Plans for building a Sheetz gas station and convenience store on Rt. 412 are one step closer to becoming a reality following Tuesday night’s Hellertown Planning Commission meeting, during which planners reviewed several items.
Kichline/Main Street Land Development (Sheetz)
The Sheetz would be located at Kichline Avenue and Main Street, opposite the eastbound I-78 on-ramps, where a used car and truck dealership is currently located. A medical office building and microhospital is planned for the former Champion Spark Plug factory property located directly to the north of where the Sheetz would be built.
A Sheetz recently opened about a mile north of Hellertown on E. Fourth Street in South Bethlehem. (FILE PHOTO)
“We were here before you previously for preliminary recommendation (of the proposal) in March,” said a representative from Bohler Engineers. “Since then, we’ve received variances from the zoning hearing board in May on the parking calculation as well as signage variances that we had discussed… We then moved to the (Hellertown Borough) council and received preliminary approval from council in the beginning of June.”
Some residents have voiced concerns about the Sheetz project since it was first announced, primarily related to how it could impact the adjacent residential neighborhood. But the land on which it is to be built is zoned Highway Commercial; a classification which allows for convenience stores and other uses that aren’t permitted by right in other parts of the borough. The HC zoning district extends north from Kichline Avenue and west from Main Street to the borough’s borders with the city of Bethlehem.
“Anyone on council can make a motion to deny (the proposal), but…it will go to litigation and there will be costs associated with defending that litigation, and we will lose,” Hellertown Borough Council president Tom Rieger said before last month’s 6-1 vote to approve the Sheetz proposal.
The vote was unanimous at Tuesday’s planning commission meeting. The project will now return to council for another vote.
30 Bachman Street (Proposed Senior Apartments)
The planning commission discussed a sketch plan for 30 Bachman Street, where senior apartments are proposed. The developers are seeking variances for use, building coverage, a loading zone and number of units per acre, which will be considered by the borough’s zoning hearing board.
A notable change to the building plans since the planning commission previously reviewed them was a reduction in the number of stories from four to three. Also, per the commission’s recommendation from a previous meeting, the building’s orientation was rotated to align with the Oak Street right-of-way. Eugene Berg of Gouck Architects said the new plans include a widened 12-foot right-of-way at Furnace Street and 14 feet at Oak Street. Fire truck turning radii that satisfied Dewey Fire Company officials’ concerns regarding fire access were also on the site plan.
The proposal calls for each unit to have one parking spot in a garage underneath the building. Rather than assisted living units, the building would contain apartments for people 55 and over.
A Sheetz recently opened on E. Fourth Street near the Wind Creek casino in South Bethlehem, and a Sheetz is also proposed for a building site in front of the Saucon Valley Square shopping center on Rt. 378 in Lower Saucon Township.
