Lower Towamensing denies meat plant

The Lower Towamensing Township Zoning Hearing Board reconvened Thursday evening, this time to render a decision regarding the request for a variance by Lehigh Valley Meat LLC.

Within minutes, they gave their answer: Denied.

Steward Herfurth Jr., the owner of Lehigh Valley Meat LLC in Nazareth, wanted to open his business on a 10-acre parcel on Hahns Dairy Road that is currently part of a farm owned by Troy Johnson. The land is zoned rural conservation. Herfurth needed to have a variance to allow for his business to be built there.

Chairman of the zoning hearing board James Ord said certain criteria must be met in order for a variance to be granted. These five criteria take into consideration if there are “unique physical circumstances or conditions” with the property, if the circumstances do not allow for reasonable development of the property, or pose a hardship on the applicant. It also takes into consideration if the variance “will not alter the essential nature of the vicinity” and represents the “minimum variance” to provide relief to the applicant.

“The applicant failed to present any evidence of unique physical conditions, which prevent a reasonable use of the subject property in conformity with the zoning ordinance. The applicant failed to present evidence of economic hardship. The applicants failed to present any evidence of a hardship. Where no hardship is shown, or where the asserted hardship amounts to a landowner’s desire to increase profitability or maximize development potential, the unnecessary hardship criterion required to obtain a variance is not satisfied,” Ord said, reading from the official decision.

Keith George, a member of the zoning hearing board, said after the meeting, “The general consensus is that we would like to see something like that happen in the township, but not at that location.”

Ord added, “We encourage them to find a property in the township that would be suitable.”

Herfurth told the board he and his wife have been looking for other property they can afford with the help of a real estate agent, but have not been able to find anything else at this time.

The couple lives near Lower Towamensing Township, so they wanted to move the business closer to home. Currently, the business is on a rental property on Sullivan Trail just south of Wind Gap.

“We’re going to explore all of our options,” Herfurth said, after leaving the municipal building. “We think we are adding value to the community. There’s no sense in not doing that.”

One of the options Herfurth could pursue is an appeal of the ruling.