EASTON, Pa. — Lafayette College officials must submit new plans to the city after more than 40 trees, along with a slew of foliage and shrubs, were cleared without prior approval to make way for a $1.2 million walkway project on College Hill.
- Lafayette College must resubmit plans after deforesting a slope on College Hill
- More than 40 trees were cleared without approval for a $1.2 million walkway project
- If the college doesn't comply, work must stop
“It has come to the attention of this office that the removal of trees and vegetation on the steep slope of the hill that leads to Lafayette College has exceeded the supplied information on the approved project submittals,” city Chief Zoning Administrator Dwayne Tillman said in a May 15 letter to the college.
"It has come to the attention of this office that the removal of trees and vegetation on the steep slope of the hill that leads to Lafayette College has exceeded the supplied information on the approved project submittals."Chief Zoning Administrator Dwayne Tillman, in a May 15 letter to Lafayette College
The original plans, approved by the city June 14, 2022, and viewed through a Right-to-Know request at City Hall Tuesday afternoon, show the vast majority of the trees would be retained for the project on a slope that leads to the college at the foot of College Hill. However, the area was recently deforested.
Rob Christopher, city arborist and conservation manager, said, "ordinances are created to protect the city, its residents and the environment. If they are not followed or enforced, then all they are is a legal formality."
LehighValleyNews.com has reached out college officials and Pennoni, the Bethlehem-based engineering firm leading the project, for comment.
The letter notes college officials must submit new plans within 15 days of receipt, and failure to respond “will result in a stop work order and enforcement action …” The letter cites the city’s steep slope conservation ordinance, which aims to mitigate sedimentation and erosion.
City of Easton by LVNewsdotcom on Scribd
Once plans are submitted, they will be reviewed by the city’s engineer. In the meantime, work on the slope, which runs from behind the William E. Simon Center for Economics and Business on campus to the Karl Stirner trailhead at North Third Street, accessible by steep steps and visible from Downtown, can continue.
Earlier this month, the city’s Environmental Advisory Council voted unanimously to send a letter of concern to city council, citing the negative effects of clearing shade trees, as well as soil erosion and sedimentation concerns.
In response to a request for comment in late April from LehighValleyNews.com on the deforestation on the campus, college spokesperson Bryan Hay said clearing the area was necessary for construction of a multimodal elevated walkway to connect the city’s Downtown and College Hill neighborhoods.
“Most of these trees were removed because they were dead, dying or created safety concerns due to the extent to which they leaned over pedestrian walkways,” Hay said in an email. "Because of the ways [the walkway] will improve the connection between the city and the neighborhood, this work is supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.”
The project is earmarked to be completed by mid-August, less than two years after Lafayette announced it had received a $869,694 grant to create a multi-use trail extending diagonally across the slope. The college committed a 30% match, or $372,726, toward the grant for a project total of $1.2 million, according to a news release announcing the funding.
