ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley's housing shortage crisis will be examined in a new engagement series announced Tuesday.
The series, called the Lehigh Valley Housing Supply and Availability Strategy, was revealed at a meeting of Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee.
Defining the challenges of the crisis and establishing context will launch the series. The first step of the series will be from 8-11 a.m. Feb. 5 at DeSales University.
The second part will be in March-April, when focus groups will explore the housing issue challenges and create development actions.
The final event will be in June, to share possible solutions and present strategies.
The series will include participation from multiple sectors and industries, including local governments and school districts, banks and lenders, developers, real estate agents, employers and community organizations.Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
The series aims to quantify the number of housing units that will be needed in the Lehigh Valley by 2050 and how market factors change over time between income and housing price points.
The series is designed to develop strategies to increase housing attainability across all income levels.
The LVPC has collaborated with the Urban Land Institute and Lehigh County on the engagement series.
The series will include participation from multiple sectors and industries, including local governments and school districts, banks and lenders, developers, real estate agents, employers and community organizations.
Housing planned for Alburtis
Also Tuesday, a rezoning request in Alburtis that would help address the Lehigh Valley housing shortage was advanced by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee.
The application proposes to amend the borough’s zoning map from Light Industrial-Office Research to Medium Density Residential on three parcels at 380 and 386 Church St. and 386 Scenic View Drive.
The request will be further reviewed at a full meeting of the LVPC at noon Thursday.
LVPC in its review noted the Lehigh Valley is faced with a substantial housing shortage, and incoming housing development supports furthering a regionwide effort to meet the region’s housing needs.Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
The lots proposed to be rezoned total 5.2 acres. The northernmost lot on the northwest side of Church Street contains Swabia Creek with forested riparian (adjacent to a river) buffers.
The lots on the southwest side of Church Street and south of Scenic View Drive are vacant and undeveloped.
Land uses nearby include existing residential neighborhoods to the east and west, and community recreational facilities also are to the southwest and northeast.
LVPC in its review noted the Lehigh Valley is faced with a substantial housing shortage, and new housing development supports furthering a regionwide effort to meet the region’s housing needs.
Half of the area proposed to be rezoned is identified as residential (high) in the southwestern Lehigh County.
The area is more suitable for residential land uses at higher densities than other areas identified in the comprehensive plan map based on existing uses and anticipated uses, LVPC said.
The surrounding roadways are more suited for residential development than for industrial development, LVPC Chief Community and Regional Planner Jill Seitz said.
The application also proposes amendments to the borough zoning ordinance regulating development in or near floodplains.
NCCC expansion
A rezoning request application by Northampton County Community College was advanced by the committee.
The 43-acre parcel on Green Pond Road in Bethlehem Township currently contains the college’s East 40 gardens and support buildings. It's now zoned as rural residential.
The proposal facilitates opportunities for the college to expand its environmental studies program, according to LVPC and Bethlehem Township Commissioner John K. Gallagher.
Existing land uses nearby include the college to the west and residential neighborhoods to the north and east.
The expansion aligns with FutureLV: The Regional Plan by expanding access to education and job training, the committee said.
Hanover Township rezoning
The committee advanced a request in Hanover Township to rezone parcels from Medium Residential and Planned Unit Development to Planned Industrial Office District.
The proposal will rezone the parcels that are existing single-family detached homes.
The parcels are:
• 710, 730, 740, 750, 760 and 770 Lloyd St.
• 1520 and 1540 North Irving St.
