Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/04/1997

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Page 6 - October 10, 1997 Z.B. Commercial Use - Township says proposed facility is trucking terminal, not warehouse Equilibrium Equities Inc. v. Board of Supervisors of Middlesex "Township, 696 A.2d 260 (Pennsylvania) 1997 Equilibrium Equities Inc. wanted to build a facility on about 37 acres of a "Li.ght Industrial" zone in Middlesex Township, Pa. According to the township's zoning ordinance, light industrial zones encouraged industry characterized by "large sites, ;attractive buildings, and inoffensive processes." The company applied to the township's board of supervisors for a prelimi- nary land development application. Its 500,OOO-square-foot facility would "store goods, take orders on-line from retailers, mix, reease, label and price customers' goods, prepare goods to be transported, assemble modular pallets, and in some eases do transporting." It would have 40 dock doors for trucks, plus some loading areas and spaces for trailer storage. The facility would generate between 600 and 2,190 trips. each day, 25 percent of which would be truck traffic. The board denied the application, finding the proposed use was "trucking terminals, storage facilities, and garages." Trucking terminals weren't permitted in light industrial zones. The company appealed the denial to court. The court agreed the facility would be a trucking terminal and upheld the board's denial. The company appealed. It argued the facility would not be a trucking terminal, but a warehous(t, which the light industrial zone permitted. The board responded the facility's use centered on the distribution, pro~ssing, and han~ling of goods. DECISION: Reversed. The company's proposed facility was a warehouse, not a trucking.terminal, so it was permitted in the light industrial zone. The facility's size -:-:- 500,000 square feet- indicated the company's intent to store goods there. And while the company's work there would involve dist~ibution and handling of goods in addition to storage, "all warehoused goods [were] necessarily handled, processed, and ultimately distributed." The fact that trucks would transport goods to and from the facility didn't mean the facility was a trucking terminal, especially when only 25 percent of the generated traffic was from trucks. The proposed facility was "inoffensive" enough to satisfy the purpose of the light industrial.zone. Mobile Home - D~veloper wants to install mobile home park miles from public utilities Bell River Associates v. Charter Township of China, 565 N. W2d 695 (Michigan) 1997 Sandstone Investment was interested in buying about 292 acres of property in China Township, Mich. Although the property was zoned for agricultural use, Sandstone intended to develop part of it as a 454-unit mobile home park for about 1,000 residents. The township's population was 2,500. -3f1