Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are writing to provide a much-needed update on the status of our fight.
The project was rejected unanimously Easton’s Planning Commission and Zoning Board. Scannell chose NOT to appeal to Easton City Council, instead they chose to appeal directly to the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas.
Read about it here:
What’s the status of the 1M square-foot Wood Avenue warehouse? Easton’s legal counsel gives updates. - lehighvalleylive.com
What's happening now: The developer currently has appeals of both the zoning and planning decisions pending. Easton, with assistance from outside counsel, has challenged those appeals. The cases have not yet developed and preliminary arguments on a variety of procedural issues are ongoing. There are pending decisions about potentially consolidating the cases, who is allowed to participate in the appeal, and attempts to throw out some of the Scannell's claims.
Essentially… if the appeals are like dinner, we're still arguing over place settings.
Our coalition and several neighbors, represented by attorneys Ed Shaughnessy and Jeff Fleischaker, are arguing to participate in the zoning appeal. We want a seat at the table because we can strengthen the Easton's defense of these decisions. Argument on intervention in the appeal is likely to occur sometime in June.
Our strategy remains to contest every inch of ground and fight Scannell's attorney at every opportunity. Nothing is certain - but we are in a strong position to defeat these appeals and Easton is mounting a robust legal defense. We’re doing our best to support them and stand up for our community.
We're grateful for everyone who has contributed to get us here - a donation, attendance at a meeting, social media post, promoting the cause to friends. Every action contributed to build this coalition. This is what collective action looks like. Together we've strengthened our beloved region and made connections that will last for decades. It has been a humbling and immensely rewarding experience.
We are in this fight together until the end.
No Mega Warehouse. Ever.
In Solidarity,
Cody and Colleen