KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Construction is underway at site of an egg processing plant on Reach Road. HBF Foods received the land development plan approval at Thursday night's city council meeting.

A land development plan for an egg processing plant on Reach Road was approved by Williamsport City Council.

HBF Foods received the land development plan approval at 2300 Reach Road at the former Primus commercial facility between Reighard Avenue and Bird Street. It is in the light manufacturing district, according to the plans presented by Gary Knarr, city zoning administrator with the Bureau of Codes.

The proposed plan is for the western building structure addition of 40,738 square feet to increase the existing structure to a total of 76,857 square feet.

The proposed plan also includes removal of the two westernmost parking lots, four walkways and 21 trees. The proposed parking lots will contain a total of 30,711 square feet. The northmost will be 21,571 square feet with 60 additional parking spaces. The southern parking lot will contain 9,140 square feet with 14 spaces and three accessible spaces.

In addition, there will be two truck loading areas. The northernmost will contain 8,908 square feet and to service four loading docks.

Access will be provided via Central Avenue.

The southernmost loading dock will contain 11,935 square feet to service three loading docks.

There are two proposed storm basins.

The 21 trees removed will be planted back in front of the building. Their removal is needed because of the land development process. It does not increase any green space. The project was reviewed for storm water purposes, and by county planning, city planning giving – which provided positive recommendations and comments.

The land development did not go through a city committee.

“The only question I have was the access on Central Avenue, where the trucks are going to be going in and out, is that street wide enough to accommodate the additional traffic that is going to be going back and forth there?” Councilman Eric Beiter, council vice president, asked.

“It was reviewed and it did meet those requirements,” Knarr said. The company was made aware that it is tight but officials talked to the owners, he said.

“HBF Foods, what will they be doing?” Councilwoman Liz Miele asked.

“What they do is they process eggs,” Knarr said. “No, it is not a chicken farm,” he said.

“They purchase the eggs from local and smaller farms,” Knarr said.

“What they do is they process them, certify them, inspect them and clean them, package them and they ship them out to obviously different businesses,” he said.

One of the biggest ones that they utilize is Costco, Knarr said.

“They are not a processing facility involving any live animals, correct?” Miele asked.

“That is correct,” Knarr said, adding, “the city does not permit that anyways.”

Councilman Vince Pulizzi asked about the employment numbers.

Once they get up and running they could be producing 100 to 200 jobs, Knarr said owners told him

“That’s good news,” Pulizzi said.

Miele asked, “Is the perception that we have an untapped market for eggs from farms?”

Knarr said the company said it gets most of them from throughout the state and purchases them from Maryland farms.

“It won’t necessarily be from this area,” he said. “They purchase them from smaller poultry farms,” he said. “They could be local, but not necessarily.”

He added, “This has nothing to do with the ongoing issue with Muncy” (Creek Township), Knarr said. These eggs are distributed to locations such as Costco, he said. The township is involved in a conditional use hearing for an agrivoltaic proposal called Sunny Side Up Farms LLC. of Lancaster County.

That is a proposed concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) farm with five barns and a combined 350,000 chickens raised to generate egg production for stores and a 33 megawatt solar panel array farm on property along Clarkstown Road.

That separate project and unrelated project has not reached a land development stage.

The Muncy Creek Township proposal is opposed by a citizens’ group called Muncy Area Neighborhood Preservation Coalition.