Author Archives: admin

About admin

Born and raised in Lower Macungie Township in the village of East Texas. B.A. in Political Science from Slippery Rock University. Co-owner of Bar None Weddings & Entertainment. I love and care about my hometown and frequently blog about local issues that I think are important.

George Washington’s words of wisdom in seemingly polarized times

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As George Washington neared his resignation, he wrote a letter to the nation. In it he warns of the danger of polarized political parties. Approaching what could be the nastiest campaign in history, here is an excerpt from the address that is worthwhile to reflect on in today’s seemingly ever polarized world.

They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

I find Washington’s words prophetic in describing both of our political parties today during heart of campaign season. Both attempt to appeal to the fringes as their preferred mechanism in attempting to maintain power by fostering fear. Entities or people with power will attempt to keep that power. This is simply a defining quality of human nature. It’s the fundamental reason why communism doesn’t work. It’s also coincidentally why at it’s core fascism becomes appalling and doesn’t work. George Washington, our first and greatest President was one of the few people who attained power to willingly relinquish it. He is the exception, not the rule.

While the fringes have gotten louder and the venom more rancorous with partisan attempts to maintain power, I still do believe today that the vast majority of Americans are moderate in nature. Every four years the election cycle presents megaphones to the fringe and wings of both parties. They pander to perpetuate a climate of fear. Make no mistake there is no doubt we have problems in our nation. But I believe no single one size fits all ideology can fix the worlds issues despite how much talking heads tell you it can. Only by working together will we solve the daunting issues we face.

“Bipartisanship does not involve the surrender of free debate in determining our position. On the contrary, cooperation and free debate are indispensable to ultimate unity,” said Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg in the 1950’s.

The rancor today is enhanced to new heights by the 24/7 news cycle, internet “meme’s”, the blogosphere and 140 character tweets. Nonetheless I believe the moderate voice still represents the majority. This remains critically important despite the fact that each cycle the vitriol is becoming more and more repugnant. As vial as our two party system can become at times, it’s important that neither party fails. A single demagoguing party (flip a coin, either one) is the much scarier and dangerous proposition in my opinion.

“When nothing is owed or deserved or expected your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected” – The Avett brothers head full of doubt, head full of promise

Pennsylvania Court strikes down Act 13

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Scott Alderfer writes a great piece on his blog “stream hugger” overviewing the recent 4-3 decision by the PA commonwealth court overturning the controversial law. Scott also gives his take on the politics that led up to Act 13’s creation. Scott is the chair of LMT’s Environmental Advisory Council and a founding member of the Little Lehigh Watershed Association.

Every other gas producing state has what is called a severance tax that the state charges gas companies based on the value of gas produced.  A severance tax is imposed by the state and is separate from lease fees and royalties paid to the landowners.  Instituting a severance tax was debated right up through the 2010 PA gubernatorial election.  However, the winner of that election, Republican Tom Corbett, made a No Tax pledge as part of his campaign.  It seems that Gov. Corbett’s No Tax pledge was not just for PA residents.  When asked during his campaign about a gas severance tax, Corbett stated that his No Tax pledge would also apply to a severance tax for gas companies.  Not coincidentally, Corbett received nearly $1 million in campaign contributions from gas companies and their lobbyists.

Little Lehigh Watershed Association

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Little Lehigh Watershed Map

Map of the Little Lehigh Watershed

Recently an association was formed by community members with the goal of protecting the valuable Little Lehigh Creek and it’s large watershed.

Community-based citizen-run watershed associations throughout Pennsylvania, work on the local level to protect, creeks, rivers, streams and lakes. In the Lehigh Valley alone, there are nine active associations representing the majority of Lehigh and Northampton County’s watershed. These organizations:

  • Put on educational and informational workshops including topics such as rain barrels, wildlife, pollution prevention, stormwater management, and invasive plant control
  • Carry out stream bank restoration projects to protect streams from eroding banks, create fish habitat, and improve water quality
  • Monitor streams for bacteria, overall water chemistry, to help regulatory agencies manage stream health
  • Put on community outreach events at local fairs and community days
  • Do stream clean-ups to take care of illegal dumpsites and trash that collects in the streams
  • Work with local landowners on taking care of their streamside properties
  • Participate in local municipal government decisions that affect the streams in their watershed
  • Team up with government agencies, schools, local community organizations, and municipalities to ensure their watershed is protected and that community stakeholders are knowledgeable about important water quality issues.

