A four year-old zoning dispute, pitting a popular Bethlehem produce business against North Bethlehem residents, appears to be drawing to a close.

On June 7, a three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court ruled that an embattled Zoning Hearing Board had it right all along. Elias Market, located on Linden Street, will be allowed to expand its warehouse and loading dock, replacing dilapidated outbuildings with a new, clean, modern and functional structure that will actually reduce the number of daily deliveries made to the busy business.

During hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board, co-owner George Azar testified that the loading dock, as it exists, is unsafe and exposes his workers to injury.

"We're basically working two or three times what we should be doing," he testified. "We're working like it's 1950."

Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter, speaking for the court, noted that Elias has a constitutional right to expand, reasoning that an "ordinance which would allow the housing of a baby elephant cannot evict the animal when it has grown up, since it is generally known that a baby elephant eventually becomes a big elephant."

Rejecting arguments that the proposed expansion would have an adverse impact on the neighborhood, Judge Leadbetter noted that the market existed before many of the homes surrounding it.

"Elias Market is not proposing to increase the size of the store to attract more customers. The proposed expansion will enable Elias Market to buy goods in bulk, thereby reducing the number of deliveries made to the store, and will no longer need to store goods at its Allentown facility and transport them daily to Elias Market. In addition, the access to the lot from S.R. 191 [Linden Street} will be eliminated."

Zoners have approved this expansion three times following four hearings, a judicial remand and 14 hours of emotional testimony before packed houses. Bethlehem City Council intervened in the dispute, on the side of neighbors Al Bernotas, Walter Ward and Guishu (Sue) Fang. These neighbors were represented by prominent Hellertown attorney David Backenstoe.

Bernotas declined comment on the ruling.

"I am going to save all my pertinent comments for the courts," he said. "Nothing I say to the newspapers matters."

Gus Loupos, chairman of the Zoning Hearing Board, stated he was happy they were upheld.

"Everyone had their day in court," he said. "It's time for the Elias' to get on with their lives."

Zoners imposed numerous conditions on the expansion: use of the warehouse for wholesale distribution is banned; idling by any vehicles or storage of any buses or trucks not already owned by Elias is prohibited; no refrigerated trucks may run on the property; compressors must face Linden Street, away from residences; buffering and landscaping is required; no expansion in hours of operation; no additional retail space is permitted; no future expansions of the warehouse will be permitted; and no trash pick-up before 8 a.m.

Neither the Elias family nor its attorney, Joe Piperato, were immediately available for comment.

Neighbors can petition the state Supreme Court for review, but that court has no legal obligation to consider the matter.