The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s Comprehensive Committee agreed that a curative amendment petition presented by a developer to build an industrial building on farmland was a bad idea.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the committee was presented with a draft letter to Palmer Township about a 91-acre of land straddling the border with Lower Nazareth. The petitioner wants to rezone the 41-acre section in Palmer from rural agricultural to north east business to allow for industrial development.
The land is along Main Street, just west of Route 33 between Nazareth and Tatamy.
The draft letter written by LVPC Chief Community and Regional Planner Jillian Seitz suggests denying support for the amendment, citing “reverse spot zoning” concerns and the detrimental impact of high-intensity industrial use near schools and residential areas.
While the land is bordered by warehouses on the Palmer side, the Lower Nazareth side has Nazareth Area Intermediate School and its athletic fields on its western border.
“Referring to the industrial character of the area is only accurate to describe the area east of the subject property,” Seitz said. “The petition fails to acknowledge the residential and educational land uses to the west.”
Committee member Chris Amato was concerned about potential sinkholes on the property, noting that roads in the area have been closed because of them.
“This is an area we had to close down due to the presence of sinkholes. We know that the general area has a lot of karst activity,” Amato said.
The draft letter will be considered by the full LVPC at Thursday’s meeting. If approved, it would be sent to Palmer Township, which will decide what to do about the curative action.