People who participate in local watershed organizations come from all professions and backgrounds. No technical knowledge of water quality issues, or watersheds, is necessary; only an interest in becoming involved and helping to protect your local waterways.

Whether you are a teacher, an accountant, a construction worker, a homemaker, or retired, YOU can become involved in helping create a citizen-based watershed association for the Little Lehigh Creek.

Again if you are interested in learning more, please attend an initial organizational meeting to be held at 7 pm June 20 at the Seven Generations Charter School, 154 E. Main Street, Emmaus.

If you have further questions, please contact the Watershed Coalition of Lehigh Valley (WCLV).

Rebecca Kennedy – President, WCLV : (215) 939-3419
Erin Frederick – Vice President, WCLV:  (610) 965-4397 x 137

FYI’s – The Little Lehigh Creek Watershed

  •  covers 107 square miles in Lehigh & Berks counties
  •  serves as a significant source of drinking water for 135,000 people, including Allentown, Emmaus & Salisbury
  •  is home to a naturally reproducing trout population
  • provides many opportunities for hiking, biking kayaking, fishing & birding
  • is suffering from the effects of substantial residential and commercial development
  • is threatened by the introduction of non-native plant species and animal species that compete with native species, creating an unbalanced — hence, unhealthy — ecosystem
  • is on the verge of losing its unique status as a clean, urban water way if we do not become better stewards of this important resource.

*This information taken from ‘Welcome to the Little Lehigh Creek Watershed,’ an Allentown EAC publication

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie upcoming Town Hall in LMT

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Rep Mackenzie will be holding two town hall meetings in August. One will be here in LMT at the Community Center on August 8th, 2012 at 7pm.

From his website:

EMMAUS Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Berks/Lehigh) announced today that he will host two town hall meetings in August.

Town hall meetings are a great forum for citizens to share with me their concerns about state government and our community, said Mackenzie. These discussions are an important tool for me to determine how my office can best serve area residents and the legislative priorities of our district.

How residents can address speeding concerns

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At a June BOC meeting a half dozen township residents came to express concerns regarding speeding issues on Millcreek Road, specifically the curvy area near the Schmoyer Bridge over the Little Lehigh Creek. 

At this same meeting the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) gave their annual report. Officer David Nosal overviewed what happens when a resident complains about excessive speeding. The PSP provides primary police coverage in the township.

PSP protocol: Typically, when complaints are recieved for a particular road, PSP will monitor the area and collect data over a set period of time. During this time PSP will issue citations. Periodically, officers will review the data to determine if the area warrants continued presence. In the case of Millcreek, the data showed that people weren’t regularly exceeding the limit by more then 5mph. (the threshhold for a ticket) So enforcement ended.

Clearly in this case, the issue isn’t enforcement. The PSP has done it’s job and determined based on data that people aren’t speeding excessively. Now, this isn’t to say there isn’t an issue. I believe firmly that there definitely is on this stretch and other similiar.

I visited this stretch on a bicycle the other day and stopped to talk to some neighbors. It’s posted 35mph. If you’re brave enough to take your life into your hands, bike it you’ll know immediately that 35 mph simply doesn’t work here. For most of us, it’s a choice to walk or bike this stretch and we can choose not to. But for the residents who live here, (I counted over a dozen homes) there is no choice. They must interact with this dangerous street to get out driveways and to collect mail.

It’s my opinion the issue here isn’t enforcement but rather the speed limit itself. This particular road is a township road. Therefore the township controls the speed limit. It’s my opinion that when considering the speed limit we need to move beyond simple road classifications and use more common sense.

This area is an old neighborhood. Some houses have been there decades. One in particular was a former 1 room schoolhouse built in 1850. The road here is particularly windy and dangerous. Site lines are awful. If you do the math and figure the space it takes to stop when travelling 40 mph and take into account where the driveways are, you quickly figure out that this corridor is a recipe for tragedy.

I’m going to do some digging on what options residents have when they believe a speed limit is innapropriate for a certain road. Im also going to follow the Millcreek issue closely. As of now the issue has been sent to the public safety commission.

The issue is again on the Board of Commissioners agenda tonight in the form of a resident communication to Congressman Dent. The Board of Commissioners meeting is 7pm in the township building.

 

What you can do if you have a speeding complaint:
Any township Rd: Call the PSP and ask for targeted enforcement
You can contact the Fogelsville Barracks at: (610) 706-0613

State Roads: You can contact our state representatives office. Contact Ryan Mackenzie: Emmaus Office (610) 965-9933

Township Roads: You can contact the township at: (610) 966-4343

Jaindl verdict could come soon

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Jaindl verdict could come soon

The commonwealth court could rule on the Jaindl zoning soon. Or it could be another month. There is no way to tell.

