Jun. 16—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A zoning hearing on a proposed asphalt plant in Richland Township has been continued again.

The Richland Township Zoning Hearing Board granted a request Wednesday from attorney Joseph Green to move the hearing to June 30. Green represents a contingent of residents in opposition to the zoning variance application by Quaker Sales Corp.

Quaker Sales has proposed to build an asphalt manufacturing plant in the township, at the intersection of Mine 37 Road and Eisenhower Boulevard. The company has asked for zoning approvals to move forward.

More than 40 people attended a May 18 hearing at the township's municipal building, 322 Schoolhouse Road. At that hearing, Quaker Sales personnel described its plan.

The zoning hearing board then continued the hearing to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the municipal building so that more residents' comments could be added to the record before the board voted on Quaker Sales' zoning application.

However, the board subsequently received a letter from Green requesting the hearing to be continued until June 30, board vice chairman Patrick Wess said Wednesday.

"After that continued hearing date and time was announced, the zoning hearing board received a letter dated May 24, from attorney Joseph R. Green. He indicated he represented 21 township residents and requested it to be continued as he could not attend the hearing. He would be out of the area," Wess said.

Many homeowners who live within a two-mile radius of the planned plant say they believe that air quality around their homes would decline and that increased noise and traffic would disrupt the character of the neighborhood.

Green spread word through Facebook that the hearing would be postponed, said Caroline Mugerwa, who lives about a half of a mile from the planned asphalt plant. As a result, few people showed for the Wednesday hearing.

Although she received the Facebook message, Mugerwa was present at the Wednesday hearing just to be sure it would be continued.

"I hope the decision can be made so we can move on with life," she said.

Quaker Sales' attorney, Denver Wharton, and company President Don Overdorff were present for the hearing Wednesday but deferred comment to the June 30 hearing.

Richland resident Jay Marsden said the township could have better communicated its plan to postpone the hearing.

He attended the hearing Wednesday, having seen the township's public notice for the hearing printed on Monday in the Tribune-Democrat. But he also saw a message on the township's website that no hearings were scheduled from June 13 to July. He said he called the township office and didn't get a straight answer about the status of the hearing.

Marsden opposes the asphalt plant.

"It's not good for the township," he said.