Category Archives: Uncategorized

Drinking water in LMT now Fluoridated

Posted on by

    

Did you know public drinking water in Lower Macungie is now Fluoridated? Township residents with public connections get their water from Lehigh County Authority. (LCA) As part of a ongoing regionalization of the water supply, LCA signed a deal with Allentown a few years ago to connect to the city’s water system. The connection was recently completed and city water has begun flowing into the LCA water system last month. The deal obligates LCA to purchase a certain amount of water from the city starting in 2013 and increasing that amount in subsequent years.

Since the city fluoridates it’s water, our drinking water supply here in LMT is now flouridated. For now, the concentration is less than in the city but this amount will increase as LCA continues to increase it’s water purchases from Allentown.

There has long been public debate over whether fluoridating the water supply is a good thing. It’s long been a contentious issue in the city since it began fluoridating in 2000.

Water Flouridation Controversy – Wikipedia article
The next Allentown water issue could be flouridation – Mcall

Another by product of the purchasing agreement is that LMT previously had mainly well water. Generally well water is considered a higher quality water source than surface water from a creek or reservoir. For years some including the ‘Friends LMT‘ organization have linked development pressure on the Little Lehigh creek watershed to the water supply quality in Allentown, since the city gets most of it’s water from the creek.

Now with the new agreement in place, LMT also gets it’s drinking water in part from the Little Lehigh Creek. Perhaps now this will open some eyes to issues surrounding the water quality of our watershed in relation to development pressure and policies by our current and previous boards that continue to put flooding, sediment and water quality pressure on the creek.

Guest Blogged on Renew LV “Crossroads” blog!

Posted on by

Guest blogged on RenewLV crossroads blog. Check it out here! Wrote about tomorrow mornings ‘Curbside Chat’ with the Strongtowns.org organization. Renew Lehigh Valley (RenewLV) is a smart growth organization working to strengthen the region’s core communities, preserve open space, and create a sustainable and equitable foundation for future growth.

The Strongtowns message has been the foundation of my interest in smart growth. At it’s core smart growth is a fiscally conservative policy that addresses the fundamental issue of fiscal sustainability. Simply put, new development should produce a return on taxpayer investment in infrastructure and services. I look forward to hearing the message in the context of Lower Macungie Township.

What: Curbside Chat
When: Jan 9th 8am
Where: Lower Macungie Township Municipal building. 

Jaindl timeline… open and transparent process?

Posted on by

We have to remember what transpired in 2010 at the polls.

The train was very clearly on the tracks and no amount of public comment was going to change the Commissioners pre-determined outcome. Nothing demonstrates this better then the memo below which became public record during the court proceedings.

The outcome was pre-determined the minute the board stepped into confidential executive sessions and negotiated a terrible alternative plan to a threatened quarry. Never were residents given a chance to weigh in on Quarry vs. Fight a Quarry vs. Warehouses/strip malls and residential in a meaningful way. This outcome was always predetermined, complete with timeline.

This is Ron Eichenberg, Ryan Conrad and Roger Reis’s version of engaging residents in a transparent process.

Jaindl lawyer comments don’t reflect reality

Posted on by

     

The Subdivision portion of the ongoing 700 acre Jaindl Warehouse, Strip Mall and tract housing development had it’s day in court Tuesday.

Morning Call Article

Developing this land is a long and complicated process. The subdivision is just another step in the overall process. Remember, the appellants were already successful in challenging the zoning change that would have laid the groundwork to allow hundreds of acres of previously protected farmland to be developed with millions of square ft. of warehouses, strip malls and tract housing. The subdivision is another step that divides the larger tracts into smaller tracts for sale.

I take issue with some characterizations made by Jaindl attorney Joe Zator. Specifically and I quote from the hearing: 

“My client isn’t going away,” Zator said. “This property is going to be developed. It’s just a matter of time. A half-dozen residents can persist as long as they want, but development will occur.”

Yes, there are a half dozen residents who are physically challenging the subdivision and the zoning but they are supported by:

  • Over 1000 residents signed a petition encouraging the Board of Commissioners to reconsider the zoning change. (They ignored this…)
  • 125 residents attended the meeting the board voted on the subdivision plans. There may have been more but the meeting overflowed into the hallway and adjacent room.
  • Over 75+ people have made individual donations to the legal fund ranging from 5 dollars to 1000 dollars.

I find it insulting to hear the continuing public be damned attitude as Mcall’s Paul Carpenter put it 1 year ago. Basically Jaindl and our elected officials are saying, this development will happen and we don’t give a damn what the public thinks.

