Bern Township Rejects Warehouse Deal in 3-2 Vote

Bern Township's supervisors voted 3-2 on Sept. 1 to turn down a developer's offer that would have let a warehouse on W. Leesport Road rise to 45 feet in exchange for 32 conditions meant to protect the homes around it, according to the meeting minutes the township has now posted. The vote left the township's earlier denial standing, with the developer's court appeal still pending at the time.

What the board turned down

The warehouse is the "Stinson Warehouse" proposed by Reading One Three, LLC at 1067 W. Leesport Road. Township solicitor Keith Mooney explained the history at the meeting, according to the minutes. The minutes give only the township's account of the court case. After a conditional-use hearing, the supervisors issued a decision denying the company's request to raise the building's height from 35 feet to 45 feet. That was the board's 5-0 vote on April 7. A conditional use is a use the zoning ordinance allows only if the applicant meets set standards and the township signs off.

The company appealed that denial to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. Mooney said Judge Fudeman heard oral argument about two weeks before the meeting, made no decision, rescheduled argument for the following Tuesday and asked the two sides to try to reach an agreement. The 32 conditions came out of those talks.

The conditions document set a fixed truck route from Route 183, capped truck idling, required a planted berm at least 30 feet deep facing the homes, barred robotic loading and tied occupancy to the construction of a new Faller Lane. Board chair Irene Reed put the choice to the audience as 35 feet with no conditions or 45 feet with conditions, the minutes say. A resident asked whether the township could put a weight limit on W. Leesport Road. Township Manager Brian Potts said that would be very difficult to enforce.

Supervisor Jeffrey Thompson moved to reject the developer's settlement offer, and Supervisor Theresa Stork seconded. Supervisors Brian Eveland and Stork and Chair Reed voted yes. Supervisors Boyd Wagner and Thompson voted no, according to the minutes, which record Thompson voting against his own motion without explanation. Wagner and Thompson had made and seconded the motion for the April denial. The board was set to approve the Sept. 1 minutes on Oct. 6, and that meeting's minutes are not yet posted. Earlier that evening, the board had met in closed session for about 30 minutes to discuss litigation, which the minutes do not identify.

The township's records do not say whether the court has ruled since. Bern's Oct. 6 agenda lists no item on the warehouse.

Berks Beat's Aug. 31 preview described the Sept. 1 item as the board's decision on whether to grant the conditional use with the 32 conditions. The minutes show the board had already ruled and the vote was on a settlement offer in the court appeal. The preview now carries a correction. The site's history, including the township's April vote against the 45-foot height, is in our report on what's planned at W. Leesport and Faller Lane.

Solar rules adopted

The same night, the supervisors adopted an alternative-energy ordinance that amends the township's zoning to regulate where solar and other alternative energy systems can go, both for a property's own use and as commercial projects. The vote was 4-1, with Stork opposed. No one from the audience commented at the public hearing, according to the minutes. The ordinance also adds zoning definitions, including one for "grazing animals." The minutes do not give it a number.

Earlier in the meeting, Planning Commission Chair Michael Werley (spelled Worley in the minutes) asked the board to allow commercial solar in the township's AB and RR zoning districts, which the ordinance as proposed did not. Commission member Steve Tricarico argued that large solar fields can be sited out of view and that panels can go on farm-building roofs. Potts said a Berks County Planning Commission reviewer had told him large commercial solar did not belong in those districts. Reed noted that a property owner can apply for a variance, a zoning board's permission to depart from the rules. The minutes do not record any change to the ordinance before the vote.

Also on Sept. 1

• Berks Park: the board voted 5-0 to approve the final land-development plan for Berks Park Lots A, F and G, presented by a representative of the Berks County Industrial Development Authority, including a waiver of the required letter of credit. The approval is subject to the township engineer's Aug. 3 review letter and to the solicitor's and engineer's review of a 0.083-acre purchase from US Anodize in place of an easement.
• Two stalled plans: the board voted 5-0 to reject the Bernville Business Center and Riverfront Federal Credit Union plans if their applicants did not extend the review deadline before Oct. 12. The Oct. 6 agenda lists "Time Extensions: None Required," and the Riverfront preliminary plan is on the Planning Commission's Oct. 13 agenda.
• Mower grants: the board voted 5-0 on two Local Share Account grant applications, one state and one local, for a John Deere mower to replace the road crew's 2002 machine. Potts said the budget cannot cover a new mower without the grant money.
• Pensions: the board voted 5-0 to approve the 2027 minimum municipal obligation, the required yearly contribution to the township's police and non-police pension plans. The minutes do not give the amount.

What's next

Bern's Planning Commission meets Oct. 13 with a "Data Center Ordinance discussion" on its agenda, covering decommissioning procedures and facade concerns. Bern is one of many Berks municipalities writing data-center rules, listed in our data-center tracker. The supervisors' next meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, according to the draft Oct. 6 agenda.