ARCHBALD -- Plans for a proposed power plant in Lackawanna County got the green light to move forward.
At a meeting Wednesday night, Archbald council voted to change the zoning in an industrial park where an energy company wants to build.
But for the residents who packed the meeting, this decision was a bad one.
Folks were fired up over the thought that a power plant could someday be a part of their community.
“We want what we moved here for and what we live here for and that's the mountains and we need them back,” said Mary McKane.
“We as a community and as council and as a taxpayer became extremely versed in what these people are going to do,” said Nancy Edmunds.
An energy company wants to build a natural gas fueled power plant on a 45-acre industrial site in Archbald near the Casey Highway. It was asking borough council to change the site's zoning so certain equipment could be brought in.
“The reason for the change was the height for a crane is not a principal permitted use,” said borough solicitor James O’Connor.
Archbald council held a public hearing for an hour before taking the vote on the zoning change to let people voice their thoughts on the proposed plant.
But with another natural gas fueled power plant being built just two miles away in Jessup, the responses were not positive ones.
“I think our valley is being turned into the service alley for New York and New Jersey,” said Ernest Lemoncelli.
“We're going to see that big plant there and you're going to see the big smoke stacks and you going to see all the smog,” said Patty Coccetti.
In the end, council narrowly approved the zoning change with a vote of four to three but says the company can use the site with a conditional use permit, giving the borough more control.
“The council can impose additional conditional uses that aren't in the zoning ordinance that thinks is in the interest of the residents,” said O’Connor.
The proposed plant would be smaller than the one being built in Jessup, and the energy company still needs to go through several more steps before this plant could be built.