Bethel Twp. zoning grants portion of cold storage facility to be 125 feet high

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Bethel Township zoning board approved by a 2-1 vote on Tuesday a special exception and variance request by Bell & Evans to raise a portion of a planned cold storage facility from 75 to 125 feet. 

Zoning board president Gary Lentz and Richard Rabuck approved the plan while Wesley Harding Jr. opposed it. 

The approval for the facility, at 241 Blue Mountain Road, allows up to 32,012 square feet of the planned 454,700-square-foot building, or about 7% of the structure, to be 125 feet tall. The local poultry producer also sought several other requests for a planned transportation center on Fredericksburg Road under another hearing. 

Barley Snyder attorney Beth M. Kohl reminded the zoning hearing board that they had previously approved expanding the height of the cold storage building to 75 feet. 

“You may recall earlier this year, this board granted a variance for building height on this property to be a height of 75 feet cold storage warehouse, that property also is proposed to have a tray pack facility,” Kohl said. “That was because this property is in the agriculture district despite the fact that the board did grant a use variance to allow manufacturing use on the property.”

Kohl explained why the company was seeking the additional height beyond 75 feet.

“We are here tonight to seek an additional special exception and variance to increase the height for a small portion of just the cold storage warehouse building on this property to allow an automated crane system to be used within that building,” Kohl added.

Kohl told the board members that the township has a provision that permits the building to be even higher than the previously requested height. 

“Just at the outset, so the board is aware in the township’s manufacturing zoning district, the zoning ordinance does have a provision that allows for heights of up to 125 feet to be allowed for certain mechanical appurtenances that are erected upon or as an integral part of the building,” Kohl said. 

She noted it is permissible under section 27-1103 C of the township ordinance. 

“The township has contemplated heights of this nature for mechanical systems in manufacturing facilities. The application that was submitted to the township requested a height of 130 feet as the height of that tower area for the building,” added Kohl. “At this time, the applicant, in recognition of the existing limit in that manufacturing district, is able, as it has finalized its designs, to reduce that down to 125 (feet) to be consistent with the height that would be allowed in the manufacturing district.”

Kohl asked Bell & Evans CEO Mike Bracrella why the company wishes to put an automated system into the building. 

“If we look at technology and then if we go back in time, it was nothing for people to operate a forklift in one of these freezers. Typically, we run these freezers around minus 10 or minus 20 and it’s just a tough environment for team members to work in,” Bracrella said. “Newer technology is the automated cranes. So there will be a place where we will receive product, a team member will bring a pallet of this product, the door will open, the automatic crane will come and take it and it will take and will put it away.”

When product is ready to ship, the crane will retrieve it for the team member. 

“And when a team member needs a product from a pallet that’s in the freezer, the crane will go get it and it will bring it back again. So really, you get the automation in the freezer but also there’s no team members working in the freezer. No one wants to work in that environment and it’s just not a good spot, not a good place for folks to work,” he added. 

Bracrella told board members that the crane system will be part of the building design. In that section there are brackets that run from the floor to the ceiling, according to a video Bracrella showed during the presentation. “The way we will construct this, that bracket will hold the building up as well. So it’ll serve as storage, but then it will also be part of the building,” he added.

He said the crane system helps workers, as will a tunnel system.

“We haven’t talked much about this yet,  but we will connect a tunnel from our current plant (3) directly to this warehouse, and we will move boxes straight from plant three that will feed directly into that freezer,” Bracrella said.

He also noted that “the rest of the facility will be between 28 and 30 degrees” and there will be team members on forklifts, and “very high-range trucks,” which necessitate having the rest of the structure at 75 feet.

Setbacks from Chestnut Hill Road would be 484 feet from the crane system to the roadway and 682 feet from Blue Mountain Road, and that the structure at its highest point would be 10 feet below the grade of Chestnut Hill Road.

Bracrella also said there is minimal noise from the plant, there were no complaints filed with the company concerning the planned cold storage and tray packing facilities, and both fire company and local airport officials found any faults in the plan.

Jodi Hasbrouck, of the 300 block of Chestnut Hill Road, said neighbors are opposed to the plan – although she was the only local resident to speak out against the request.

