Zoning Chairman Decides Against Issuing Subpoenas to Twp. Commissioners

The chairman of the Lower Macungie Zoning Hearing Board decided Wednesday not to issue subpoenas to the five township commissioners in the ongoing dispute surrounding a zoning amendment that would allow the development of more than 600 acres of farmland.

Chairman Bill Royer said toward the end of the last hearing on Aug. 25 that he would make his decision before the hearing continues.

His decision came with a very direct statement.

“I have a strong belief that the public would benefit from hearing what the commissioners would have to say,” Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Bill Royer said.

But he decided not to issue the subpoenas because, “Everything they said would be subject to legislative privilege,” he said.

By that he meant that just about anything spoken by a township commissioner would draw an objection from legal counsel, and in the end, no information would be obtained.

Royer said he was “not qualified” to comment on last week’s decision by Lehigh County Judge Michele Varricchio that invalidated the zoning ordinance that would allow the proposed development.

Judge Varricchio was considering several procedural issues involving the zoning ordinance and proposed development.

The one that she decided invalidated the ordinance was the township’s failure to properly notify residents of the possibility of change.

Royer also said he was not qualified to comment on the township commissioners’ unanimous decision on Sept. 15 to appeal the county decision and turn the issues over to Commonwealth Court.

Royer and Brian Higgins, the other member of the Zoning Hearing Board, are considering four substantive issues that concern the ordinance.

“The procedural and substantive issues are like oil and water,” Royer said.

The zoning hearing will continue at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 21 in the meeting room of the Lower Macungie Township Municipal Building.