Photo by Andreas Pelekis for The Lafayette

Easton’s decision on the warehouse, pending for more than a year, has been the final hurdle in its approval.

The Easton Planning Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to reject a 1-million-square-foot warehouse, ending over one year of discourse on the controversial project. The decision was met with a standing ovation from attendees, many of whom wore black in protest of the proposal.

“I’m just absolutely thrilled,” said Colleen O’Neal, the head of the coalition “Stop the Wood Ave Warehouse,” who helped initiate a large city-wide response against the warehouse in 2025. “It’s been so much work that the community has put in, and so much intellectual work and struggle that the planning commission’s put in.”

“To say that these proceedings have been thorough is an understatement,” said Ken Greene, the chair of the planning commission, during his opening remarks before the deliberations.

Dozens packed Easton City Hall — a common sight during the last string of planning commission meetings — to see the outcome of the vote, taking place more than a year after Wilson Borough’s council approved the project. 90% of the proposed warehouse was to be located in Wilson, but 10% was to be situated in Easton on Wood Avenue.

Greene noted that the commission listened to over 16 hours of testimony before stating that the warehouse’s developer, Scannell Properties, did not provide a proper analysis of road and environmental impacts, or acquire a vital special exception required by the Easton Zoning Hearing Board.

“The applicant has presented no alternatives to this project that would appropriately reduce the size and scale of the proposed building to mitigate the environmental, transportation, safety and other regional impacts,” said Greene, who spoke in lengthy opening remarks. Other commissioners similarly discussed their frustrations with the project in long comments. 

“13th Street will be a disaster,” Commissioner Ron Shipman said of his concerns with the warehouse. He said the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission “previously identified multiple issues with the proposed plan, including inadequate infrastructure and insufficient environmental safeguards.”

Commissioner Kim Wagner, in remarks surpassing 30 minutes, said the submission was “procedurally incomplete” and that it failed to “meet the city of Easton standards for land development review.” The end of her remarks were met with applause by the audience. 

Critics of the project, led by the anti-warehouse coalition and eventually Lafayette College faculty and students, argued the project would have negative environmental consequences.

Representatives of Scannell Properties argued that the warehouse would boost jobs and the city’s economy. During over a dozen Easton meetings, Scannell was represented by Marc Kaplin, a real estate attorney. 

Kaplin did not comment at the meeting and sat quietly among attendees, a rarity for the attorney who frequently spoke in front of the planning commission at length during multiple meetings in 2025. On some occasions, meetings surrounding the warehouse spanned over five hours.

He declined to comment to The Lafayette after the meeting. Scannell Properties, according to commission Vice President Hubert Etchison, can appeal the decision either through the Easton City Council or court. 

An Easton Zoning Hearing Board meeting to vote on the developer’s application for a special exception to relocate a tributary of the Bushkill Creek was previously scheduled to take place on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. The current standings of that meeting are unknown.

“This is one big battle in a very long war,” O’Neal said.

Makenna McCall ‘27 contributed reporting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.