ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Housing projects in Allentown will be fast-tracked to help address an ongoing crisis throughout the Lehigh Valley, Mayor Matt Tuerk announced Thursday.
The mayor issued an executive order directing planning, zoning and other officials in his administration to prioritize plans that propose 20 or more apartments.
Those plans will be put on the top of the pile — ahead of plans for retail stores, gas stations and other projects — as officials review proposed developments.
“People want to be in a place like this. But as we’ve worked to build this better city, the region has struggled to keep pace with demand for housing.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
The executive order, signed after a brief news conference at Bridgeside Estates, appears to be the first issued by an Allentown mayor in at least a decade.
Tuerk said his executive order will help “get more housing built faster.” It’s a formal administrative policy change that he said he hopes will send “a clear message that housing is a priority in Allentown.”
He expects it to encourage developers to work in the city by shortening review periods. That will save developers money and make it more attractive to build in “the beating heart of the Lehigh Valley,” he said.
'A supply-and-demand problem'
New housing projects are desperately needed in Allentown, Tuerk said. He said the shortage is "fundamentally a supply-and-demand problem."
The region has about 9,000 fewer housing units than it needs for its residents, according to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
“Every delay in reviewing [plans] means a delay in relief for cost-burdened families."Julio Guridy, executive director of the Allentown Housing Authority
“People want to be in a place like this,” Tuerk said. “But as we’ve worked to build this better city, the region has struggled to keep pace with demand for housing.”
“When you don't build enough housing, when you don't build enough supply to meet demand, one thing happens: prices go up."
He cited statistics from Allentown’s housing study, released in January, that showed rents have climbed more than 45% over the past five years while home prices in the city are up 83% over the same period.
Julio Guridy, executive director of the Allentown Housing Authority, said about 30% of renters in the city earn less than $25,000 a year.
That makes it “incredibly difficult” to find “safe, stable” housing at an affordable price, Guridy said.
Streamlining the review of housing projects is “one of the most valuable tools” city officials can use to address the area’s housing shortage, he said.
“Every delay in reviewing [plans] means a delay in relief for cost-burdened families,” Guridy said.
“This executive order … provides a critical signal to the development community that Allentown is serious about tackling the housing shortage we have."
'Got to build now'
The city also has streamlined its building-permitting process. It now lets developers apply for one permit that covers their entire project, rather than seeking permits for each bathroom and bedroom.
“[City officials] don't build more housing; we create the conditions that allow us for more housing to be built. We invest in safe and healthy neighborhoods that encourage developers to build in those places.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
The old process required one developer to get 163 permits for a single project, according to Vicky Kistler, who leads Allentown’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
Tuerk said he issued the order after considering the city’s review process, the ever-escalating cost of building materials — which could be subject to tariffs — and President Donald Trump’s plans to cut housing funding in the next federal budget.
“You’ve got to build now,” Tuerk said.
But he cautioned “change will take time.”
“[City officials] don't build more housing; we create the conditions that allow us for more housing to be built,” Tuerk said.
“We invest in safe and healthy neighborhoods that encourage developers to build in those places.”
Tuerk responded to potential criticism over the timing of his first-ever executive order — less than a week before his Democratic primary matchup against Councilman Ed Zucal.
“You do things when you’re capable of doing them,” he said.
He said many other initiatives — such as digitizing city functions, reorganizing Kistler’s department and streamlining permitting — had to happen first.
“If we had done this on day one … it would have created chaos,” the mayor said.
