SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — The outcome of a plan to permanently preserve open space in South Whitehall Township is likely to be placed in the hands of the voters.
The township board of commissioners on Wednesday said they are in favor of placing a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The next commissioners meeting is June 4.
The commissioners in November authorized the Trust for Public Land to conduct a conservation finance feasibility study that examined public financing options available to the township that can be used to permanently protect open space.
Results of the study indicated the best approach to fund open space protection in the township would be to use two financing options together.
Option 1
Option 1 is to consider borrowing through a general obligation bond for the purchase of significant open space properties of high value.
That would let the township raise the needed funds quickly to buy property development rights of the highest priority parcels, either in fee simple — or granting the owner full rights to the property — or by conservation easement.
“I think there's a recognition there's only so much (open space) left in this township."Christopher Strohler, South Whitehall Township long-range planner
The real estate values and size of some of the high priority parcels in the township likely would cause purchase prices to be in the millions.
Option 2
Option 2 is to increase the Earned Income Tax, or EIT, rate exclusively for the purpose of financing open space protection, as authorized by Pennsylvania Act 153 of 1996.
An incremental increase in the EIT rate can be set aside in a fund to buy properties and easements for open space, including park, recreation or conservation land.
However, time is of the essence, said township Long-Range Planner Christopher Strohler, who outlined the open space issue before the commissioners.
“If the board pursues this, it would have to file it with the Lehigh County Elections Office by August to have it placed in time for the Nov. 4 election,” Stroller said.
The township is in a strong financial position to issue a general obligation bond if a deal could be struck to buy a high-priority property.
But to increase the EIT rate, it would have to be approved by voter referendum.
Said board member Jacob Roth: “I look forward to us drafting an ordinance. The question is better left for the voters.”
The township's vision
The township's vision to preserve open space goes back to its adoption of its comprehensive plan in 2019, Strohler said.
Strohler said a dedicated funding mechanism is critical to ensuring the township can buy parcels it has identified through planning as a high priority to consider protecting.
“I think there's a recognition there's only so much [open space] left in this township.”Township Long-Range Planner Christopher Strohler
“It’s important to note that land is not cheap in South Whitehall,” he said.
“So it will take a lot of money. I think … a bond, coupled with the EIT increase, is a good way to be stewards of our finances and the taxpayers’ finances.”
The township in April released a targeted survey to registered voters to test specific terminology related to open space preservation and a tolerable level of increase to the EIT rate.
As of early May, the survey response rate was 7%.
Some notable information provided by the results includes:
• More than 95% consider the loss of open space to have an effect on quality of life in the township
• More than 90% view as important the need to protect clean air, clean water and environmentally sensitive areas
• More than 75% recognize the correlation between protected open space and maintaining property values
• 75% indicated they would support a 0.1 of a percent increase in the EIT rate
The commissioners on Wednesday were in favor of leaving the survey open throughout the summer during the public outreach to help reaffirm the decision to keep the measure on the ballot.
“I think there's a recognition there's only so much [open space] left in this township,” Strohler said.
“We could see ourselves approaching what we call a build out, where you have half of the township developed and half of it undeveloped.
“But out of that undeveloped portion, a very, very small piece of it is legally protected from development. So it's only a matter of time till those other parcels get developed.”
