage in this area. Cpl. Mahady responded to the data acquired from Harrisburg on the number of incidents responded to by state police at the Trexlertown Walmart compared to the number of incidents responded to in North Whitehall during 2006, 2007, and 2008. Cpl. Mahady had responded when asked if these numbers would have a significant impact on state police coverage in North Whitehall, “absolutely, that is significant”.

NW4SD compared data collected from submitted traffic studies submitted to the township completed on Route 309 for the years 1993 and 2009. We questioned the Planning Commission for satisfactory answers as to how traffic counts at three intersections were less in 2009 than in 1993. We also questioned why the Average Daily Traffic Volume (ADT) was less in 2007 (18,794), when Walmart did the count, than it was in 1993 (19,700). NW4SD presented at least six locations where Walmart traffic studies have come into question in other areas.

After other people in the audience asked their questions or stated their opinions concerning traffic, Mr. Leonard Nuss moved for a vote. Mr. Celmer acted on his motion, and the rest of NW4SD’s concerns were not heard. The Planning Commission believed Walmart had fulfilled its obligations and voted for the plan to proceed to the Board of Supervisors on February 16, 2010. Please attend this meeting to demonstrate your concern for this development and future developments within our township.

See you there