LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa.— Bethany United Methodist Church has gained preliminary approval to change its property lines for St. Luke's Hospital Network to build nearby.
The church, represented by Newton Engineering Group, made the request Tuesday at a Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission.
The church was built in 1968, expanded in 1991, and recently downsized, sparking the interest of St. Luke's, which plans to turn part of it into office space.
The church started downsizing in the past few years, as attendance began to dwindle and donations slowed.
St. Luke's has previously said its interest in the property would be for "various services" with "no overnight stays," St. Luke's Vice President of Finance and Real Estate Mary Jane McKeever said in October.
Also Tuesday, plans for a 54.4-acre mixed-use development at 617 N. Krocks Road were struck from the agenda when the engineers involved failed to attend.
That project was being resubmitted after being directed to make a few engineering changes, including its stormwater management plans.
Consolidation
Bethany United Methodist owns four parcels at 1208 Brookside Road that total 6.64 acres. The largest is just under 5 acres, while the others range from less than half an acre to just under 1 acre.
"Consolidating those parcels makes sense."Bryan McAdam, Lower Macungie Township Engineer
In the meeting, representatives from Newton Engineering made the case to consolidate the parcels into one — which was met with agreement by township Engineer Bryan MacAdam.
"So I think, from the perspective of what the plan is really trying to accomplish, I certainly have no objection to the church and its properties from consolidating," MacAdam said.
"Consolidating those parcels makes sense."
One of the requests from Newton Engineering was to seek an exception to a township ordinance about "right-of-way" — donating part of land to the township or state Transportation Department, which used to be a required practice for some land parcel types.
Both organizations involved no longer accept this sort of arrangement, according to the Planning Commission.
At Tuesday's meeting, Newton Engineering requested to waive a "right-of-way" rule that would have required it to donate 10 feet of the land.
"It's a bit of a formality," MacAdam said.
All of the requests from Bethany United Methodist Church and Newton Engineering were approved by the Planning Commission.
They now will be submitted to Lower Macungie's Board of Commissioners for next steps.
