- Bethlehem Township residents spoke out against a proposed Wawa and neighboring 32-unit apartment building, citing traffic and stormwater issues
- The development is planned for the corner of Easton Avenue and Farmersville Road, near Blue restaurant
- The commission couldn't vote on the project Monday, as it still needed approvals from the township zoning hearing board
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — Residents weighed in on a proposed Wawa and neighboring 32-unit apartment building at a meeting of the township’s planning commission Monday night.
But the project will need approval from zoning authorities before the township Board of Commissioners can vote on the project.
The proposal for 4.5 acres at Easton Avenue and Farmersville Road includes a Wawa gas station and a neighboring three-story, 32-unit apartment building.
Original plans for the site submitted this year called for 60 apartments. Representatives for the project said the change came in response to criticism from township residents at a previous meeting.
The project’s driving force is landowner George Paxos, who also owns Blue restaurant and event center next to the proposed development.
Co-developer Summit Realty Advisors, based in Ambler, Montgomery County, is heading up the Wawa part of the project.
Because of zoning regulations governing the site, the project would need special approval from the township zoning hearing board for the Wawa’s layout, and for the planned apartment building to include more than 16 units.
Alternatively, the project’s developers could avoid the cap on apartments per building by recategorizing the apartment building under township zoning rules.
Developers seek input, get it
With zoning issues still outstanding Monday, the planning commission could not vote whether to recommend approving the proposal.
Unable to receive any kind of formal endorsement, project representatives told commissioners they were mainly there to collect responses to the updated design.
“This evening was really to come back and get additional feedback based on the sketch plan application that we previously had before you, and to show you that we have been making strides to come up with a suitable application,” Mary Bachert, an engineer on the project, told commissioners Monday.
“Get a good day’s rain, I not only have lakeside property, my property is under water. That has to be addressed, whether this is developed or not.”Susan Snyder, who lives near the proposed project
A handful of township residents were more than happy to oblige, most expressing concerns the new construction would worsen already severe rush-hour traffic and flooding from stormwater.
“Get a good day’s rain, I not only have lakeside property, my property is under water,” said Susan Snyder, who lives near the proposed project. “That has to be addressed, whether this is developed or not.”
She also described heavy congestion in the area during the afternoon — so heavy, she said, she is effectively unable to leave her home.
“Every weekday from about 2:15 on, you can't get out of my driveway if I wanted to go anywhere,” she said. “And now you're going to dump all this [traffic] out on Farmersville Road. How do you think I'm going to get out?”
Not much they can do
Township resident Kathi Roman, referencing a nearby detention pond, said, “Every time there's a bad storm, that water's feet from our houses.
“Another concern I have — and I think [other residents] do too, is just the traffic. The traffic in that area… is horrendous. It's awful, especially during rush hour.”
Township resident Allen Billiard said, “There's no assurance for anybody who lives off Farmersville Road between Easton Avenue and Freemansburg [Ave.], or we’re going to have any greater travel or egress onto those two major roads. It's going to be a standstill.”
“If they meet the zoning [requirements], and it meets the subdivision land development [rules] and it meets the stormwater requirements, the only thing we can do is approve it. If we deny it because we don't like it, we go to court."Bethlehem Township Commissioners Chairman Les Walker
Commissioners Chairman Les Walker said he was optimistic that the development would improve the area’s stormwater woes, and that either new building is unlikely to significantly impact traffic.
And even if commissioners thought it was a bad idea, he reminded those who spoke at Monday’s meeting, there isn’t much the planning commission can actually do about it.
“If they meet the zoning [requirements], and it meets the subdivision land development [rules] and it meets the stormwater requirements, the only thing we can do is approve it," he said.
"If we deny it because we don't like it, we go to court. The only reason we volunteer is because we share the same concerns you do.”
