NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The proposed Strawberry Acres residential development once again is facing setbacks, and may need a redesign.
The North Whitehall Planning Commission on Tuesday gave an unfavorable recommendation for a waiver related to the development's stormwater management system.
- Proposed housing development Strawberry Acres may need a redesign after planners gave an unfavorable recommendation for a waiver
- The waiver would have allowed infiltration basins to have vertical slopes, but planners said it could be a drowning risk
- In other news, planners recommended preliminary/final approval to proposed housing development Greenleaf Fields at Parkland
Strawberry Acres, a 55-plus residential community, first was proposed in 2013 and has since received conditional use approval. It would have 89 residential units.
It would be built on the former location of the Strawberry Acres orchard, which now is closed.
The waiver
The requested waiver would have let the plan include seven infiltration basins with vertical slopes on the west side of Overlook Road.
Peter Lehr, the lawyer representing development group 5077 Overlook Road LLC, argued that township ordinances don't specifically prohibit retention walls with vertical slopes, but township staff disagreed.
“If you had kids that would breach that [fence], and fall in, you could find a dead body."Richard Semmel, Planning Commission member
Planners argued that the vertical walls could be dangerous for anyone who may climb over the fence and fall into the basin. They advised the developer to take out some of the proposed housing units to make the basins safer.
“If you had kids that would breach that [fence], and fall in, you could find a dead body,” Planning Commission member Richard Semmel said.
“Plus, you did lot line adjustments before. You’ve got plenty of land available.”
The Planning Commission voted against recommending the Board of Supervisors grant the waiver, 8-1.
Conflict attorney Andrew Shantz said another waiver that planners previously denied was no longer relevant.
The commission had denied it after determining that a small paved area at 5029 Donna Drive was a stub street, which the developer would have to connect to the development.
But Lehr submitted a Right to Know request to the township and found documentation proving it didn't meet the legal definition of a stub street, Shantz said.
Another housing development gets OK
Also Tuesday, planners recommended approval for the preliminary/final plan of the housing development Greenleaf Fields at Parkland.
The plan includes 44 lots of just over an acre each, with the entire development covering 107.1 acres. The houses would be built by developer Tuskes Homes.
The plan may go before the township Board of Supervisors for preliminary/final approval on June 5.
Other business
The commission also discussed plans for “phase two” of Ridings at Parkland, a new housing development off Schneck Road also built by Tuskes Homes.
The company submitted no official plans for phase two, but at a previous meeting, lawyer Joe Piperato said the plan would add about 40 houses to the development.
The company’s Director of Land Development Phil Malitsch presented several potential paths forward for the street design of the development’s expansion.
The planning commission took no official action on the presentation.