The court will either uphold Judge Varrichio’s decision that invalidated the re-zoning or it will overturn the decision. Varrichio’s ruling concluded the advertisement of the zoning by the township was “misleading” because, among other things, the location of the lands being re-zoned was omitted.

Before adopting this ordinance in 2010, our newly elected officials Ryan Conrad, Ron Eichenberg, Roger Reis and Doug Brownentered into a confidential written agreement with Jaindl, agreeing to change our zoning and abandon an agricultural protection ordinance that had been in place for 23 years. The appellants also argued this represented contract zoning, but the Judge only ruled on the technical aspect last summer. Depending on the outcome contract zoning could come back into play.

This new zoning will allow Jaindl to develop potentially hundreds of new homes, 4 million square foot of massive warehouses and typical strip/big box commercial. All on land that for 2 decades was preserved through zoning as agricultural and according to the Lehigh Valley comprehensive plan was to remain designated as such. The tract is located in the extreme western portion of the township.

Possible outcomes:
Appellants and community win: Jaindl and the township would have to persuade the Pa. Supreme Court to hear an appeal.

Appellants and community lose: The court will remand the case back to Judge Varricchio to deal with contract zoning.

“Friends’ position statement on “Allen Organ” mixed use ordinance

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Board of Commissioners,

Friends for Protection of Lower Macungie Township has the following position statement regarding the proposed mixed use ordinance which the planning commission has recently recommended (unanimously) that the BOC not adopt. 

Throughout the review process, “best practices” were compromised by the developer proposing the ordinance. It became clear that this proposal was being fashioned as one specifically tailored to one this particular project. (AllenOrgan) The planning commission cited this as just one of many reasons why this ordinance should not be moved forward at this time.

The ordinance in its proposed form allows the developer to build the township’s highest residential density. Higher density can work in mixed use. However this proposal lacks the necessary qualities that counterbalance higher density and minimize the negatives such as traffic, lower quality of life and affects on the school district. (enrollment)

The ordinance should encourage or incentivize:

  • Meaningful integration of the residential and commercial zones
  • Pedestrian scale design as a comprehensive feature throughout a project
  • Incentives for a range of housing and commercial types in one neighborhood
  • Incentives for interconnected nodes and complete streets
  • Incentives for integration of open space and other public areas
  • Commercial uses that are compatible with residential uses in close proximity (24 hour operations should be considered restricted for example)
  • Additional home occupation uses allowed by right to encourage live-work uses
  • Transferable development rights – For ex. for increased density.

 We ask the Board of Commissioners (BOC) to accept the planning commission’s recommendation and to not move this ordinance forward. The Township is about to undertake a comprehensive ‘smart growth implementation plan’. We feel if the BOC chooses to move this ordinance forward, despite planning commission objection and resident concerns, the community will miss a critical opportunity to weigh in via the Urban Research and Development Corporations (URDC) plan.

Respectfully,
Friends LMT Steering Committee

Ron Beitler Kathryn Dixon Anthony Rodale
Ann Friedenheim  Sandy Beldon Percy Dougherty
Bob Rust Mark Spengler Rob Hamill
Jane Fretz Leah Papp             Scott Bieber 

Development Watch: Latest on the Macungie Lumber Yard Property

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Two weeks ago at Macungie council, a couple came before the board to discuss their vision for the future of the Shelley Lumber Yard. Christine Devine and her husband would like to place adaycare center on a one-acre portion of the parcel closest to Lehigh Street.

The lumber yard property is bounded by Lehigh and Main. Lumber Street runs through the middle. Lumber Street is a public borough road. 

The tract has been vacant since the Lumber facility was demolished years ago. The 2010 downtown revitalization plan identified this tract as high priority for re-development due to it’s centralized location. (URDC facilitated the plan. Note: same firm that is going to tackle the LMT smart growth implementation plan)

Council was receptive to the plan, but had a few concerns. It’s important to note the plan on the table calls for development of only 1 acre of a total 5.5 acres. The reason the applicant is submitting this in steps is because the Devines would like to have the daycare open by August of next year. Questions regarding Lumber Street may be avoided temporarily by only developing 1 acre now.

Concerns centered around Lumber Street and bus access. If you’ve been on Lumber Street, (I am couple times a week) to say it needs some attention is an understatement. It’s basically a loosely defined gravel road. Lumber is the only way trucks can access businesses on Lehigh Street. (for ex. Lehigh Surfaces)

There was discussion on who would be responsible for future upgrades to the street. The 2010 plan suggested relocating Lumber Street to the edge of the property opening up more space and possibilities for the rest of the parcel.

