Town Approves Warehouse Expansion In Hawleyville Industrial Park

By Andrew Gorosko

The town has approved a moving-and-storage firm’s proposal to greatly expand its warehousing space in Hawleyville Industrial Park on Barnabas Road.

At an August 3 session, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members approved an application from Phil Braun to increase the size of Braun Moving, Inc’s, furniture warehouse at 46 Barnabas Road from 48,013 to 128,958 square feet of enclosed space, representing a 80,945-square-foot increase in enclosed area.

The expanded warehouse would enclose nearly three acres of floor space. The site has M-1 (Industrial) zoning.

Engineer Matthew Scully, representing Mr Braun, told P&Z members that the applicant has revised the designs for some vehicle parking and site lighting based on the agency’s comments on the initial development proposal.

Lighting fixtures are designed so that light emanating from them will be directed onto the property and not onto other properties, he said.

P&Z member Lilla Dean suggested that the applicant consider having the expanded warehouse have darker coloration than the current off-white color of the existing warehouse in order to make the massive structure less visible.

Mr Scully said that relatively large trees would be planted at the site to visually buffer the new structure.

In approving the warehouse expansion, P&Z members required that the applicant seek septic system upgrades for the structure if the use of the building should change or if the number of employees working there exceeds 25.

The new construction is planned for the north side of Barnabas Road. That road parallels the westbound lanes of Interstate 84, linking Tunnel Road to Hawleyville Road. The site provides the moving firm with easy access to the Exit 9 interchange of Interstate 84.

During a June public hearing on the warehouse expansion project, two Currituck Road residents told P&Z members said that the expanded warehouse would be highly visible from their homes and urged that steps be taken to obscure the view of the structure.

In 2001, P&Z members approved Mr Braun’s construction proposal for a 19,764-square-foot warehouse. In 2003, the P&Z approved expanding that warehouse from 19,764 square feet to 48,013 square feet.

Various household goods, such as furniture, are stored within the warehouse. The average time that items are stored there is about one year. Such storage occurs when families are waiting to make residential moves.