Lower Saucon Zoners to Consider Proposal for 19 Townhomes

The Lower Saucon Township Zoning Hearing Board is set to hear an appeal by a developer who is seeking variances in order to build 19 townhomes on a property at 3679 Old Philadelphia Pike; the site of a historic home that was reputedly once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

According to documents included with next week’s meeting agenda, One More Steel City LLC is proposing 19 single-family attached dwellings with detached garages and parking on the 8.35 acre site, which is currently vacant except for a single-family dwelling. The property is located in the township’s Village Center zoning district.

Shortly after purchasing the property for $400,000 in June 2023, the developer proposed an apartment complex that would have included nearly 40 units. Those plans were later withdrawn.

According to a letter from attorney Catherine E.N. Durso of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, who is representing the developer, under the current proposal nearly six acres would remain open space and would be “subject to a recorded covenant against the property to enable the area to be preserved and remain undeveloped.” The existing home would be removed, but the developer is proposing keeping part of its foundation, which would be accessible to the public via an easement and pathway from Old Philadelphia Pike.

“A sign/kiosk…is also proposed to memorialize and educate the public to the significance of the former building,” Durso wrote. “The Lower Saucon Township Historic Committee requested that the foundation of the building, which was formerly the shop of John Frederick Plueger (sic), be preserved. The committee advised this building has significance in the history of the township related to the Underground Railroad.”

Born in Schepfheim, Baden, Germany, in 1801, John Friedrich Pflueger died in 1866 and is buried in Friedensville Cemetery in Upper Saucon Township. A 2024 post in the Lower Saucon Township Historical Society Facebook group says he was a farmer, shoemaker and cigar maker.

Part of the property that would remain open space consists of wetlands and is within a flood plain. A June 22 letter from township attorney Steven Goudsouzian states that township council offered to support the application for the development conditioned on the installation of a historical marker and kiosk, providing public access to the marker and kiosk, and establishing a conservation easement/deed restriction for the area between the riparian buffer bordering the wetland area and Rt. 378.

As depicted on site plans submitted to the township, the townhomes would be clustered in three groups along Old Philadelphia Pike, with two driveways connecting to a road behind them. One of the driveways would intersect with Old Philadelphia Pike across from the entrance to the township municipal complex.

A June 9 memo from township zoning officer Tyler Mitch listed nine variances the developer is seeking in order to build on the site, including variances to allow the development to be built on an 8.35 acre tract where 10 acres is required; for the construction of detached garages less than 20 feet from the property line where a 10-foot setback is required; to allow for the construction of more than eight single-family attached dwellings per grouping; and to not require a landscaping buffer.

According to the Zoning Hearing Board application that was filed for the project in April, the address of One More Steel City LLC is 4511 Falmer Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18020, which is the address for Tuskes Homes, a well-known home builder in the area.

The Zoning Hearing Board meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at Lower Saucon Town Hall, 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem. The meeting is open to the public.