SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — A plan for how South Whitehall Township will grow in the next decade is nearing completion, and township officials want more resident feedback.
Township officials will hold a Comprehensive Plan Open House at 5 p.m. Thursday in the township municipal building.
- South Whitehall officials will hold an open house meeting to solicit resident feedback for the township's draft comprehensive plan
- Comprehensive plans set out short- and long-term goals for housing, transportation, infrastructure, preservation, zoning and other aspects of a municipality
- The open house will be at 5 p.m. Thursday in the township municipal building, 4444 Walbert Ave.
Residents will be able to provide feedback on the township’s draft comprehensive plan, which will serve as a guideline for how the township will grow in the next 10-15 years.
The plan is in its final stage of development: South Whitehall Commissioners will adopt the plan in the coming months after a public comment period.
Township Manager Tom Petrucci said the township decided to hold the open house so community members could have another opportunity to submit comments on the plan for township officials to consider.
Petrucci said that at the open house, residents can review the draft Comprehensive Plan, then ask community development officials questions about it.
The open house will end before the Planning Commission meeting that night, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
What is a comprehensive plan?
A comprehensive plan sets out long- and short-term goals for housing, transportation, infrastructure, preservation, zoning and other aspects of a municipality, and will inform new ordinances.
In other words, it is a guideline for where future efforts and developments should go and what they should be like.
It also assesses the trajectory of transportation, developments, demographics, employment and other key aspects of the area.
SWT Draft Comprehensive Pl by LVNewsdotcom on Scribd
The current draft of the comprehensive plan lists priorities and timetables for proposed action items on each subject examined. High priority items include infrastructure, bureaucratic reorganization and zoning.
The highest priority aspects of the plan include:
- Developing a plan for safe and efficient bicycle and pedestrian connectivity
- Evaluating roles and duties of municipal boards, committees and subcommittees
- Integrating capital improvements budgeting and planning across departments
- Evaluating municipal services and utilities for expansion and functionality
- Updating the official township map
- A public safety evaluation
- Updating sewage facilities plan per Department of Environmental Protection requirements
- Examining traffic safety by identifying high crash and priority safety improvement areas
- Examining transportation infrastructure
The plan also examines future land use and lays the groundwork for how the township zoning ordinances should change in the coming years.
Development has been among the most controversial issues in South Whitehall Township politics in recent years, with many residents opposing developments such as the proposed mixed-use development Ridge Farms.
But once zoning ordinances are in place, it can be very difficult — sometimes impossible — for the township to stop developments that follow those ordinances.
Township Planner Gregg Adams said participating in the creation of the comprehensive plan is the main way residents of South Whitehall can stop future development they won’t like.
“Once this is adopted and the zoning ordinances change, basically it's a lot harder to stop development,” Adams said in September during the process of creating the draft.
Township officials have spent nearly four years working on the comprehensive plan. They held open house meetings this year to receive in-person feedback and suggestions and let residents submit comments online.
Resources and survey data used by the township in the creation of the plan can be found here.
Staff writer Jay Bradley contributed to this report
