SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Environment Committee on Tuesday gave its stamp of recommendation to a plan for South Whitehall to better manage its natural lands and resources.
South Whitehall held multiple public meetings last year focused on developing its South Whitehall Landscapes plan, which is set to be the township’s guide to landscape preservation, including open space, historic spaces and agricultural and natural resources.
It was born out of South Whitehall's new Comprehensive Plan prioritizing resource protection. That plan was adopted in March of last year.
One of the draft plan's recommendations is to create an open space tax to help fund agricultural and natural resource preservation efforts.
The tax is slated to be on the May 20 primary ballot next year.
The plan seeks to guide the municipality in preserving natural resources, given continued significant development pressure — be it near the Hamilton Boulevard corridor or large residential proposals such as Ridge Farms.
'Very impressed'
The latter created a wave of contention in South Whitehall, changing over the seats of power and pushing the new commissioners to have a more managed outlook on development in the township.
"The plan is intended to dig deeper into the preservation priorities introduced in its comprehensive plan," the comment letter by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Environment Committee to South Whitehall Long Range Planner Chris Strohler states.
"The draft plan highlights the urgency surrounding resource preservation in the Township, as it historically has been, and continues to be, under significant development pressure."
The LVPC's suggestions centered on properly labeling Cedar Creek, and including a map showing the township's wetlands.
The letter praised the township's decision to pursue the plan, and stated that LVPC is available as a resource as the municipality discusses implementation strategies.
"This looks like a very good review and also a very good plan for South Whitehall," said Environmental Committee Chairman Steve Repasch said.
"[I'm] very impressed."
Focusing on many resources
A draft of the plan was released on the South Whitehall Township website, alongside recordings of the panels held by the municipality focused on managing its agricultural, natural and historic resources.
It documents the township's current agricultural, undeveloped and preserved land, as well as proposed action items for the township to follow.
That includes building an inventory of all the township's open spaces and historic resources and investigating opportunities to naturalize open spaces.
The township also will consider new yard waste and composting programs.
Community Development Director David Manhardt said in October that the plan focuses on many different types of resources because they all can come together to form a cohesive landscape.
“Having a historic structure in the context of agricultural fields or a natural area around a structure is really something that we wanted to focus on and look at holistically as opposed to just resource-specific,” Mandhardt said.
Policy recommendations include a zoning and subdivision and land development ordinance, or SALDO, a new official map, a new historic preservation ordinance and updates to tree policies were marked as policy and regulatory goals.
'Not just about physical features'
The plan also outlines strategies to preserve and celebrate its local history, such as posting signage, retrofitting historic properties and encouraging citizens to create a historical society.
Long-range planner Chris Strohler said previously that the plan's benefits go beyond the individual assets that will be preserved.
“It's not just about the physical features," Strohler said. "It's also about the stories and the culture and the legacy and preserving the heritage of this area."
The proposed open space tax, such as what was implemented in Lower Macungie Township, would help the township acquire properties to designate as preserved.
Other strategies include legal agreements with property owners, zoning updates, and deed restrictions.
Alongside policy and study efforts, the plan outlines a slate of potential outreach and education programs.
Residents who wish to comment on the draft plan can do so on the South Whitehall Township website.
