Bethlehem’s 102-page land development ordinance could see big changes | Bethlehem Area

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem City Council held a hearing Tuesday to discuss its Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, or SALDO.

Taking place before its regular meeting, the hearing allowed the city administration to receive input on their comprehensive update of the ordinance governing aspects of land development from councilmembers and residents.

Controlled by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, the SALDO defines “the way municipalities can regulate certain aspects of development,” said Laura Collins, the city’s director of community and economic development.

Cathy Fletcher, the city’s new director of planning and zoning, said the 102-page document was last updated in 1975.

The new ordinance would allow for the inclusion of “some things that have changed” in the past 50 years, Fletcher said.

Representatives of the city administration worked on the additions for several years and has finally arrived at the point where they hope their work will be incorporated, they said.

Craig Pfeiffer, assistant director of planning and zoning, provided an overview of what he identified as five major changes to the city’s SALDO.

Pfeiffer said those changes allowed for the inclusion of the city’s Climate Action Plan and memorializing the role of the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, or LANTA, and the city’s Environmental Action Committee in plan review.

Pfeiffer said both LANTA and the EAC currently review plans and offer feedback, such as providing sheltered bicycle parking, using solar programs, “commonsense” stormwater management, and landscaping measures that include native plants.

For her part, Councilmember Coleen Laird commended the inclusion of stormwater management.

“I’m happy to see the focus on stormwater,” she said.

The amendments also provide for a more streamlined process for submitting major and minor development and subdivision plans, as well as a simplified process for lot consolidation.

One such change in minor subdivisions allows developers to provide a deed with new boundaries, rather than what can be a time-consuming and costly process to consolidate the lots.

Changes also include design standards for site layout, Pfeiffer said.

Council President Michael Colon said the amendments allow for streamlining processes without sacrificing scrutiny.

“That’s important to balance,” Colon said.

While the administration’s work was highly praised, several commenters shared concerns about the changes’ potential to deter potential developers and drive up the cost of housing.

City Council candidate Joseph Poplawski said changes to the SALDO could raise the cost of development in the city.

“Everything you have here is raising the cost of the development of the property, which is having an impact on our affordable housing crisis,” Poplawski said.

Some commenters took issue with the inclusion of the city’s Climate Action Plan.

“When you add the Climate Action Plan, (you) raise costs and create less affordable housing. People suffer as a consequence,” said resident Mike O’Hare.

“[The amended SALDO] is going to raise the cost of development and create more problems for affordable housing. We might end up with a homeless encampment in a rain garden somewhere,” O’Hare said.

Councilmember Bryan Callahan also addressed the rising cost of housing in the city, particularly on the Southside. “I fear that a lot of…renters will get priced out of the market in the next 10 to 15 years. I hope that doesn’t happen,” Callahan said.

“Bethlehem is going to be very expensive to live in, no matter what we do,” he added.

O’Hare said he viewed the amended version of the SALDO and the previous version and found them very different.

“They don’t compare at all. I’m surprised at how different the document is,” he said.

Collins said the changes incorporate practices the administration has already been following.

“We’re already doing a lot of work that’s reflected in these changes,” she said.

Collins explained that the city’s administration has been progressing in their processes, but that a lot of what they’ve been doing hasn’t been memorialized.

“We’re bringing it all together,” Collins said.

Yet other commenters said they were surprised to see the changes before City Council.

“I’m surprised that this has been going on for years. The first I really heard about it was two weeks ago,” O’Hare said.

Those sentiments were echoed by resident Budd Hackett.

“I wasn’t aware this document had been in progress for three years,” Hackett said.

Tuesday’s hearing represents the first step in the amended ordinance’s final adoption.

Council will see the plan twice more before a vote.

The amended SALDO will be reviewed at the council’s Aug. 5 meeting.