The “this will take decades to build out” line that our elected officials use is ridiculous also. They basically admit hey this sucks, but it won’t happen all at once so thats ok. It’ll happen over 2 decades. As if people could care less or are so naive about their children or the future.

We disagree and we’ll carry this out til the conclusion and without overwhelming public support we wouldn’t have been able to take it this far.

Donate here
Join our mailing list here
Stay updated here

Only with continued support will we be able to continue to stop this gamechanging development that will forever change the tone of our community.  Please click the links above.

Important resident survey! Parks, Recreation & Open Space!

Posted on by

Important resident survey! Parks, Recreation & Open Space!

As part of the Lower Macungie Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Planning, the township (twp.) is gathering public opinions on preferences and current usage of our park and recreation system. Please take a minute to fill out! Your input will help to guide the recommendations of the planning process being facilitated by KMS design group and funded by the same grant used for Greenway planning.

Why this is Important? – Officials will use this information to evaluate both current and future service and amenities. Additionally there are some critical questions that relate to open space, farmland preservation and our quality of life!

Click here to take the survey

 

For example: Do you think the twp. would benefit from a dog-park as Upper Macungie has recently built? Do you think we need to do a better job of protecting farmland and open space? Do we have too many fields for one activity and not enough for another? How about lighted fields? Would you use them? Would you be willing to pay a user fee for a dog park or lighted fields? Just a sample of important issues covered.

‘Friends LMT’ is a community smart growth advocacy group. Our goal is the keep the public informed on local gov’t, land use and development issues. We’ll be attending most public meetings in this process. Want to stay informed on the progress of this initiative? Visit at our facebook page! Not a member? Just bookmark as you would a normal webpage and visit often.

Local Trick or Treat updates: Macungie, Lower Macungie, Alburtis

Posted on by

Here’s the scoop on local Trick or Treats – PLEASE BE SAFE EVERYONE! I think the township made the right call postponing til Saturday and holding during the day because we have no idea if power will be back on yet in many areas on saturday. On the more suburban township roads (many without sidewalks) it’s too dangerous to hold the event without streetlights.

For those still having it in Alburtis and Macungie tonight PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL!

Macungie and Alburtis Borough: Via Mcall – Trick or Treat still on for Wednesday Night


Emmaus Borough: Via Emmaus Facebook Page

Attention Borough Residents: TRICK OR TREAT NIGHT HAS BEEN CHANGEDDue to the potential damage and circumstances as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the Borough of Emmaus has cancelled Trick or Treat Night for Wednesday evening. Because of the potential for lasting effects of the hurricane, Trick or Treat Night for the Borough of Emmaus has been RESCHEDULED for SATURDAY, November 3rd from 6pm to 8pm.Please share this with your friends that live in the Borough. We will also be providing a telephone announcement this afternoon. Please stay safe!

 

Lower Macungie Township: Via LMT Facebook Page

Lower Macungie Township

Trick-or-Treat is cancelled for tonight and is rescheduled for Saturday, November 3rd, 3:00-6:00 p.m. Due to reports that power could be out until Sunday, the Trick-or-Treat hours were scheduled during the day for safety reasons. If your children are Trick-or-Treating without an adult, please remind them to be careful when it starts to get dark. Have fun and be safe!
Interested in East Penn Smart Growth issues? Do you think our township is growing too fast  and the traffic, school enrollment issues and taxes are starting to effect our quality of life?

Local social media valuable during storm

Posted on by

I started advocating for LMT to initiate social media about 2 years ago. A month ago they launched their Facebook and Twitter. Props to Commissioner Conrad for spearheading it despite sometimes snarky support from some of the other commissioners.

Sandy showed us exactly why it’s critical local gov’t uses every tool available to get information out to the public.

During the height of the storm LMT, Alburtis and Allentown Social media were humming with updates and information. And it was a two way street. Residents posted questions, concerns and updates throughout the storm. Lower Macungie Patch’s facebook gained nearly 150 “likes” during the height of the storm. It was clear, residents were turning to the internet for information.

And it was very effective. Residents in the Borough of Macungie however were left in the dark. Despite staff drawing up a social media policy some on council are skeptical. I hope this shows beyond doubt how critical it is to use this powerful tool.

Here are many of the local links that residents turned to for information during the storm.

Local Gov’t Social Media
Alburtis PD
Alburtis Borough
Lower Macungie Township
Commissioner Ryan Conrad (LMT)
Allentown Mayor
City of Allentown

Local organizations
Lower Macungie Library
Friends for Protection of Lower Macungie Township (East Penn Smart Growth resident organization)

Local Media
Morning Call
Lower Macungie Patch 
Emmaus Patch Facebook

Jaindl again mis-uses the concept “smart growth”

Posted on by

I’m tired of this. This is the 3rd time I’ve heard this. The 1st was by his attorney Joe Zator during the LMT zoning board hearings.

