A zoning permit for a structure on the property at the former New Jersey Zinc Company's West Plant in Palmerton has expired.

George Petrole, chief operating officer of Northface Development LLC, Lehighton, is scheduled to go before the borough's zoning hearing board at 7 p.m. Tuesday.Petrole will seek an interpretation of a section of the borough's zoning ordinance, as well as a special exception and variance to the four-month rule for tension membrane structures.A tension membrane structure is a metal frame with a canvas covering, according to borough zoning officer Duane Dellecker.Dellecker said the borough's zoning regulations state the structure can only be up four months at a time in any 12-month period.The permit is necessary so that Northface can store some equipment and be able to do some minor maintenance outside of the weather, as they plan to move the structure around the site, and want to have it up for an extended period of time, Dellecker said.Contacted this morning, Petrole declined to comment on the matter.In his rejection letter, dated June 18, Dellecker notes that the zoning permit, issued Dec. 13, 2013, has expired.A note on the permit, as issued, informed Petrole that the permit would expire in four months, according to the letter."Recently, it has come to our attention that the tension membrane structure on your property (at 1120 Mauch Chunk Road, Palmerton) has not been removed," Dellecker said. "In passing your property, we have found this to be true."At the time of the letter, Petrole was asked to remove the structure within the next 10 days in order to comply with this regulation.In April, Northface Industrial Park had plans on display for proposed access to the 100-acre property located along Route 248 and Mauch Chunk Road in Palmerton.The project proposes to provide new points for direct access from Route 248 and Delaware Avenue to the property, eliminating traffic from the site to Mauch Chunk Road, the only access now to the site.Five access options are proposed for the Northface Industrial Park in Palmerton.They are the existing Mauch Chunk Corridor, required improvements to Mauch Chunk Road, a signalized intersection with Route 248, a new interchange with Route 248 and two separate access points.Of those, the state Department of Transportation's preferred alternative is the two separate access points, also known as Alternative 5, which would eliminate any new traffic generated from the industrial park to use either Mauch Chunk Road in the borough or White Street in Bowmanstown.That alternative was chosen as the best access to the Northface Industrial site, with the least impact on traffic in Palmerton and Bowmanstown.At present, the only access is a private driveway that intersects with Mauch Chunk Road, a two-lane roadway, owned and maintained by the borough of Palmerton, which cannot safely handle the additional traffic, especially truck traffic, from an industrial site such as proposed.Without proper access to Route 248, it would be difficult for the Northface project to proceed to realization, developer George Petrole has said.Northface purchased the property, about 120 acres, in 2009. Since then, the buildings have been taken down, and remediation work has been under way, Petrole said.The plan, Petrole said, is to offer two- and four-acre parcels for development 30 acres west of the existing Mauch Chunk Road access. That should be completed by the end of this year.Petrole previously said the company will entertain any offers for that site.As of November, five full-time jobs had been created as part of the remediation, as well as a number of part-time jobs on the site, Petrole said.Petrole said there has been interest, and that the company turned down an offer less than a year after it purchased the site from a company that wanted to do recycling.He said at that time the property could attract Fortune 500 companies to Carbon County. Some offices, warehouses or industrial buildings could also be included in the industrial development area, Petrole said.The property had been in abandonment since Aug. 19, 2002, when the seller filed a Voluntary Petition for Relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.