The other concern was bus access to ensure school vehicles do not enter Lehigh St. from Brookside Road. This intersection is dangerous due to poor sitelines.

My take: This could be a great start to re-developing this brownfield.

The couple currently operates two Daycares in the area. Members of the public had nothing but nice things to say about the business and the Devines. If the concerns noted by council can be addressed, then this could be a great start to the re-development of this area.

I do agree that the intersection of Brookside and Lehigh is a concern and that Lumber Street is important to the success of this property as a whole. Council has to be sure they get it’s re-routing right. Meanwhile they must remember it is a public Rd. I think people would be surprised how hard it gets used, even in it’s current condition.

What do you think about the vacant lumber yard and this possible plan submission?

Public works committee to recommend 25 MPH speed limit on section of Millcreek

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Public works committee to recommend 25 MPH speed limit on section of Millcreek.

Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:47 pm

A week ago I blogged about resident concerns on Millcreek Rd. – How residents can address speeding concerns.

At the June 25th public works meeting, the committee voted to recommend to the full Board of Commissioners a reduction of the speed limit to 25MPH on a section of Millcreek. (from 35MPH).

The specific section of road is from the intersection with Spring Creek (Spring Creek is a state road) to the intersection with Saurkraut. The particular portion of the road could be reduced without any further studies.

The board also discussed the possibility of reducing the remaining ‘upper’ portion of Millcreek Rd. up to the intersection with Willow Ln.

The rationale for the lower portion took into account the dangerous curves and short site-lines of the stretch. Just a few days ago there was yet another accident on this portion. A resident pulling out of their driveway was rear-ended by an approaching car coming from over the Schmoyer Bridge.

What is a walkable neighborhood?

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In the coming months the LMT planning commission will take up the creation of a new mixed use ordinance. It’s my hope that this ordinance is firmly grounded in smart growth principle encouraging walk-able communities.

So what exactly does a “walk-able” neighborhood mean? This short 4 minute video is an excellent introduction to the concept.

The goal is to encourage pedestrian-centric vs. a typical automobile centric design. Think classic neighborhoods you can live, work and walk to many services.

We are a automobile society. Thats a fact that isn’t changing. But more often people are interested in having the option to walk. We have tons of “big box” commercial in the township with more on the way. And this is not bad inmoderation. Personally, I’m excited for Hamilton Crossings (Target)! This won’t be typical “big box.” Our planners did a great job ensuring the character is more “lifestyle center.” But the point is, we’re approaching the tipping point of “the right mix.”

Do we want the “right mix” or do we want to become MacArthur Road? This mixed use ordinance can be a big part of our future. Here are the basic principles that make a neighborhood walk-able:

  • A complimentary mix of uses that integrate with one another. This is essential and includes not only a mix across the parcel but mixed use buildings. Think “Main st. USA” vs. sprawl. The goal is matching the character of historic villages and borough’s creating a pleasant live-able community.
  • Encouraging walk-able streetscapes and complete streets. In newer suburbs likes ours it’s difficult to walk from place to place. Pedestrians who attempt to are forced to dodge cars and walk through parking lots. To create a friendlier, attractive, more walkable landscape, a mixed use district requires small-scale commercial buildings with frontage facing streets. Additionaly, garages and parking areas must be located to the side and rear. Also streets must be deisgned to be complete. We’re currently participating in a study of the rt. 222 corridor on how to make it a more “complete street,” featuring walk-able characteristics. Sara Paindl (Lower Macungie Director of Planning) and our planners deserve much praise for facilitating this!
  • Central open space providing active recreation areas, focal points for the community, and saving environmental features. A good mixed use district should requires at least 20 percent open space, preferably located centrally, in village greens and other types of central open space.

Ask yourself a simple question. What do you want LMT to be? Like every other sprawling area or do you want it to be exceptional? I grew up here. Long gone in many parts of the township is the rural character I grew up with and loved. I’ll fight to preserve what can and should be preserved. (Jaindl and warehouses)  But I’m equally excited for what has to be developed to be done so in an planned way.

The great thing about this sort of planning is it is not theoretical. It’s being successfully developed nearby. Here are a few great local examples:

Woodmont, Lower Moreland – Montgomery County – 49 acre tract
Sunnybrook Village, Lower Pottsgrove – Montgomery County – 52 acre tract