Interest in Lower Mac Zoning Hearing Increases

Lawyer Joe Zator won a lot of technical decisions for Jaindl Land Co. at the Lower Macungie Township’s Zoning Hearing Board meeting on July 14, but he was floored when it came to predicting pubic interest.

“With the number of hearings we had so far, there has been certainly no interest by the residents so far, even with the media hype,” Zator said in June as he prepared for the meeting.  “Virtually no one has been in attendance, not even appellants filing litigation.’’

But the tide may be turning.

With the meeting held in the meeting room in the Lower Macungie Township Building, all 50-some seats were quickly filled by the public, and more folding chairs were needed for the overflow crowd.

“I was happy to see the public participate,” said Kathryn Dixon, a Lower Macungie resident.

But it wasn’t a certainty that any of the people were going to participate, as the group passed on its first opportunity to ask questions.

On their second shot about an hour later, three township residents stepped to a microphone and asked about the Jaindl Land Co.’s plan to develop 600 acres of township farmland into homes, warehouses and a retail site.

“Are air quality standards required?’’ asked Robert Csandl.

“No’’ replied appelant  Olev Taremäe, chief planner of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

Other questions came from residents Ron Beitler and Cathy Frankenberg of Cleanwater.org. They learned that water studies aren’t required, either.

A fourth was disqualified because he couldn’t come up with a question -- only history -- about flooding near his Alburtis home.

Maybe Zator was right.

Up stepped Percy H. Dougherty, a Lehigh County commissioner as well as a commissioner on the Lehigh Valley Planning. While he didn‘t speak in the micophones, he left a strong opinion in the crowd.

“I came out because I’m interested in the preservation of farm land,”  the retired Kutztown University professor said. “I always have been since I moved here 27 years ago from Ohio.

“I was chairman of the [Lehigh Valley] planning commission in 1988. I’m always disappointed with the turnout because there should be two or three times more people at any government meeting. People should pay more interest in what’s going on in their community.

“They complain when something goes in but there not there during the process. I hope people from both sides come out.”

The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. July 25, again in the township building's meeting room at 3400 Brookside Road.

Dougherty said zoning hearing boards have legal power and planning commissions are advisory. He compared this meeting to a trip to the dentist.

“Tonight was like having a root canal,’’ he said. “It’s tough when people can’t go up and have an opinion."

“This is being run by a court trial rather than a regular zoning hearing meeting," Dougherty said of the zoning hearing, which is a quasi-judicial proceeding. Some, though not all, of the rules of court apply.

"It’s really structured,” he said.