Residents Tell Council: Townhouse Development a Bad Idea

Local residents came to a borough council meeting in droves last Tuesday to protest a developer's proposal for a rezoning to accommodate as many as 195 townhouses on 23 acres of undeveloped land in Coopersburg, along its western border with Upper Saucon Township.

Some residents questioned why the proposed rezoning of the undeveloped site—which is currently a large cornfield—has been connected to a proposal to redevelop the former Pinebrook Junior College site at S. Main and Tilghman streets in the borough.

Several dozen townhomes are also proposed for the Pinebrook site, which borough council president Jack Felch called "an eyesore."

The large, orange brick building was last used as a junior college about 20 years ago, and at one time housed an orphanage operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Since it became vacant, resident Doug Stackhouse said, the Pinebrook property has been "stuck in zoning limbo," with efforts to transform it into something else hampered by the fact that it doesn't conform to borough zoning codes, and never has.

Nevertheless, even after 12 years of unsuccessful development efforts, Stackhouse asserted that it makes no sense to tie Pinebrook's future to the proposal for townhouses on W. State Street.

"They are not remotely similar," he told council of the two development proposals, adding that the construction of townhomes near the Upper Saucon border would "grossly affect" many residents of both municipalities.

Several residents of W. State Street cited the road itself as a reason the rezoning proposal should be torpedoed.

"The speed limit is not followed," said Denise Tompkins. "There has been accidents galore around that bend."

She told council she is also concerned about how a large development could impact groundwater in the area and her well, as well as storm water runoff, which she said is already an issue on her property.

"I would ask that these homes not be put in at that location," Tompkins said. "They can go somewhere else in the township. But not in the borough, and not at that location."

Charlie Minnick, who told council his father was instrumental in helping to develop Coopersburg's first zoning ordinance in the 1960s, said "it would be a sin" to allow a "high-density" development to be built on the W. State Street Property, which according to Lehigh County online property records is owned by the Most Rev. John O. Barres, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown.

The largely tax-exempt property is currently zoned "R1" and has been in Allentown diocesan hands since at least September 1971, which is as far back as the online records go.

A similar search for 600 S. Main St.—the address of the former junior college—did not yield any results.

Attorney Peter Lehr, who spoke at the council meeting as a representative of the developer, attempted to convey what proved to be an unpopular point of view by first telling residents that the proposals represent a way of "trying to find a solution" to the Pinebrook redevelopment dilemma.

He also said some of the housing that's being proposed would be age-restricted for residents age 55 and older, which would presumably lessen any impact on enrollment in the Southern Lehigh School District.

When some residents laughed at Lehr's disclosure that additional wastewater capacity is being proposed as part of one of the plans, he responded by telling them not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You laugh at that, but that’s not something we would be required to do, and it’s something the borough needs," he said.

"Obviously, there is resistance to what’s being proposed, but I don’t believe you fully appreciate the benefits," Lehr added.

He said 195 units is the number of units that could theoretically be built on the property at 1101 W. State St., but said that in all likelihood the actual number of units built would be fewer than that.

When asked about the price point being considered for the townhomes, Lehr said he was uncertain about what that might ultimately be.

At the conclusion of the one-hour hearing, Felch told the dozens of residents in attendance that no decision about how to proceed on the rezoning proposal has been made by council.

"There will be subsequent hearings," he said. "We have to sit here and solve a myriad of problems, not the least of which is tax rates. We have choices."  

He declined a request by a female attendee that a straw poll of council be taken on the spot.

Felch announced that if council decides to pursue the possibility of rezoning the land, at least two more public hearings will need to be scheduled, both of which will be advertised in advance.

Residents who were unable to attend the hearing may also submit written comments to council expressing their opinions, it was announced.

"I hear you. I think my colleagues hear you," Felch told the residents. "Where this goes from here is to be determined."

Photos: Coopersburg and Upper Saucon Township residents crowd the meeting room at Coopersburg Borough Hall to protest a rezoning proposal that could pave the way for a major residential development; the former Pinebrook Junior College at 600 S. Main St., Coopersburg; a "for sale" sign is posted on the 23-acre property at 1101 W. State St., Coopersburg; attorney Peter Lehr addresses meeting attendees at the Nov. 19 Coopersburg Borough Council meeting; screen shots of the online Lehigh County tax assessment record for 1101 W. State St., Coopersburg