L. MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. – A preliminary/final plan for a large stormwater basin to service a subdivision before the Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission was tabled by the applicant Tuesday night.
The proposal, offered by Jaindl Land Company, calls for a large stormwater basin that also employs spray irrigation to service a 100-lot subdivision known as Estates at Woodmere at 9229 Mertztown Road.
The subdivision rests immediately adjacent in neighboring Upper Macungie Township. The 52-acre parcel in question with frontage on Mertztown Road is subject to certain court orders and legal agreements associated with prior condemnation and sale of the land by Lower Macungie.
The subject property is currently open field used for active agriculture. The Little Lehigh Creek rests immediately to the south on the opposite side of Mertztown Road. The board with Upper Macungie is at the lot’s north side, the opposite side of the municipal boundary is where new lots and residences are proposed. An old farmstead is immediately to west and are owned also by David Jaindl. Pre-existing single-family residences are immediately to the east.
Lower Macungie Township review is limited to the project’s stormwater management facilities.
Township Planner Nathan Jones said in a review, “There appears to be no defined maintenance access to the basin.” As the lot in question only has Mertztown Road frontage, Jones noted, “The applicant should demonstrate where maintenance for mowing, repair and emergencies is intended to be.”
In the event of a future sinkhole at the basin, large machinery and trucks will need to access the basin freely and safely and a paved or gravel access is likely needed for this given the vehicle weight, according to Jones.
Light manufacturing
Planners reviewed preliminary/final land development plan approval for a 55,000-square-foot light manufacturing facility at 7428 Industrial Park Way. It is located on a 7.5-acre lot at the Schoeneck and Alburtis roads intersection.
The proposal, offered by applicant NP Land Holdings, calls for a new access driveway from the existing Industrial Park Way, nine loading bays for truck parking and seven receiving docks. The plan features also the utilization of existing stormwater management basins and site landscaping and lighting.
The project is expected to garner minimal truck traffic, according to developers, and is being built on speculation. A staff review noted operational hours and deliveries and shipments should ensure “there is no impact to abutting residential areas to the south.”
Discussion between the applicant and township officials on stormwater management basins and a buffer area of scrub, brush and trees dominated Tuesday night’s discourse.