A plan to build housing on 140 acres owned by the Bethlehem, Pa., club will wait at least two months before the Bethlehem Township Planning Commission reviews and votes on the plan. If the sale does not come to fruition, the club’s shareholders have already voted to sell the entire course.
Plans for housing on Green Pond Country Club land in Bethlehem, Pa., won’t be coming before Bethlehem Township Planning Commission for at least two months as they undergo further engineering review, the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Morning Call reported.
The planners were scheduled to consider plans from Delaware County-based Traditions of America, which wants to build a 55-and-older housing complex on 140 acres owned by the club, the Morning Call reported.
Plans submitted last year called for 265 units, but company attorney Gregg Adelman said the number has been reduced to 221 and, if approved, would be built in two phases, the Morning Call reported.
“What we have are tentative plans,” Adelman said, adding that the company hopes to come back to the board in July with complete plans.
Planning Commission Chairwoman Lee Stover said the company has made numerous changes to the plans, all technical engineering issues. She said under these circumstances, the plans are placed into what is called administrative review, which means engineers from the township and the company will meet to examine the plans and resolve any differences, the Morning Call reported.
“All the issues are engineering-related and not planning issues. This is done so they don’t come back month after month only having a few conditions resolved,” she said.
While Adelman suggested the company would return in July, Stover said, “If they come back in July, that would be quick.”
The developers faced backlash from the community in 2014 when the plan was introduced and moderate opposition when the builders went before the township commissioners in 2015 seeking waivers. The concerns raised by residents were mostly about the need to preserve several acres of wetlands that are said to attract more than 160 species of birds. Other concerns included increases in traffic and stormwater, the Morning Call reported.
Another concern is the 238-acre Green Pond Country Club, which is owned by shareholders who voted to sell the club if the project is not built. If the project is approved by the township, the 140 acres would be sold to Traditions, the shareholders would call off a sale and the remaining club land would be placed in a conservation easement, the Morning Call reported.
The planning commission is an advisory body. Township commissioners will have final say on the plans. Planner James Daley, who is an engineer, said such a proposal is needless because what is discussed is not necessarily the final outcome, the Morning Call reported.
Kathy Glagola, who lives about 100 feet from the site of the proposed development, said, “I just don’t want to see the wetlands encroached upon.” She said if the development goes through, maintaining the wetlands on the property should be the responsibility of a conservation organization and not the community’s homeowners association, the Morning Call reported.
“This place is a treasure for the township, the state and the eastern U.S. Why not pay more attention to it?” she said.
Planner Don Wright said he is uncertain how much maintenance the wetlands would need, but it would be the responsibility of the homeowners association, the Morning Call reported.
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