Proposed mega-warehouse seen as liability to Burlington Twp. residents: ‘We are going to fight this’
BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A South Jersey community is fighting back against a new mega-warehouse. People who live in the residential community of Burlington Township are worried that a proposed 200,000 square foot warehouse will bring environmental, traffic and safety concerns.
It wasn’t on the Burlington Township meeting’s agenda Tuesday night, but one after another, residents made themselves heard.
"A tractor-trailer got lost again and took down a street sign. Destroyed somebody’s lawn," one resident stated, while another added, "It is truly a public safety hazard with what’s going on now." A third went on, "The truck traffic on Beverly Road is insane."
They are desperately fighting final approval of a planned 200,000 square foot logistics warehouse to be built on Beverly Road. Opposition to the warehouse is obvious to see all over town. It’s a project some say will destroy their way of life and their property values.
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"Nobody is going to want to move in when they see the road become a superhighway, from what it was," resident Matthew Dallman said.
Dallman is spearheading a grassroots battle that’s become all too common around New Jersey. The fight against mega-warehouses near residential neighborhoods.
The project is planned for 15 acres on wooded land directly across from the Trellis Green neighborhood. "Listen, it’s quiet. Isn’t it quiet? We like that," Dallman explained. "We don’t want the sound of trucks coming 24 hours a day. This is why we moved here. It’s why we paid $500,000 for these houses."
Residents actually paid for their own traffic study. Videos were shown of tractor-trailers driving down narrow roads as some even got lost in their neighborhoods. They also worry about the hundreds of school children who live in the neighborhood.
The warehouse has conditional approval from the township Council. But, until the bulldozers dig in, residents say they plan to keep fighting.
"We are going to fight this to the very end and we are going to hold people accountable for making those decisions," Brian Lassiter said.
FOX 29 reached out to Adler Development in Edison, New Jersey about the project but calls were not returned. The project could get approval after a Planning Board meeting later in the week.