BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — Township commissioners have 45 days to decide whether to approve a proposed 268-unit, 10-building garden apartment complex along William Penn Highway.
The new build-out planned for the former V7 restaurant and driving range site at 5218 William Penn Highway would not create a significant public safety hazard or affect “the desirable character” of existing nearby residential areas, project specialists told commissioners on Monday.
Commissioners are being asked to grant conditional use approval for the project.
It calls for nine three-story residential buildings and a 5,260-square-foot amenity structure, 557 parking spaces and an internal circulation drive with two connections to Hope Road.
Route 33 runs to the west and Hope Road to the east of the currently vacant site, with residential and commercial areas nearby. Northampton Country Club is to the north.
The property is within the Office Business, Commercial Enhancement Overlay and Streetscape Enhancement Overlay zoning districts.
Township commissioners meet next on June 16.
Traffic will be OK, consultant says
Applicant Chrin V-7 Associates LP tasked Zakary Ruppert, senior project manager with Bowman Consulting, with conducting a transportation impact assessment for the project.
He said his initial focus was set on William Penn Highway and Hope Road, and Hope Road and Freemansburg Avenue.
The township traffic consultant also requested four additional state intersections along William Penn, from Emrick Boulevard to Country Club Road, be included within the study area.
“My opinion is that the traffic will not significantly impact the surrounding roadway network."Zakary Ruppert, senior project manager with Bowman Consulting
“My opinion is that the traffic will not significantly impact the surrounding roadway network,” Ruppert said.
“It is also within PennDOT’s criteria to require mitigation, as PennDOT did not provide any necessary improvements at the offset intersections.”
Citing the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, Ruppert said the proposed land use is “in line” with the document’s description for similar uses.
A few changes in current plan
The current plan under review, which appears to have four additional units and two fewer buildings compared with a previous design, was adjusted based on suggestions from a township Planning Commission meeting in January.
Some of those adjustments included:
- Consolidating Buildings A, B and C (24 units each) into just A and B (now 36 units apiece) and shifting the buildings west and north toward William Penn and Route 33
- Modifying parking and drive-aisle configuration for a more proper ratio for the units
- Buildings H, I and J along the southern property line consolidated into H and G
- Reconfiguring the southern entrance
- Changing the northern driveway connection to Hope Road for a right-in only to the parking immediately adjacent to Building D; proposed a turnaround
- Breezeways, uniform grass strips and sidewalks
'I see nothing but problems'
“I know we need the apartments; I know we need the housing," township resident Tom Keefer said. "But it’s going to be — it already is — a traffic nightmare, and it’s just going to get worse.”
“I don’t mind people developing, but the problem is, respect your neighbors downstream.”Barry Roth, Bethlehem Township resident
Barry Roth, another township resident, said he’d like to see a more specific plan for nearby traffic flow.
“Coming westbound on William Penn Highway at Hope Road, there needs to be a turning lane for people that are making a left; there needs to be a widening because that backs the traffic up,” Roth said.
“Same way as down Hope Road: I see nothing but problems, especially since the street is basically the same it was when it was horse and buggy.”
He also mentioned concerns regarding stormwater drainage in surrounding residential areas such as Ohio Street.
“I don’t mind people developing, but the problem is, respect your neighbors downstream," he said.
