Published May 29. 2026 01:00PM<\/p>\n
The South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners met May 20 and approved a conditional use application for the proposed Kore Flower Farm special event venue following a public hearing.<\/p>\n
The application, submitted by Hector Lisboa and Melissa Miller for their property at 2303 Herman Lane, would establish a seasonal event venue on the nearly nine-acre flower farm in the township\u2019s RR-2 Rural Residential zoning district.<\/p>\n
Township officials noted the applicants have demonstrated a long-term commitment to farming through previous agricultural approvals and temporary events.<\/p>\n
Plans for the venue include boutique weddings and private gatherings, a farm-themed event building, patio area and 83 parking spaces.<\/p>\n
Applicants said the venue would host no more than 30 events annually between May and November, with attendance capped at 135 guests.<\/p>\n
Food and alcohol service would be handled by licensed vendors and caterers.<\/p>\n
Commissioners also discussed parking, traffic, restroom accommodations, and preserving the rural appearance of the property.<\/p>\n
The board voted 5-0 to grant conditional approval subject to planning commission conditions, drawing applause from the audience.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the meeting, six residents spoke against the proposed Atlas Center data center project during Courtesy of the Floor.<\/p>\n
Resident Ryen Yanes argued that unresolved public health and environmental concerns revealed weaknesses in the township\u2019s land development process.<\/p>\n
Yanes criticized ordinance exemptions for generator noise, questioned protections for private wells, and referenced Pennsylvania\u2019s Green Amendment, warning the township could face legal action from residents if unresolved risks remain.<\/p>\n
Township officials defended the review process, emphasizing that the Atlas project has not been rushed through the approval system.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Jacob Roth said the proposal was originally expected before the planning commission in February but has faced months of delays due to extensive township review.<\/p>\n
Roth stated township staff and consultants have identified approximately 340 concerns with the proposal and said the township continues to rigorously enforce its ordinances and performance standards regulations.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO BY MICHAEL HIRSCHAn elevation of the Kore Flower Farm event venue is displayed over the heads of South Whitehall Township Commissioners Sharon Fehlinger-Ricker, Diane Kelly, Jacob D. Roth, Thomas Johns and Glenn Guanowsky. The audience applauded the board\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published May 29. 2026 01:00PM The South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners met May 20 and approved a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-205580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}