Business Community Government

Friedensville Road Corridor’s Future Discussed by Planners

Est. Read Time: 3 mins

Dozens of Lower Saucon Township residents came to a planning commission meeting Thursday night prepared to fight a proposal by Woodmont Properties to build a 204-unit housing complex on a 22-acre tract between Friedensville and Meadows roads.

The coordinated effort proved to be anticlimactic, however, since the commission downplayed the Woodmont proposal’s viability and instead talked about the future of the Friedensville Road corridor as a possible rezoned transition area between higher-density Hellertown and the Society Hill development to the east, and the less dense residential areas of western Lower Saucon.

Commissioners, in fact, seemed a bit perplexed by the fact that so many residents came prepared to oppose the Woodmont development, when–to date–it has only been discussed in general terms.

Friedensville Road, looking east in Lower Saucon Township

Friedensville Road, looking east in Lower Saucon Township

The wording of the meeting agenda–which listed a “Discussion of Potential Zoning Amendments in UR/R-20 District (This includes property associated with Woodmont development among others)” under miscellaneous business items–may have contributed to the confusion.

Planning commissioner John Noble assured the crowd that when representatives for Woodmont appeared before them in February, their concept for the development wasn’t especially well-received.

“We haven’t heard from them since,” he noted.

“If they come back, they come back,” added chairman John Landis, who said he wouldn’t even call what Woodmont has presented so far a proposal. “They can come back with a site plan.”

In light of the recent interest in developing property in that area, Noble previously advocated for a comprehensive re-examination of the Friedensville Road area’s zoning, which is what Thursday’s discussion was about (and what the misinterpreted agenda item attemped to explain it would be about).

Properties on the north side of the road between Meadows Road and the Saucon Creek/Hellertown border are in the city of Bethlehem, while those along the southern half are in the township.

Noble said he feels the corridor could be a good candidate for rezoning from a residential area to a lower-impact GB2 commercial zone, because of the volume of traffic along Friedensville Road, and because Lower Saucon Township is sorely lacking commercial development to help offset its residential property tax burden.

A GB2 (general business zone) would provide locations for highway-oriented business uses on lots no smaller than about an acre in size, and planner Tom Maxfield noted that existing homes along the road could slowly be transitioned to reuse as commercial properties over a period of years.

Landis, on the other hand, said he believes the current R20 zoning is appropriate.

The current zoning would allow for single family homes to be built on minimum half-acre lots on the property Woodmont has proposed building its higher-density complex on.

In order to build the Woodmont development, the property would have to be rezoned to UR, which is the township’s urban residential zone.

Several residents questioned why the property can’t be preserved as open space, as the township has done with other properties, such as the former Woodland Hills Golf Course.

“The township can’t force someone to give them open space. It has to be voluntary,” solicitor Linc Treadwell explained.

And, “they have to be willing to sell,” added Yerger.

Councilman David Willard, who attended the meeting and spoke as a resident, noted that Lower Saucon Township is one of the few municipalities in the area with a designated open space earned income tax (EIT) that has helped fund the purchase of land for open space preservation.

“I don’t think it’s inappropriate for residents to come in and suggest that the township should look for open space,” he told the commission, which made no decisions or recommendations about the Friedensville Road corridor’s zoning at the meeting.

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive our newsletter in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

Please wait...

Thank you for subscribing!

About the author

Josh Popichak

Josh Popichak is the owner, publisher and editor of Saucon Source. A Lehigh Valley native, he's covered local news since 2005 and previously worked for Berks-Mont News and AOL/Patch. Contact him at josh@sauconsource.com.

Leave a Comment