BETHLEHEM TWP. Pa. — A proposed five-story, 146-bed expansion to St. Luke’s Hospital's Anderson Campus and a 866,350-square-foot warehouse at the border of the township and Freemansburg both were put on hold Monday.
Bethlehem Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to put the two major development projects on standby for additional review by the administration.
- Bethlehem Twp. planners on Monday put two major projects on hold
- They are a hospital expansion and a warehouse
- Residents were vocal about the potential traffic impacts caused by such projects
Commission members Barry Roth, James Daley, Anna Thomas and newly appointed David Wong voted on the motions. Chairman Leslie Walker, Harold Levy and Peter Chase were absent.
A five-story wing at St. Luke's-Anderson
Ray Midlam, St. Luke’s vice president of business development and strategy, said that beyond some slight modifications, the third-wing expansion just off Route 33 would be in line with the original master site plan, as well as the first hospital set forth in 2011.
If approved, it would be built between the Women & Babies Pavilion and another existing building close by, one which is also proposed for expansion.
Midlam said the site calls for enhancements because of the continued growth of the hospital’s outreach and a higher demand of patients seeking caregivers.
Scott Pasterski, civil engineer and project manager with Allentown's Keystone Consulting Engineers, said a helipad would be featured on top of the new hospital wing.
The landing pad would be relocated to the northeast temporarily, and would see use for about 12-15 months as the new building is constructed. The area later would become a parking lot, according to developers.
“I don’t care how quiet that helicopter is, it should not be flying over a neighborhood."Barry Roth, Bethlehem Township Planning Commission member
Further flight path plans also would need to be arranged with the Federal Aviation Administration and state Transportation Department.
Planning board member Barry Roth said he’s heard hospital helicopters flying by at “treetop level” on a number of occasions over the past two years.
“I don’t care how quiet that helicopter is, it should not be flying over a neighborhood,” Roth said.
He also said the proposed parking lots are “creeping closer and closer to the interstate.”
Pasterski responded, saying St. Luke's planned to incorporate natural-looking berms and landscaping to the next plan revision to avoid a “mall-type” appearance, or a “sea of parking” with five proposed lots.
He said the overall expansion proposal also would call for waiving some township ordinances.
Planners Roth and James Daley agreed the panel needed more time to review the proposal.
Warehouse at an old quarry
John Pollack, senior vice president for Trammell Crow Co. — a developer with a local office in Conshohocken, Montgomery County — said the proposed 866,350-square-foot warehouse would sit on a former limestone quarry site at 1600 Freemansburg Ave.
The development also would straddle the border of the township and Freemansburg, classified within the General Industrial districts within both municipalities.
"What we’re proposing is widening Freemansburg Avenue on our site frontage to provide an exclusive eastbound left-turn lane and westbound right-turn lane onto the site driveway.”AnnMarie Vigilante, Langan Engineering
The site would be accessed via a single driveway from Freemansburg Avenue, with two lanes in and two lanes out. Emergency vehicles could access midway through the site, and maintenance personnel would use that roadway to access an existing cell tower set to remain on the property.
Truck courts and trailer parking are planned for the west side of the warehouse, with employee parking along the north and south sides.
AnnMarie Vigilante, principal with Langan Engineering out of Warrington, Bucks County, spoke more on a traffic impact study highlighting six different nearby intersections near Freemansburg Avenue, Willow Park Road, Cambria Road, Clearfield Street, Livingston Street, Pembroke Road and Stefko Boulevard.
Traffic has been studied
Vigilante said her firm performed peak-hour traffic counts during the middle of a school week in September. The peak hour estimates ranging from 6-9 a.m. and 2-6 p.m. are part of PennDOT protocol.
The estimated daily 24-hour, two-way trips after completion of the project would total 1,481 on a typical weekday. That’s about 741 vehicles coming and going, Vigilante said.
The truck counts would involve eight or nine vehicles and 17 trips in the morning, and about 14 in the afternoon.
Later in the meeting, she said a facility of this size could see an estimated 520 total daily truck trips as a whole, considering a potential tenant could operate 24 hours a day.
“Willow Park Road and Freemansburg [Avenue] is like Russian roulette for people trying to make left turns."Barry Roth, Bethlehem Township Planning Commission member
“Once we’ve been through the traffic study, we look at our recommendations required to meet the PennDOT and township standards,” Vigilante said.
“What we’re proposing is widening Freemansburg Avenue on our site frontage to provide an exclusive eastbound left-turn lane and westbound right-turn lane onto the site driveway.”
Planners Roth and Daley said truckers likely would choose the shortest possible route to avoid as many lights as possible in nearby Bethlehem City, heading east along Freemansburg Avenue to Route 33 and complicating traffic.
“Willow Park Road and Freemansburg [Avenue] is like Russian roulette for people trying to make left turns,” Roth said.
More trucks a concern
Township resident Tom Keefer said the increased number of tractor-trailers that would be on the roadways was concerning, especially considering their route options to the proposed facility.
“No matter what they do, the only way these truckers are going to get to that warehouse is to come off at 33 and come down Freemansburg Avenue,” Keefer said.
Keefer later said he knew the site wasn’t “clean,” even though the developer said the property had been checked for contaminants.
The limestone quarry on site was active from 1950-80, and was owned by Bethlehem Steel, Pollack said.
He said the current owners have applied “clean fill” to the land for more than three decades to “reclaim the land,” and up its potential for a higher economic use.
Another current project for the Trammell Crow Co. includes a two-building project at the former Dutch Springs site in Bethlehem Township.
“And since the zoning area of our township permits this use on that site, we do not have the right to refuse it; we are required to accept it, as long as it is in compliance with those ordinances."James Daley, Bethlehem Township Planning Commission vice chairman
Later, Daley clarified the planning commission’s role in the discussed situation following further public comment.
“The property owner has the right to develop his property so long as it is in compliance with the zoning ordinance of the township and the SALDO [Subdivision and Land Development] ordinance of the township, stormwater regulations and other applicable regulations,” Daley said.
“And since the zoning area of our township permits this use on that site, we do not have the right to refuse it; we are required to accept it, as long as it is in compliance with those ordinances."
Sewage system study
Planners also reviewed the City of Bethlehem Act 537 Special Study, highlighting sewage systems that also serve Bethlehem Township.
Amanda Raudenbush, township planning director, said the city is looking to increase its organic design capacity from more than 39,000 pounds a day to 50,000 pounds a day.
The public can offer comments to specific municipal representatives on the matter for the next 30 days.
Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act of 1966, also known as Act 537, is a law that controls sewage disposal systems on the community and individual levels, and requires respective facility plans to be submitted to the state, according to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission website.
“Under Act 537, municipalities are responsible for assuring that safe and reliable sewage disposal is provided within municipal boundaries," LVPC states on its website.
"Act 537 plans are reviewed by appropriate planning agencies, including a county planning agency such as the LVPC, to determine consistency with land use goals and policies."
