Upper Tulpehocken Travel Center Case Returns to Supervisors

Upper Tulpehocken Township's supervisors held a court-ordered hearing Sept. 8 on their approval of a travel convenience center and two drive-through restaurants at 6 Jacob Drive, after the Berks County Court of Common Pleas sent two questions in the case back to them, according to minutes posted Oct. 14. The restaurants and travel center are part of a larger plan for the property that also shows a retail building and a hotel. The board took evidence and said it would announce its decision Oct. 13. As of Thursday morning the township had posted no minutes from Oct. 13 and no written decision, so the outcome is not yet public.

The applicant is Pinnacle Realty Development Co., which the minutes call the "equitable owner" of the property, a term that generally means a buyer under a signed agreement who has not yet taken title. The parcel, PIN 87443206474975, is split among the R2, C2 and C3 zoning districts: the travel center, retail building and two fast-food restaurants would sit in the C2 General Commercial portion, and the hotel in the C3 portion.

A conditional use is a use the zoning ordinance allows only if the supervisors find, after a hearing, that it meets the standards the ordinance lists. A remand is a court sending a case back to the board to decide specific questions.

How the case got here

Pinnacle filed its application in September 2025, the minutes say. The board opened the hearing on Nov. 12, 2025, on what those minutes describe as "a request for Conditional Use approval for two drive-through restaurants and a travel convenience center," and granted party status to three residents, including Scott Sechler Sr. of 40 Goodman Street. On Dec. 9, 2025, the board granted the application with 27 conditions written into the record, per that meeting's minutes, and issued a written decision. The retail building and the hotel were not part of the application.

The Sept. 8 minutes say only that "another party" appealed to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. The board's Feb. 10 minutes record the solicitor reporting that Scott Sechler Sr. appealed the decision on Jan. 9, 2026, with briefs due in April and argument in May; the June 9 minutes describe the appeal as "by Mr. Sechler," and the Sept. 8 roll call lists Sechler and Beth Kohl, representing him, as present. The court sent the case back for the board to rule on two points only: whether the application meets § 460-56(B)(3), on water supply, source and sufficiency, and § 460-56(B)(18), on signage and a sign study.

Section 460-56 sets the conditional-use standards for a travel convenience center in the C2 district. Paragraph (B)(3) requires public water or a township- and state-approved private system, and proof the supply is enough, including fire-flow volume, rate and pressure. Paragraph (B)(18) requires a sign study to justify the height and size of freestanding signs, caps wall signs at 160 square feet, and makes the study subject to the supervisors' approval. The board has known since June 9 that the case was coming back; Solicitor MacFarlane described the remand again on Aug. 11.

What happened at the hearing

The board voted unanimously to admit the township's exhibits and the applicant's exhibits, and residents were given a chance to comment. The minutes do not summarize the testimony or the comments. MacFarlane said the board would weigh the evidence in executive session and announce its decision at the Oct. 13 meeting at 6 p.m., an announcement he said served "in lieu of additional advertising." The board met in executive session from 9:22 to 10:12 p.m. for litigation and "quasi-judicial deliberations." The Oct. 13 agenda lists the remand hearing first.

Data center setbacks revised, draft goes to planners

The board also revised its draft data-center ordinance, which on Aug. 11 called for a 750-foot setback from sensitive receptors and residential zoning, as our data center tracker records. After checking how the proposed dimensions would apply to local properties, to see whether the rules could be viewed as exclusionary, the board voted unanimously to:

• Remove agricultural properties from the "sensitive receptors" definition and give them a 250-foot setback.
• Require a 500-foot setback from waterways, up from the 250 feet the minutes say applies in the adjacent EAP district.
• Require a 500-foot setback from residential zoning districts, residential uses and the ultimate right-of-way.
• Give adjacent industrial properties a 250-foot setback.

A second unanimous vote sent the updated draft to the township Planning Commission and the Berks County Planning Commission for formal review. The ordinance is still old business on the Oct. 13 agenda, with no adoption vote listed. Upper Tulpehocken was one of six Hamburg-area municipalities we flagged in August as moving on data center rules.

Ten grant applications on the Oct. 13 agenda

Manager Susan Ehrets said applications for the next round of Local Share Account grants, which carry a $100 fee, are due Nov. 30. LSA grants come from gaming revenue, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development. The board also backed the Strausstown Volunteer Fire Co. applying for a statewide LSA grant.

The Oct. 13 agenda lists ten LSA resolutions, 2026-8 through 2026-17, with no dollar amounts: a chipseal resubmission, a fire company attenuator, road repairs on Oakhill Road, Mary Drive and Brenton Lane, Seigfried Road and Mountain View Road, an equipment trailer, a recycling-center upgrade, fire company turnout gear, and a Berks County radio refresh.

Other business Sept. 8

• The board accepted the 2027 minimum municipal obligation for pensions at $18,594, which the minutes say the state funds and the township passes through to PSATS.
• It asked Berks County Juvenile Probation to admit the juveniles who vandalized the new Strausstown playground to the Youth Aid Panel, with apology letters and community service.
• The sewage enforcement officer is filing citations against the Dutch Valley Campground over an unpermitted sewage system.
• Ehrets listed future ordinance topics: small modular nuclear reactors, "uses of concern" such as methadone clinics, group homes and marijuana dispensaries, and sewer tapping-fee and EDU-rate updates. All three are on the Oct. 13 agenda.

What happens next

The board's ruling on the Jacob Drive remand was scheduled for Oct. 13. It should appear in that meeting's minutes on the township's eCode360 minutes page, which has been running about a month behind each meeting. The township office can be reached at 610-488-7170.

The Oct. 13 agenda also listed "Budget 2027," and the township's meetings page sets a budget meeting for Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. The next regular meeting is Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. at the township office, 6501 Old Route 22, Bernville. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule.