Nearly 50 people attended a public hearing at the North Whitehall Township municipal building Monday night on a developer’s proposal to build a wastewater treatment plant as part of a proposed 89-unit adult retirement community on Strawberry Acres farm.
The developer is seeking a conditional use permit to build the plant on about 22 acres to serve the proposed community, which would consist of multifamily and townhouse units. The plant would be owned and operated by the Lehigh County Authority.
Peter Leher, attorney for New Jersey developer and property owner Piyush Patel, argued that the conditional use application is in compliance with the township’s zoning ordinance.
“This application must be granted under law unless the use would be a substantial threat to the community,” Leher said. “We’re intent here on presenting our case, and you can evaluate the merits of it.”
Fred Ebert, president of Ebert Engineering, gave the board a detailed description of the plant’s operations while addressing concerns about noise and odor repeatedly raised by residents at last week’s Planning Commission meeting.
“If there is a mechanical failure, there is a chance for odors,” Ebert said. “Very rarely does it happen and it’s normally very quickly corrected, and that’s why we have operators going out there on a daily basis.”
Ebert didn’t convince residents who remain adamant that both the wastewater treatment plant and the planned housing development will be environmentally detrimental.
The plant would treat sewage generated from the housing units and discharge the treated water into Fells Creek, pending approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Alfred Vassello, of the 5000 block of Overlook Road, questioned whether the stream could handle the volume of water discharged from the plant.
“Right now, Fells Creek is about 8 to 10 inches deep. In the summer, you’re lucky if it’s 2 or 3 inches deep,” said Vassello, whose property abuts the creek.
Another resident complained that the township did not do enough to notify citizens of Monday’s meeting, the notice of which was not posted on the township’s website or Facebook page.
“Most of the people my age didn’t even know this was happening tonight,” said Ryan Ritter, of the 2000 block of Redwood Drive. “Put it on Facebook. Put it on the website. I thought we were closer as a community in North Whitehall.”
Nearly four hours after the hearing began, supervisors did not make a decision, instead directing the developer’s attorney to make clerical amendments to the application and appear before the board again on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Peter Blanchard is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
