- St. Luke's Anderson Campus has plans to expand again
- Township planners endorsed plans for a new, five-story wing that would hold 146 beds
- One planning commission member raised concerns about emergency helicopter flight paths that are disturbing neighbors
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — Following a discussion over concerns of parking and helicopter flight paths, the township planning commission said it liked what it saw in land development plans for St. Luke's University Health Network's Anderson Campus.
Planners recommended approval of the health system's proposal for a five-story expansion that would add 146 beds with a new wing. The addition is slated to be built between the Women & Babies Pavilion and an existing tower, which is also proposed for expansion.
“It’s a hospital as part of an expansion that we’ve anticipated. The hospitals that have come in phases, it’s a further expansion of an existing campus, in line with the master plan.”Bethlehem Twp. Planning Commission Chairman Leslie Walker
Ray Midlam, St. Luke's vice president of business development and strategy, has said the site calls for enhancements because of the continued growth of the hospital’s outreach and a higher demand of patients seeking caregivers.
“It’s a hospital as part of an expansion that we’ve anticipated,” planning commission Chairman Leslie Walker said. “The hospitals that have come in phases, it’s a further expansion of an existing campus, in line with the master plan.”
The Anderson Campus covers hundreds of acres at Freemansburg Avenue and Route 33, about midway between Easton and Bethlehem.
Hospital helicopter access
Planners also voted unanimously to approve conditional use for the campus’ temporary helipad while a permanent one will be included with the new building once it’s complete.
Scott Pasterski, project manager with Keystone Consulting Engineers, said the temporary helipad would be located over one of the parking lots during construction of the expansion.
Following feedback from township residents about Medevac flights disturbing surrounding neighborhoods near the hospital, the developer representatives also agreed to take a look at guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“You have enough acreage over there, between the 200 acres on this side and 300 over there. If you guys can come down, or stay up and loop around and come in — whatever you need to do. Why do you keep going over the neighborhood? That is the problem.”Bethlehem Twp. Planning Commission member Barry Roth
Planning commission member Barry Roth said he wished the helicopter pilots would make use of the surrounding hundreds of acres on the Route 33 side of the hospital campus.
Instead, he said, the choppers sometimes fly over residential neighborhoods, including his own. And the current proposed helipad angle would make the situation worse, he added.
“You have enough acreage over there, between the 200 acres on this side and 300 over there,” Roth said. “If you guys can come down, or stay up and loop around and come in — whatever you need to do.
“Why do you keep going over the neighborhood? That is the problem.”
Roth said the hospital developers are “not welcoming” to the original neighborhood residents.
Amanda Raudenbush, township community development director, then double-checked with the hospital representatives that any proposed flight plans would have to go through the FAA and PennDOT’s Bureau of Aviation.
“Helicopters are a problem. They come over my house; I’m nowhere near the hospital.”Tom Keefer, Bethlehem Twp. resident
Planning commission Vice Chairman James Daley asked if anyone was able to take these kinds of concerns to an appropriate agency for further investigation. Developers said the public is welcome to send those to the FAA.
Resident Tom Keefer said the helicopters should be flying over the highways instead of the neighborhoods, adding he sees them coming over residential areas about once a month.
“Helicopters are a problem,” he said. “They come over my house; I’m nowhere near the hospital.”
Parking on site
Panel member Anna Thomas asked if the expansion's parking estimates take into account another potential addition to maybe come in the next couple of decades.
Pasterski said they always planned to have a surplus of parking capacity, but placing parking for employees to the south was crucial to this particular plan. He added that maintaining a campus flow would benefit continuity on site.
Roth said high-intensity headlights shining at Freemansburg Avenue from parked cars at the hospital campus could distract drivers.
Other thoughts
Pasterski said an existing pond on site initially designed to support the entire future buildout of the campus within the watershed has sufficient capacity to minimize the downstream impact of stormwater.
He said PennDOT-approved handicap-access ramps would come with the expansion and be used just like elsewhere on the campus. There also would be no reduction in the amount of street trees, he added.
Resident Paul Wegrzynowicz said hospital officials have paid great attention to the outward appearance of the hospital and its landscaping relative to its location on the township border.
