Jaindl Land Company Seeks Rezoning on Route 100

The Jaindl Land Company, headed by David Jaindl, made an appeal to the Upper Macungie Planning Commission Wednesday, Sept. 21, for along Rt. 100.

The first parcel, at the southwest corner of Schantz Road and Rt. 100, is currently zoned Highway Commercial, and Jaindl wants it rezoned to Light Industrial. Conversely, the second parcel at the southwest intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Rt. 100 is zoned Light Industrial, and the company wants it rezoned to Highway Commercial.

Highway Commercial zoning allows for shopping centers, hotels and restaurants whereas Light Industrial only allows for warehousing and manufacturing.

“Essentially, we are swapping the zoning of the two parcels,” said J. Scott Pidcock of The Pidcock Company, the engineers representing Jaindl.

The purpose of the swap, according to township documents, is to permit the sale of the Schantz Road property to a prospective buyer, Ocean Spray that needs Light Industrial zoning to manufacture food products.

The other properties surrounding that land are already zoned Light Industrial.

Similarly, the properties surrounding the Industrial Boulevard property are also zoned Light Industrial. Switching it to Highway Commercial would allow, for example, a shopping center to be built there.

Shopping centers tend to draw more traffic than industrial plants.

Pidcock, however, told the commissioners that the zoning swap would be in the best interest of the Township for future development because it would mitigate the impact of increased traffic at Schantz Road and move it south, down Rt. 100.

New development in the area could also create jobs.

Bruce Wlazelek, director of community development for the Township, said the traffic estimates for the plan only take into account that best case scenario. Wlazelek wanted to know what would happen if the proposed sale of the land falls through. Alternative uses might potentially increase traffic congestion at an already choked intersection.

“Can you narrow the plans to a few possible scenarios,” Wlazelek asked David Jaindl. “We’d like to see them be as specific and as limiting as possible … propose those plans and we’ll decide if it’s good for the Township.”

Jaindl said he would come back to define the limits of the plan, including a traffic analysis. The goal, Jaindl said, was to have those plans ready by the next .

Before any development occurs, the Township must hold a public hearing on the project, and then it must pass a vote by the supervisors.

That process could take 60 days or more, Wlazelek said.