February 2020 Reminder - UPDATE 2/21 - MTG CANCELLED

Update 2/21/2020

The meeting of the Township Planning Commission for 2/25/2020 has been CANCELLED at the request of the Developer. 

Apparently, after reviewing the findings of the Zoning Consultant hired by the Township, the Developer has a continuance while evaluate the consultant's findings.

Friends of Laurel Wood President Tom VanVreede was provided a copy of the Report of the Zoning Officer and feels that there is at least 3 major and many minor issues raised that would adversely impact the development as currently proposed.  The Township Manager indicated to Mr. VanVreede that he expects the Developer to review these findings and potentially discuss them with the Township prior to scheduling another review. 

Watch this space for further updates!

On 2/25/2020 the Township Planning Commission will hold its monthly meeting at 7:30 PM at the Township Building.

As of right now, the ONLY thing on the agenda is the Proposed Over 55 Community at the Former Strawberry Acres.  At this meeting, it is assumed that the consultant hired by the Township will give a report.

Please attend!

Early 2020 Updates on the Over 55 Community

Hello!  Sorry for the delay in reporting.  Here's what has happened with the possible Over 55 Community at the former Strawberry Acres since December 2019.

1.  In December, the Township Supervisor's approved the developer's waste water treatment plant.   This approval came after the developer made the needed updates to the plan to bring it closer to code.

2.  The Township Supervisor's have required that the developer hire a Special Projects Planning Consultant to review the proposed Over 55 community design.  The consultant has expertise in slope analysis, runoff issues, environmental issues, etc. and will check the plan's adherence to all relevant ordinances.

At this point, we are cautiously optimistic that the Township will require the developer to meet all zoning ordinances and adhere to them.  This is the best we can hope for.  Again, as what the developer is proposing falls within the land's zone restrictions we cannot stop him from building on his land.  We CAN make sure that what he builds does not exceed or break the ordinances.  Th consultant should/will hopefully keep everything to the set Township standards.

Report from the 12/9/2019 Township Supervisors Mtg

At the 12/9/2019 Township Supervisors Meeting, the Township told the Developer's Lawyer that they needed to come back to the Township to address the discrepancies in their Waste Water Treatment Plant proposal.  A meeting has been scheduled for 12/16/2019 specifically to hear the Developer's answers to the questions raised at the meeting.  This proposal must be approved or not approved on the 16th.

By the way, did you see  this discussion made The Morning Call last Friday?  There were reporters at the meeting again on the 9th, so expect to see more in the paper soon (hopefully!).

The special Township Meeting is at 7:30pm on 12/16/2019 at the North Whitehall Township Building.

Report from the 12/4/2019 Commission Mtg & Next Steps

At the Special Meeting of the North Whitehall Township Planning Comission on 12/4/2019 that specifically met to look at the former Strawberry Acres Waste Water Treatment Plant Proposal, the Planning Commission made no recommendation to the Township Supervisors by a vote of 3 against, 3 for and 1 abstain. 

This is is a partial victory for the Township residents, as various speakers pointed out flaws with the developer's paperwork and other items, as persuaded three of the members that the proposed WWTP is not ready for Towship approval.

We will continue lobbying the Township Board of Supervisors on December 9, 2019 at 7:30pm at the North Whitehall Township Office to dis-allow the proposed plant until our concerns and comments are further considered by the applicant. 

We recommend everyone interested attend the 12/9/2019 meeting of the Board of Supervisors to share their concerns.

Report from the 11/26/2019 Planning Commission Mtg & Updated, Important Dates

The Waste Water Treatment Plant Conditional Use Proposal for the Over 55 Development of Strawberry Acres was scheduled to be discussed at the 11/26/2019 Planning Commission meeting.  However, due to other items on the agenda, the meeting went long, and a continuance of the meeting just for the WWTP Conditional Use has been scheduled for Wednesday December 4, 2019 at 7:30pm.  The meeting will take place at the North Whitehall Township Building.

The Proposal will then be discussed at the Supervisors Meeting on 12/9/2019, at 7:00pm; this meeting also takes place at the North Whitehall Township Meeting.

On another note, the item that took up much of the Planning Commission meeting tonight was North Valley Trade Center Land Development, a set of proposed warehouses between Locust Drive and Park View Drive, east of Independence Drive.  Due to these warehouses, the developers are estimating an average of 800 trucks a day, plus 700 cars will add to the normal traffic on and around 309. They have are trying to say that this increase of traffic on 309 will have no impact on traffic.  This is not true.  These warehouses would have a significant impact on the traffic of 309, especially during peak hours when school buses are running out Orefield Middle School, and near Ironton and Schnecksville Elementary Schools.  This use was approved by the Planning Commission and will be in front of the Supervisors Meeting on 1/6/2020 at 7:30pm - if you're concerned for traffic flow, traffic safety, and the school kids on all the buses impacted by lengthened bus routes let the Supervisors know then!

Over 55 Community, try 2019

The property owner of the former Strawberry Acres has submitted a Waste Water Treatment Plant Proposal to North Whitehall Township.  This facility is the first step in another attempt to develop the former Strawberry Acres into an Over 55 Community.

We cannot stop the developer from developing his property.  We can make sure that it is developed only within North Whitehall Township ordinances and in a way that has the least impact on our quality of life and home value.  That is what we intend to do.

Laurel Wood resident Tom VanVreede has thoroughly reviewed the most recent WWTP Proposal and found many inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and potential problems.  He will make a presentation to the Planning Commission on 11/26/2019 regarding his concerns.  The meeting starts at 7:30pm.  Please come to show your support for the Laurel Wood neighborhood, and to learn more about the proposal and its impact.

Also, the developer is holding an open house at Strawberry Acres from noon to 2pm on Saturday November 23.   His flyer states his desire to present his vision for development, and that the public and neighbors are welcome; however the flyers were only distributed to a limited area.

Please contact friends.laurelwood@gmail.com for further information.

Success! North Whitehall Approves Ordinance Changes

SUCCESS!  

The North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors has passed a change to ordinance 2006-2 that controls building of Over 55 Retirement Communities within the Township.  The stated intention of the changes listed below is to make the retirement communities more closely reflect the existing communities in the township, and to promote the development of the communities in areas with existing higher density neighborhoods instead in the more rural areas of the township.

What these mean to us is that if an Over 55 development is constructed in the portion of Strawberry Acres adjacent to our development it will contain fewer houses, spaced further apart, and built only on portions of the site that has less than 25% slopes.   This coupled with the Township’s firm stand that drip style waste disposal systems are not allowed within the existing ordinances (resulting in the need to build and maintain through a Municipal Authority a very costly full sewage treatment plant) that the financial cost/benefit of such a development will not be attractive to developers.

I know that this result falls short of a desire to completely ban these types of development in rural areas of the Township, but this is realistically the best outcome we could expect.   Federal rules under the Fair Housing considerations require that all townships allow Retirement Communities that fit within the character of the overall community.  These changes update the existing ordinance to require that such a community respect and reflect the type of existing houses, and the open widely spaced character of our rural area.

The organization board will be meeting shortly to develop recommendations about our activities in the future.  Please contact Lynn Allen, Heather Skorinko or Tom VanVreede if you have any suggestions.  Or hold the suggestions until we organize an organization group meeting to discuss or future.   One thing I feel strongly that we will need to do is to completely pay off the money we owe the lawyer, and suspend our relationship with him unless a new development proposal is filed that requests variances form the updated ordinance.

Thanks you all for your participation!