The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A group of Canal Walk residents fighting warehouse sprawl was told August 23 that Somerset County officials will see if they can weigh in on a proposed warehouse targeted for property next to their development.
The promise came after nearly 50 minutes of public comment from the group called the Citizens’ Warehouse Action Group and their supporters. The group has appeared before multiple Township Council Zoning and Planning board meetings agitating against the so-called B9 warehouse project.
The project’s plans have not yet been finalized and there is no set hearing date, but its existence has alarmed Canal Walk residents.
The residents say the proposed warehouse is too close to their development, and the tractor trailers it will attract will pose health hazards for them and for children attending nearby Elizabeth Avenue School.
After listening to a number of residents speak, Somerset County Counsel John DeMarco told one of them, Charles Inglaterra, that they will “accomplish something tonight.”
DeMarco said the County only weighs in on development projects if they have some impact on County owned property.
“You’ve put this squarely on the forefront of our minds,” he said. “So we’re not going to take that lightly. We’re going to look, and we might have private conversations, or backroom or quiet conversations with people, sometimes those are the best ones, depending on who you talk to and about what.”
“But trust us, we will look to see if there is something that affects the County, one of our rules or one of our regulations, or something,” DeMarco said. “It might not be successful to your goal.”
“The goal is to have people look into it,” Inglaterra said.” At least you’re paying attention.”
