Union County Planning Commission to review poultry barn plan, time extension

A special Union County Planning Commission meeting on Friday morning put Alan Kaler’s final land-development plan for proposed poultry barns before county planners in the Board Room of the Union County Government Center in Lewisburg, along with a 90-day time extension requested by the applicant.

The meeting was set for 9:30 a.m. at 155 North 15th Street, a sign that the poultry-barn plan had moved into a deadline-driven part of the county review process. For nearby landowners in Lewis Township, the stakes extend beyond paperwork: a project of this size can affect driveway access, drainage, building placement, truck traffic and the way new agricultural structures fit into the surrounding landscape.

County planning materials say applicants may request time extensions during subdivision and land-development review, and the commission’s mission is to balance orderly growth with protection of the county’s built and natural environment while maintaining its rural and small-town landscape and way of life. That places the Kaler plan squarely inside the broader question of how Union County handles agricultural development as farmland and other uses continue to meet.

The Kaler name is already familiar in county land-use and farmland-preservation records. In 2023, Union County commissioners approved a farmland-preservation sales agreement for 140 acres owned by Alan and Crystal Kaler for $378,457. Court records also show Alan Kaler previously received conditional-use approval to erect three poultry barns, each measuring 100 feet by 600 feet, on the same general property in Lewis Township.

That earlier approval carried additional requirements tied to the Union County Conservation District, the water basin commission and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection approvals. Those conditions point to the kind of review that often surrounds poultry-barn projects, where erosion-and-sedimentation controls, wetlands and stream-encroachment permits, and nutrient-management oversight can all come into play.

Union County’s conservation district lists Chapter 102 erosion-and-sedimentation review, Chapter 105 wetlands and stream-encroachment permits and nutrient-management oversight for regulated farms among its responsibilities. The county’s agricultural land-preservation program says it is intended to protect normal farming operations and conserve viable agricultural lands, which is why the Kaler plan drew attention as more than a routine agenda item.