TOWNSHIP OF SALISBURY
LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
7:30 PM
April 10, 2007

A Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission of the Township of Salisbury was held on the above date at the Township Municipal Building located at 2900 South Pike Avenue, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Present were Commissioners Beck, Hebelka, McKitish, Schreiter, Hassick, Snyder and Licht. Also present were Mr. Tettemer, representative of the Township Engineer; Attorney Ashley, Township Solicitor; and Mr. Best, Director of Planning & Zoning.

CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Beck called the meeting to order.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
March 13, 2007
On motion of Mr. McKitish, seconded by Mr. Hassick, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the March 13, 2007 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes as submitted.

Consideration of the Bruce H. Uhl Major Subdivision Plan. The time period for the Township’s review of the plan currently expires on April 21, 2007. Mr. Uhl proposes an extension of time for the Township review through June 28, 2007.

Present were Harry Garman, engineer of Barry Isset & Associates, and Bruce Uhl, developer.

Mr. Garman explained that a field survey was recently performed on the neighbor’s property and they are in the process of revising the plan, adding additional information relative to the neighbor’s property. He noted that they will be resubmitting the plan to the Planning Commission but need additional time before the review period expires.

On motion of Mr. McKitish, seconded by Mr. Snyder, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to accept the extension of the review period to June 28, 2007 for the Bruce H. Uhl Major Subdivision Plan.

Mr. Garman commented that with respect to the test well, a letter was submitted on behalf of the developer dated March 30, 2007 requesting a partial waiver of SALDO Section 10.8.B.2 (well depth). He explained that they propose to drill into rock at a minimum of 10 feet in grout and encase it into the rock. He explained that with respect to the water quality testing, they request a partial waiver to allow for testing only for the parameters typically required by Farmers Home Administration (total fecal coloform, nitrites, nitrates and lead).

Mr. Hebelka suggested several other parameters to test for.

Mr. Garman expressed that the developer is agreeable to performing the test parameters Mr. Hebelka suggested and he indicated that they also plan to perform a capacity test of the test well.

Mr. Licht expressed his understanding of the SALDO well depth requirement. There was a brief discussion regarding the interpretation of the well depth requirement in the SALDO.

Mr. Licht made a motion, to the extent that a waiver is required, to approve the partial waiver requested to SALDO Section 10.8.B.2 (depth of well) because of it being consistent with the intent of the SALDO. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hassick and unanimously approved by the Planning Commission.

With respect to the partial waiver request on the well water testing requirements, Mr. Licht inquired about the developer testing for total organics. Kevin McNally of 3113 Birchwood Drive inquired about the length of time that a plan has before a developer would have to start back over with the planning approval process.

Mr. Best and Mr. Tettemer explained that there is no cut-off point where a plan has to begin the process all over again as long as the developer grants extensions and the Township accepts the extensions before the review periods expire.

Mr. McKitish expressed concern about liability with respect to granting waivers to well water testing.

Attorney Ashley commented that he did not believe that the Township would be held liable since the waivers would be made part of the record by being noted on the Plan.

There was further discussion regarding the granting of waivers for water testing. Mr. McKitish stated that he did not recall the Township granting waivers for water testing for any other developments.

Mr. Beck expressed his concerns that residents could become sick from the water if the required water testing parameters aren’t addressed.

Mr. McNally recalled an incident where the water was undrinkable at his home.

Mr. Garman tried to clarify the request for waiver for the water testing.

Mr. McKitish suggested that the developer withdraw the waiver request for water quality relative to well testing since the requirement could be interpreted to be applicable only for public water sources for a community as opposed to individual private wells.

Consideration of the Lehigh Street Offices Land Development Sketch Plan. Property located at 3117 Lehigh Street in a C-3, General Commercial Zoning District. One (1) sheet – plan dated January 19, 2007.

Present were Darbin Skeans, owner, and Ana Martins of Van Cleef Engineering.

Mr. McKitish asked the developer to clarify if the existing commercial building would be raised and a new one constructed.

Ms. Martins outlined the plans for the site and concurred that the building would be raised and a bank would be put in its place. She noted that they are in the process of researching the property’s access rights.

Several members of the Planning Commission commented that a lot of work would need to be done to design the traffic patterns for the property.

There was a brief discussion regarding the paper alley and a flea market that abuts the alley. There were comments that the alley appeared to be discernable unless one would view it on the aerial map.

Mr. McKitish cautioned the developer to be careful with the plans relative to the access area since there are pedestrians near the area.

Mr. Tettemer highlighted the review letter of the Township Engineer dated February 7, 2007.

Ms. Martins asked several questions on several comments in the Engineer’s review letter to clarify whether the number of trees required is to be based on the amount of paved area.

There was a brief discussion where several members of the Planning Commission recommended the developer to show a loading area for truck deliveries on the plan. The developer’s engineer indicated that a bank typically has money trucks or UPS and/or FedEx delivery trucks at the site. They anticipate the trucks pulling into a regular parking space at the front of the building. The planning commission noted that the bank could be easily changed to another use and would not necessarily have to be reviewed by the Planning Commission. Therefore, a truck loading area should still be accounted for.

Ms. Martins asked for clarification of the 30-foot wide buffer yard requirement. She noted that along Lehigh Street on other properties, there are paved parking aisles located at the front.

Mr. Tettemer explained that the buffer requirement applies to this proposed development since there are residences on the opposite side of the road.

Mr. Best explained that the developer could request a variance from the buffer requirement by presenting a hardship to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Mr. McKitish commented about the possibility of having restricted turns for ingress and egress.

Ms. Martins commented that they would also be seeking a waiver from the sidewalk requirement.

Mr. McKitish commented that in deciding on sidewalks, he would want to know whether the surrounding properties have sidewalks.

It was noted that a portion of the property is within the City of Allentown borders. Mr. Best commented that he had forwarded a copy of the sketch plan to the City of Allentown. Ms. Martin stated that they will verify the location of the property lines and where the City of Allentown and Salisbury Township portions lay.

Mr. Schreiter asked that more detail be provided on the plan relative to the adjacent property at the rear of the site.

ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned.