Revised North Whitehall housing development plan approved

NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — A controversial housing development will move forward under a new plan.

North Whitehall Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a revised plan for the Rising Sun subdivision, which would have 110 single-family homes on about 100 acres at 1321 Rising Sun Road.

The revised plan turns the subdivision into a “cluster development,” meaning about the same number of homes would be on smaller lots.

The rest of the land — about 45 acres — will be permanently preserved as open space.

This type of development is permitted by conditional use, meaning the Board of Supervisors needed to hold a quasi-judicial hearing to determine whether it fit all township requirements.

“As much as I don't like to see all this development going on, it's permitted,” Supervisor Dennis Klusaritz said.

Traffic concerns

The board held a hearing for the conditional use on June 6, at which residents raised concerns about the increased traffic at the intersection of Route 145 and Rising Sun Road.

Benjamin Guthrie, the traffic engineer with the developer, said then that the new houses would increase the traffic at that intersection by an estimated 5%.

Guthrie said the intersection did not meet PennDOT’s requirements for a traffic light, but some residents still said they worried about the safety of adding more cars.

Township solicitor Thomas Dinkelacker said the developer, Access Commercial Development, agreed to give the township $25,000 to address these issues.

“That doesn't sound like a lot in the world of traffic improvements, but the purpose of that is going to be for the township to initiate a traffic study of [Route] 145,” Dinkelacker said.

Another traffic-related concern was speeding down Rising Sun Road. Guthrie said the new plan has sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian medians to narrow the road and hopefully slow traffic.

The plan should now go through the typical land development process in the township.