SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — South Whitehall Township residents soon will see construction begin for another part of the mixed-use development that many tried to prevent.
The township Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to grant final approval for Phase 1B of Ridge Farms, a development that would include housing, shops and outdoor eateries.
Phase 1B of the project includes five apartment buildings with a total of 60 units, 14 two-unit dwelling units (seven pairs of twins) and various road extensions.
It would be northwest of Walbert Avenue and Cedar Crest Boulevard.
Ridge Farms, which is owned by Kay Builders, sparked controversy in the township in late 2017. Hundreds of residents came to township meetings to raise concerns about the development when it was up for conditional use approval in 2019.
But only a handful of residents attended Wednesday’s meeting. None commented on the development.
The Board of Commissioners has completely changed since the project first was proposed. This past election was the first since 2017 that incumbents were re-elected to the board.
Several of the current board members first got involved in local politics because of the development.
Commissioners granted Phase 1A of the plan, which includes a St. Luke's medical office, final approval in April 2022. The medical office is under construction.
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services Principal Jason Engelhardt, a representative of the developer, said Phase 1B of the project likely will break ground in 2024 and not take longer than two years to complete.
Why was the plan approved?
Commissioners President Diane Kelly also is a member of the township Planning Commission. In that capacity, she had voted against recommending final approval, citing concerns about the change in the design of the apartment buildings.
Kelly, who was elected to the board during the height of public advocacy against Ridge Farms, said at the planning commission meeting that current renderings differ from what was shown previously.
She said the public should have had the chance to see the new renderings.
But on Wednesday, Kelly joined the rest of the board in granting final approval. When asked about her changed vote after the meeting, she deferred questions about the project to the township manager.
Engelhardt said in an interview after the meeting that Kay Builders had the legal right to change the design.
Commissioner Jacob Roth has said he got involved in local politics because he was concerned about the impact of Ridge Farms. He advocated against the township’s conditional approval of the development in 2019.
“We are required to and bound by the conditional use decision of the previous board commissioners in November 2019."Commissioner Jacob Roth
At Wednesday’s meeting, Roth said the previous board’s decision to grant that conditional use approval prevented the current board from denying this final plan.
“We are required to and bound by the conditional use decision of the previous board commissioners in November 2019," Roth said. "For me, that's the bottom line."
Township solicitor Joseph Zator said the previous board of commissioners legally was required to give the project conditional use approval at that time.
“From a legal standpoint at a conditional use hearing, by and large, it's not a matter of discretion,” Zator said.
“The ordinance establishes criteria that need to be met, and if those objective criteria are met, with little exception, there's an obligation on the officials in that case to grant approval. And that's what happened here.”
Other news
Commissioners also voted Wednesday to hire Jeffrey Marshall of Open Spaces & Historic Places to guide the township in conducting a Historic Resource Survey.
Marshall recently helped develop the township’s preservation plan, called South Whitehall Landscapes.
Sanctuary at Haafsville will no longer provide animal control services starting next year, so commissioners voted to approve a contract with the Lehigh County Humane Society to provide the services.
The township’s Parks & Recreation Department launched a survey for residents to give feedback on its recreational programs and events.
The township will hold its annual Tree and Bridge Lighting Ceremony 5:30 p.m. Dec. 2.
