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Easton News

Easton's South Side may soon see 110-unit housing development

jacobsknoll1.jpg
Brian Myszkowski
/
LehighValleyNews,com
Schematics for Jacob's Knoll, a 110-unit apartment development which is intended to be constructed in Easton's South Side along East Grant Street. Jacob's Knoll LLC., the developer, received final conditional approval for the project from the city's planning commission on Nov. 6, 2024.

EASTON, Pa. — A new development of 55 two-family units may be headed to Easton’s South Side.

The Jacob’s Knoll development representatives got conditional final approval Wednesday from the city Planning Commission after a presentation and question-and-answer period.

The proposed development would have one-bath and two-bed, two-bath configurations near East Grant Street.

The 864-square-foot singles would rent in the mid-$1,700-per-month range, the 1,080-square-foot, and two-bed setup would be in the mid- to upper-$1,900-per-month range.

The plan shows 125 off-street parking spaces for the development.

The project originally began in 2009, when the developer bought the land between Neston Heights and The Highlands.

Jacob's Knoll LLC. appears to be working on the development without aid from tax subsidies, grants, or other government support.

Planning Administrator Carl Manges said the plans were “complete enough to support conditional final plan approval.”

Addressing some issues

City engineer comments asked for the developer to determine the location of school bus stops, and to have new roads in the vicinity of the property evaluated by the state Transportation Department.

“There would be a total of 23 units that would actually be along the frontage of East Grant Street, [with] parking and access along the rear,” engineer Heath Machamer said.

“We then take additional access along the rear of units 35 through 52 at the top end of this section of the road. We actually have an emergency access gate, just because of the grades of that road leading down to units 53 through 55.

"Access to those units actually come in on the backside here, and we have parking spaces associated with those units in that section.”

“If you're taking trees down and there's plenty of sunshine, have you considered adding alternative energy aspects to this project, as in solar panels and solar roofing opportunities?"
Planning Commission member Hubert Etchison

Machamer said erosion and runoff were two notable issues with the 14.41-acre area — which currently exists as three separate lots that will be combined.

He said that filtration systems, trenches and spreader systems will help safely disperse water into local streams.

According to Machamer, the developer worked with city officials to address comments raised by the city Zoning Hearing Board last year.

jacobsknoll2.jpg
Brian Myszkowski
/
LehighValleyNews.com
Engineer Heath Machamer explains elements of the Jacob's Knoll development at Easton's planning commission meeting.

Commissioner Hubert Etchison raised questions about trees on the property — the developer said 140 to 150 trees will be planted to make up for those taken down.

Etchison also asked about the potential for alternative energy options to offset the strain on the power grid.

“If you're taking trees down and there's plenty of sunshine, have you considered adding alternative energy aspects to this project, as in solar panels and solar roofing opportunities?" Etchison said.

"Because there, well at least for the next two months, are incentives in place to help offset the cost of putting solar panels on new development.”

The developer’s team said it was something they may consider.

Amenities, sinkholes, more

Asked about additional amenities on the site, Stephen Heiss, the man behind Jacob’s Knoll LLC., said a sizable part of the land will remain undeveloped.

“So about five acres, we're not touching. We're going to clean it up, because it's a mess down there, but we're going to clean it all up and make nature trails, so it’s all pristine, not touched,”
Stephen Heiss

“So about five acres, we're not touching," Heriss said. "We're going to clean it up, because it's a mess down there, but we're going to clean it all up and make nature trails, so it’s all pristine, not touched."

Commissioner Frank Graziano raised a concern about potential sinkholes, but the development team said soil analysis showed no potential for such issues.

Commissioner Ken Greene asked about plan markups from the city engineer, which included the dispersing handicap parking throughout the grounds, in addition to riparian buffer on the property.

Machamer said the development team worked with the city engineer to address concerns as they were raised, with only a few items left to address.

Among them is getting conditional final approval to procure a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

Solicitor Joel Scheer raised some mild concerns over granting the approval, though he appeared satisfied with the addition of additional conditions.

Among them were “the NPDES and any other permits… the lot consolidation, and three, the improvements agreement,” which the commission ultimately approved.