BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — Bethlehem Township Planning Commission voted Monday to recommend conditional use approval for a 12-building, 264-unit apartment complex along William Penn Highway.
The apartments are planned for a 17-acre lot, at 5218 William Penn Highway near Hope Road, which previously held a restaurant and driving range called V7.
“There is a long history of us meeting with the township, going through this layout, thinking that the layout has been acceptable,” only for officials to require more changes.Marc Kaplin, an attorney representing Chrin V-7 Associates
Under township zoning rules, property owner Chrin V-7 Associates needs conditional use approval to build them there.
In this case, the conditional use process asks officials to decide whether broad outlines of the proposal meet the township’s requirements for apartments on the land.
The planning commission, asked to weigh in first, voted unanimously Monday that the Chrin V7 proposal meets the required conditions.
Next, with the planning commission’s recommendation in hand, the township’s board of commissioners will hold a hearing of its own and render a verdict.
If board members agree, the developer will go on to submit detailed, fully engineered site plans for review through the land development approval process.
Until then, the complex’s exact layout remains in flux.
Despite work, concerns remain
Engineers working on the project have drawn and redrawn plans for the new apartments, making changes to comply with complicated township zoning rules, said Marc Kaplin, an attorney representing Chrin V-7 Associates.
“We did more drawings on this development with this ordinance than any that I can think of in a long time,” Kaplin said.
“There is a long history of us meeting with the township, going through this layout, thinking that the layout has been acceptable,” only for officials to require more changes, he said.
Despite the narrow focus of Monday’s hearing, planning commission members offered criticisms of the project’s current layout.
Several members shared worries that the current layout places buildings too close to the intersection of William Penn Highway and Hope Road, and that too few parking spaces were directly next to the apartments.
Members also suggested that the developer consider combining three 24-unit apartment buildings into a pair of 36-unit buildings.
The developer will “look at” the planning commission’s suggestions, Kaplin said.
