NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — A plan for the future of recreation in North Whitehall Township may soon be adopted.
The township's Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan examines what residents want from township recreation and how the township can best achieve those goals.
- A draft of North Whitehall's Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan was recommended for approval by the planning commission
- The plan outlines park improvement concepts, which include renderings of potential changes to the park
- The Board of Supervisors will soon vote on whether to adopt the plan
The planning commission unanimously recommended the draft of the plan for approval Tuesday. The plan now will go before the township Board of Supervisors for a hearing and a vote for final adoption.
The township’s last Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan was adopted in 2009.
Supervisors recently adopted the township’s new Comprehensive Plan, which examined many more aspects of township operations, including housing, transportation, infrastructure, preservation and zoning.
What’s in the plan
The plan outlines park improvement concepts for each of the township’s parks, which are based on what residents during the public participation process said they wanted.
The improvement concepts include a bulleted list of what the township could change about the parks, a breakdown of the costs of the changes and renderings of some of the potential additions to the parks.
The plan also includes a section with a list of action items that the township can take to implement the plan’s goals.
The priority actions identified in the plan include:
- Developing a Master Site Plan for Neffs Valley Park
- Creating a multi-use trail connection between Municipal and Levans Parks
- Exploring potential to buy scrap yard property on Sand Spring Road and Chuck Wagon Drive In property on Mauch Chunk Road
- Raising recreation development fees to be competitive with those of adjoining municipalities
Other business
The planning commission also discussed a preliminary/final land development plan for a 12,500-square-foot industrial building proposed at 3952 Independence Drive.
Lew Rauch of Lehigh Engineering Associates said there are no prospective tenants for the building, so there is no specific proposed use. However, he said he anticipates the building will be used for storage and potentially a small office.
The commission voted to table the plan after rejecting a waiver for a utility easement.
The commission also looked at a sketch plan for a McDonald’s drive-thru upgrade.
A representative from McDonalds said the company gets about 75% of its businesses through the drive-thru, so the chain is pursuing a nationwide initiative to make it more efficient.
“Can’t anyone get out of their car for God’s sake?” Planning Commission Vice Chairman Robert Korp said, jokingly.
The upgraded drive-thru has two separate lanes where customers can order, which then merge into one lane for picking up the food.
The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a waiver of land development review.
This article has been edited after previously incorrectly attributed a quote to Planning Commission Chairman Brian Horwith.
