Cornwall Borough Council approves Byler Holdings amendment for general industrial zone
Cornwall Borough Council members approved a text amendment to its zoning ordinance Tuesday that will allow manufacturing as a permitted use in a General Industrial zoning district.
The amendment will allow Cornwall Holdings, the developer that owns all the land in the single General Industrial district in the borough, to lease land to PRL Industries, a company that manufactures casings and precision machine components.
Borough solicitor Joselle Cleary said at the beginning of the public hearing that preceded the vote on the amendment that the vote only approves the new language in a section of the zoning ordinance but does not give approval to development. PRL and any other land lessee or land owner will still need to submit land development plans and evidence of permits.
The company has been located on Rexmont Road in Cornwall since the early 1960s and now has a need to expand its business operations, Tim Lewis, Director of Sales and Marketing for PRL, said. Company officials expect to increase work the company does for the United States Department of the Navy.
If Byler Holdings, parent company to Cornwall Properties, is successful in getting a land development plan approved for use by PRL for a new manufacturing facility, it plans to enter a 20-year lease with the company. Lewis said PRL hopes to be manufacturing product from the new building by mid-2025.
Zoning amendment: Cornwall Borough Council plans public hearing to address Byler Holdings zoning amendment
The types of products that would be allowed to be manufactured by companies locating in the General Industrial zone include, but are not limited to meat products, candy, millwork, kitchen cabinets, paper products, pharmaceuticals, metal doors, and fabricated pipe.
The amendment also permits retail business and office space, if it is directly connected with permitted uses. The amendment also sets requirements for buffer areas. A buffer area is a designated distance along the perimeter of the area to be developed where a berm is created, screening vegetation is planted, or both are used to reduce sound from or blocks views of structures in the developed area.
During the hearing, Kevin Poole, whose family lives on Iron Valley Drive in close proximity of the General Industrial District, said he questioned why the buffer area along state highway Route 322 was 400 feet but the buffer requirement along residential areas was only 200 feet.
Anthony Fitzgibbons said he contacted borough officials when he was councilman-elect and recommended that the buffer area be increased to 400 feet when a second lot and subsequent lots are developed on the property. The buffer area would remain at 200 feet when the PRL manufacturing facility is built, assuming its plan is approved by council, but if a second structure and additional structures are approved, the minimum buffer requirement would then be increased to 400 feet.
The language Fitzgibbons recommended was included in an optional version of the amendment and that was the version approved by council.
During the public comment part of the hearing, Jeremy Zimmerman said he was disappointed that a copy of the proposed amendment was only available to him on the day of the hearing and he urged the council not to rush the approval of the amendment but to take time to make revisions as needed.
Jeff Bomberger, a regular attendee of council meetings, said he does not recall there being any objections from the public on development done by Alden Place or Cornwall Manor so he thinks borough residents should be glad that Byler Holdings is developing land that has been barren since 1972, when the iron ore mines went out of business.
During the regular part of the council reorganization meeting resident Julie Bowman said she hopes that current and new council members commit to being more transparent during the coming year.
"Council business should be more public and less private", she said.
Reorganization meeting
Mayor Mark Thomas swore in new council member Anthony Fitzgibbons and incumbent member, Thomas Burton. Nathan Walmer, who was appointed by council to serve the remaining term of Al Brandt, attended his first council meeting.
Council re-elected Bruce Harris as council president. Elizabeth Yocum was elected to serve as vice-chairman, and Bruce Conrad as president pro-tempore.
Former council member, Ron Ricard, was elected to serve as the chairman of the vacancy board. The council is required to have this board to appoint someone to fill a seat on council in the event that council fails to fill the vacancy within the period of time required by state law. Currently, council is in the process of reviewing candidates to fill Ricard's seat.
Cornwall Borough police officer Jim Conklin was promoted by council to serve as sergeant on the force. Mayor Thomas said Conklin is an "outstanding officer and well-deserving of the promotion". Chief Brett Hopkins noted that Conklin has served as an officer with Cornwall since 1997.
Fitzgibbons asked members of the Cornwall Planning and Zoning Committee, who were prepared to meet after the council meeting, to discuss what effect future development by Cornwall Properties will have on Miners Village traffic and what role Iron Valley Drive, which is a private road but allows access public traffic going to and from the Iron Valley Golf Course, will have during further development.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Cornwall Borough Council approves Byler Holdings zoning amendment