“As far as a residential standpoint, there are neighbors that are adjoining this property, and the board was kind enough to give Bell & Evans a special exception to allow for manufacturing facility to be placed on here and they allowed them to have it to 75 feet tall and that’s above what’s generous and above the ordinance,” Hasbrouck said. “And now they come in and they want 50 more feet, which in your mind should make you aware that’s two single-family dwellings stacked on top of each other. I believe that this will be an eyesore. I believe that they can do their manufacturing and order their mechanics and their equipment to fit. … They can order whatever size they want. This just benefits them, it doesn’t benefit the neighbors, the neighborhood.”

Township zoning officer Jackie Hollenbach told Hasbrouck that Bell & Evans officials made clear that when they requested the 75-foot variance that they would probably “take a second bite out of that apple” and request an additional height above the first requested figure. She added that zoning hearing board members were not shocked by this request given those prior comments from company officials. 

Hasbrouck told the board property owners and she have seen their values shrink and that while residents along Blue Mountain Road want to move, they can’t afford to do so given the lost value in their homes. 

Lentz agreed, adding the board has the duty to take these matters into consideration and noting that Bethel Township has been greatly altered over the past 20 to 30 years. 

Transportation Center

Bell & Evans also requested and the board unanimously granted a use variance for the transportation center, which will be located in the C-2 (commercial) zoning district on Fredericksburg Road.

Once that passed, they also permitted the driveway entrance to be expanded beyond the maximum of 40 feet to 250 feet, and for the building to exceed the maximum of 35 feet and be constructed at 50 feet.

Bracrella said the main structure will consist of 40,100 square feet with a smaller 5,280-square-foot structure with wash bays. 

There will be 30 parking spaces for a team member parking lot immediately on the east side along Fredericksburg Road. The western portion of the property will consist of an area to park 53 trucks along with 10 truck parking spots along Fredericksburg Road.

The goal is to consolidate all trucks, which are currently parked at various locations on Bell & Evans properties, to this one location at 109 Fredericksburg Road. 

“Currently we operate the garage in town right at Russell Street in the existing plant. So this is a direct replacement for that and it just will better support our fleet. So the reason for the 150 truck parking spaces, we’re currently we park trucks at Plant One, you see them behind the wellness center and we park some trucks at Plant 3,” Bracrella said. “So we’ll be relocating all of the yard tractors will park here so when a truck driver starts their day, they’ll start here, park their car and take their truck.”

The Transportation Center will serve other purposes, too.

“It’ll also be conducive for doing maintenance work that all those trucks located here and then currently we typically wash these trucks outside so we will be also incorporating an automated wash, drive-through wash for tractors and trailers,” added Bracrella. 

Bracrella said the intention for the wider entrance is tied to safety. “To not run over the curbs is our opinion, that’s the correct way,” he said, adding that the requested entrance width is consistent with its other buildings.

Concerning the building height, Bracrella said the company will put its setbacks at the required distance to meet the township code for buildings above 35 feet. One additional foot of setback from the street right-of-way will be provided per the township code.

That means the building will be setback at state Route 22 and Fredericksburg Road an additional 15 feet, meaning the setback for both SR 22 will be 78 feet from the right-of-way line and over 65 feet from Fredericksburg Road to the team member parking lot on the 13-acre lot.

While the final plan hasn’t been completed, a second-floor office has driven the height of the building to 35.6 feet. That space, in addition to the needed height on the first floor for tractors to get into the center for maintenance and repair work, led to the 50-foot height variance request. 

Bracrella said the current plan is to “get started moving some dirt” in November and “go as long as we can until the winter slows us down” and they have to stop. Plans are to restart work in March in the hopes of opening the center by the end of 2026.

Board members unanimously approved the height and driveway width variances.

Other zoning hearing board business

The zoning hearing board unanimously approved a request from Bret Wiest, 900 block of Pine Grove Road, for a dimensional variance request for construction of a 40-by-60 foot pole building, or garage. The two-acre lot has a single-family home and a small shed, he told the zoning board members.