Hellertown Adopts Sidewalk Ordinance, Talks Sheetz Opening

At Hellertown Borough Council’s July 20 meeting, council formally adopted Ordinance 864, which is a rewriting of Chapter 385 of the borough code governing streets and sidewalks.

Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft told council the committee — which included Zoning and Codes Officer Terri Fadem— went through each section of Chapter 385 and made line-item changes, all of which were documented and posted publicly. 

Borough Solicitor Michael Corriere then summarized the key policy changes for the record:

• Excavations: The rewrite gives Bryan Smith, as borough engineer, latitude on excavation restoration. On any excavation running more than 100 feet, the borough can require full street replacement rather than a patch.
• Sidewalk enforcement: The rewrite stiffens penalties. Contractors who fail to contact Fadem for a required preliminary inspection now face a fine or a mandatory redo of the work.
• Standards adopted by reference: The rewrite adopts the International Property Maintenance Code and the PennDOT Publication 408, Section 4084 requirements for sidewalks, including ADA standards.
• Sale-of-property compliance window: Corriere told council the committee researched language that would have required sidewalks to be installed prior to a sale, but that a recently passed act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly limits how far the borough can go. The rewrite instead requires sidewalks to be brought into compliance within 12 months of the property transfer.
• Tree preservation: Under the rewrite, sidewalks may be diverted from a straight line at Fadem’s discretion in order to save a tree.
• Fines and enforcement: The rewrite raises fines to $1,000. It also gives the borough three enforcement tools: performing the work directly, placing a lien on the property or filing an equity action to force the property owner to complete the work.

Councilman Larry O’Donnell said he felt more confident moving forward with sidewalk inspections under the new language.

“Some of the things are a lot more clear and some (are) common sense things, like the tree diversion and things like that,” he said. “If we can fix a sidewalk and save a tree, that’s awesome, rather than cut down a tree.”

O’Donnell said the borough’s next enforcement push will focus on Main Street and Walnut Street, along with other “hot spots” flagged during a walk-through.

Sheetz Grand Opening

Corriere said council is monitoring the activity at the new Sheetz convenience store, which opened July 16 at Kichline Avenue and Rt. 412.

“Borough Council, in exercising their due diligence, had me discuss the grand opening with the Sheetz attorney, so I can report to the public that they certainly want to be good neighbors,” Corriere said.

“Sheetz, because of our request–or at least knowing what our position was last year–picked a weekday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., because it’s after the morning rush hour,” he said. “They specifically didn’t pick a weekend when more people could potentially attend. In honor of the agreement we made during the litigation, no alcohol will be served during their operations, and also not during the grand opening.”

National Night Out Scheduled

Police Chief James Baitinger announced that National Night Out will be held Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Dimmick Park, with pony rides, food vendors, a DJ and games. Baitinger said he will personally take a turn in the dunk tank.

“We’re getting huge, huge support from community members and businesses. This is an event that’s entirely free for our community members that come,” Baitinger added.

Planning Commission: Monica Mindler Appointed 

Council appointed Monica Mindler to fill an unexpired seat on the Hellertown Planning Commission, with the term running through December 2029.

O’Donnell told council the planning commission met with Mindler, interviewed her briefly and hosted her at the commission’s most recent meeting so she could get a feel for the workload.

He said Mindler became interested in the seat after attending several Northampton County Planning Commission meetings as a resident. “We had no concerns or questions,” O’Donnell told council. Mindler was on vacation and unable to attend the July 20 council meeting.

O’Donnell reminded council that even with Mindler’s appointment, the commission still has one more open seat to fill.

The commission is separately weighing whether to add an alternate seat similar to the zoning hearing board’s structure. He said that conversation would be postponed until after the commission is at full strength.

The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall.