Tatamy Concerned about a Forks Township Zoning Decision

On Monday night, the Forks Zoning Board approved a property on Uhler Road for use by JMB Transportation, a trucking company. But the decision came with some concerns by a neighbor – the Borough of Tatamy.

Hazel DeReamus, a Tatamy Borough Council member, attended the Forks zoning meeting to express the borough's concerns.

DeReamus told the that the her main concern is about having a trucking company close to Tatamy Park. The entrance to the park is on Bushkill Drive, about 25 feet from the property in question.

However, from 1986 to 2011, Charlene and Peter Nicholasen operated , a construction, paving and excavating company from the same property. That business also operated near the park.

But in 2011 the . So DeReamus is also worried about all the truck traffic. The location is also just before the bridge leading to Main Street in Tatamy.

“Chrin is supposed to put a light in after the is done,” DeReamus said. “I don’t see that happening within the next year or so.”

DeReamus said the bridge over Bushkill Creek is supposed to take 18 months to complete.

“They aren’t even going to start the new bridge until April,” DeReamus told the Forks Township Zoning Board. “They have to wait until the fish spawn. Don’t laugh. It’s true.”

That leaves one bridge into Tatamy for now, which is down Bushkill Drive to Bushkill Street – past the borough park. But the weight limit on that bridge is 16 tons, DeReamus said. Police officers are constantly monitoring the bridge to keep commercial trucks away, she added.

The Forks board approved plans for the trucking company, now based in Upper Nazareth, to use the Uhler Road property. But the owner, Janusz Skiodowski, must submit a site plan to Tim Weiss, the township’s zoning officer. The board also said Skiodowski cannot have more than 20 tractor-trailers on the property. He also is not permitted to have refrigerated trucks, tanker trucks, or trucks carrying hazardous materials.

The zoning board also said that if Weiss approves the site plan, then other interested parties have 30 days to appeal the decision.

The plan, however, does not have to go to the planning board or the supervisors, said John Pappas, chairman of the Zoning Board, because the use of the property is allowed under current zoning ordinances.