This being, Mr. Jaindl calling his “warehousevilles” smart growth. It’s mind numbing and insulting to hear this bastardization of smart growth principle.

Jaindl quoted as calling a warehouse project “smart growth” over at Bernie’s blog.

Here ARE the universally accepted 10 principles of Smart Growth.
1. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
2. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
3. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
4. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
5. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
6. Mix land uses
7. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
8. Take advantage of compact building design
9. Create walkable neighborhoods
10. Provide a variety of transportation choices

You can CLEARLY see, what Jaindl does. He cherry picks item number 6 taking it out of context while ignoring 1, 2, 3 & 4 (in the case of LMT), 8, 9 and 10. He categorizes projects as mixed use because he frequently does put warehouses next to residential developments. Aside from ignoring most if not all of the other tenets, simply physically putting a warehouse next to a housing project is not the intent of the “mixed use” tenet.

Yes, SG encourages mixed use neighborhoods. Meaning that in today’s world you can live next to many commercial uses without affecting your quality of life. For ex. cafe’s, high end retail, services like hair salons, medical, ect. ect. ect.

SG encourages this because you can pack more into a compact area (tenets 1 & 8) therefore the taxpayer gets more return on our infrastructure investments and we grow in a more sustainable way.

Remember, we have Euclidean zoning (based on the town Euclid where it was first used) because it seperates INCOMPATIBLE uses. Back in the day we needed a mechanism to separate noisy industrial uses from our residential areas. Nowadays we just don’t have many noisy factories/industrial uses anymore and SG principle states you can now put COMPATIBLE uses together.

But what we have here with Jaindl’s warehouses is the EXACT reason we NEEDED Euclidean zoning for the last 5 decades and still do need it in some cases. These are noisy, unsightly ugly distribution centers. They are QOL killers. They are EXACTLY the reason for Euclidean zoning. They are completely incompatible with residential uses. (Trucks, Noise, aesthetics)

 

ACT 537 Sewage Plan

Posted on by

This post comes from a fellow Friends board member from our Facebook Page. (Scott is a resident of Upper Milford, but grew up in the township and is active advocate for smart growth and land preservation.)

If you have a septic tank sewage system. mandatory pumping of the tank is going to be required under the township’s proposed new Act 537 Sewage Plan. The pumping requirement is one part of the revised sewage plan. The other part of the sewage plan calls for the expansion of the township’s public sewer area to include the proposed Jaindl development project on Spring Creek Road.

Expansion of the public sewer area is necessary for the Jaindl project to be built. Giant warehouses, 700 new houses and townhouses and commercial sprawl can’t use septic systems. They need public sewers.

DEP may require some minor changes to the sewage plan but is expected to eventually approve it.
The township claims the public sewer area has to be enlarged to serve the zoning change of the Jaindl land. Only problem is that the zoning change is currently not in effect since a Lehigh County judge voided the zoning change last year because of inadequate advance public notice of the zoning change.

Meanwhile, Jaindl’s commercial and industrial subdivision plan for his land cannot get final approval until he completes specific sewage planning for his subdivision plan. And he can’t start that process until the township’s sewage expansion plan is approved by DEP.

in other news, the appellants appeal (supported by Friends) of the Jaindl subdivision plan is scheduled for oral arguments in Lehigh County court in October.

We claim the township cannot approve a subdivision plan while the underlying zoning change is still under legal appeal.

Meanwhile, we are waiting for the ruling from the commonwealth court on the township’s and Jaindl’s appeal of the county judge’s ruling that voided the zoning change.

Are you confused now ?? At least the people who have septic systems know that mandatory pumping is coming for sure.

Here is what warehouse landscaping should look like in LMT

Posted on by

The example on the right is a local warehouse near Quakertown. Notice the Earthen bank completely and effectively shields neighboring uses from the loading docks, trucks and the monstrous barren super box wall.

Contrast this vs. warehouses in our township where the street view remains dominated by loading docks, tractor trailers, vast parking lots and the wall. Here in LMT neighbors have to deal with truck idling, backup alarms and down shifting 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

If our elected leadership is continuing a policy of committing us  “all in” on warehouses then we need to beef up our landscaping and screening requirements accordingly if vast tracts of farmland are to be plowed over and paved, and our landscape is to be dominated by these superboxes.