Burlington County community raises concerns about warehouses built near neighborhoods
WESTAMPTON, N.J. (CBS) -- It's becoming a common sight in parts of South Jersey. Large warehouses are being built near neighborhoods bringing more jobs but also more traffic and noise.
Now, a community in Burlington County is putting up a fight to preserve a historic town.
The streets are filled with historic homes. A Quaker meeting house in the heart of Rancocas Village was built in 1772 and a quaint community has earned a spot on the national register of historic places.
"We moved to this town because of the historic charm," Kelly Gehin-Scott said.
But Gehin-Scott has started a coalition fighting against the proposal to build a warehouse on this former farm across from her home on Valley Farm Road that she argues doesn't fit in the historic village located in Westampton Township.
"It will be lit up like a football field if you will, because of the lighting that's required for safety purposes," she said.
Gehin-Scott's neighbors have other objections.
"This warehouse is going to bring a lot more traffic," David Fisher said.
"The trucks coming by, the noise, the shaking of our windows," Trina Wakeley said. "It's upsetting."
The warehouse is being proposed by Dolan Contractors Inc. If approved, it would sit not in the historic district itself but within a 500-foot buffer zone near the entrance to the village.
"It's unfair, I mean we live here he doesn't have to see it every day and deal with it, he can just build it and move on," Todd Weakley said.
CBS News Philadelphia tried to contact the developer, Dolan Contractors, but did not hear back. CBS Philadelphia then stopped by the company's office in Mount Holly and we were told neither the owner nor anyone else was available.
But renderings of the 36,000-square-foot warehouse have been posted on the Westampton Township website. Following questions about the project, Dolan Contractors says in the application the plans have undergone extensive redesign.
Gehin-Scott says she and her neighbors also want to know what will be in the warehouse.
"We really do hope that someone comes to their senses and realizes that this is not the right building at all for this space," she said.
The proposed warehouse is on the agenda for Wednesday night's land development board meeting.
CBS Philadelphia has been told the board could vote on it or the applicant could decide to make more changes.
