Court Victory: Once Again, Court Finds PennFuture Support Key to Stopping Massive Distribution Center in Coolbaugh
Commonwealth Court upholds decision to reject proposed facility, reinforcing environmental and community protections.
On May 2, 2025, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed decisions by the Coolbaugh Township Zoning Hearing Board and the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas to deny a developer’s application for a special exception to build a proposed logistics facility in a non-industrial area of the township.
This win follows three years of advocacy by PennFuture, which started when developer Evergreen Farms proposed to construct a 460,000-square-foot distribution center on the banks of the High Quality Tobyhanna Creek in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County. The facility would have included 96 docks for continuous truck loading, 248 employee parking spaces, and parking for up to 98 semi-trailers. It would have operated 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, with 270 trucks entering and leaving the property daily, one every 5-6 minutes.
The issue at hand was whether, under the ordinance definition, the facility in question was a "warehouse" primarily for storage or a "distribution center/truck terminal" focused on shipping. The Zoning Hearing Board, Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, and now the Commonwealth Court all agreed with PennFuture's evidence and legal arguments that the facility is a distribution center, which is not permitted under the zoning of this property. Each tribunal found credible and gave significant weight to expert testimony from PennFuture’s witness, Dr. Daisy E. Wang, PhD, a professor of Business Management at East Stroudsburg University and an expert in supply and logistics management.
“Traditional ‘warehouses’ simply do not compare to the massive scale and impacts of behemoth modern-day distribution centers, and to say they are the same use defies common sense,” said Emma Bast, Staff Attorney with PennFuture. “The proposed facility would have caused significant harm to the Tobyhanna Creek and surrounding area. From the outset, PennFuture recognized that the voices of local residents, conservation organizations, and experts would be critical to overcoming the unsupported claims from the developer’s witnesses in this case.”
This case underscores the critical need for strong, clearly written ordinances and land use definitions, especially around emerging land uses like distribution centers. PennFuture’s Living with Logistics: A Model Logistics Use Zoning Ordinance for Pennsylvania Municipalities provides municipalities interested in updating their zoning with a practical guide to understanding and managing logistics uses like warehouses, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers. It suggests a new approach to defining these uses that helps municipalities avoid protracted legal battles like the one Coolbaugh Township experienced, as well as ordinance language that mitigates the community and environmental impacts of these massive facilities. Coolbaugh Township has since revised its zoning ordinance to incorporate PennFuture’s approach to defining logistics uses.
“When municipalities adopt well-crafted zoning ordinances designed to protect sensitive community and environmental resources, developers should not be allowed to sidestep those protections,” said Bast. “We hope municipalities across the Commonwealth hear the message that when you stand up for your community, you can prevail.”