South Whitehall Township, PA
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Planning Commission
The South Whitehall Township Planning Commission is a seven-member board comprised of Township residents. Each of the members are appointed by the South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners and serve four-year terms or until they are replaced by the BOC. They serve voluntarily without pay.
Planning Commission Members
- David Wilson | Chairman (Term expires 12/2022*)
- Brian Hite | Vice Chairman (Term expires 4/2026)
- Trevor Dombach | Member (Term expires 4/2024*)
- Timothy Dugan | Asst Secretary (Term expires 4/2026)
- Todd Fahringer | Member (Term expires 6/2027)
- Diane E. Kelly | Member (Term expires 7/2022*)
- Mark Leuthe | Member (Term expires 7/2025)
- Anthony Tallarida | Assistant Engineer
- Jennifer Alderfer, Director of Legal Affairs | Solicitor
* Or until a successor is appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
If you are interested in serving on this Commission, please click on the Volunteer Board Member Application link below to print out, complete, and return to South Whitehall Township as directed on the form. There is (0) vacancy at this time.
Volunteer Board Member Application Form
Letter of Intent for Board Reappointment Form
Please send any communications for the Planning Commission to David Manhardt, Director of Community Development.
About the Board
The great bulk of the subject matter studied by the Planning Commission pertains to the suitability of land development and subdivision plans; however, it also reviews proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map, proposed changes to the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Comprehensive Plan revisions, rezoning petitions, and conditional use applications.
The subject matter to be considered by the Planning Commission is advertised in the newspaper, as a Public Notice in the classified ads section, two weeks, and again one week, before the meeting. Public Notices are also posted on this web site. As a courtesy, ten days before a meeting, the Township will attempt to send property owners within 300 feet of a proposed land development a copy of the Public Notice by mail.
Subdivision and Land Development applications must be submitted by the published cut-off date. Resubmitted plans may be received after the published cut-off date, with the prior agreement of staff and Township Engineer. There can be no guarantee, however, that plans submitted will be deemed sufficient for a review by the Planning Commission. Also, circumstances such as: the volume of plans to be considered, the availability of a quorum, or bad weather can affect the possibility of having a review on the desired date. The members do their best to accommodate expeditious review; however, most plans require more than one meeting before a recommendation can be rendered.
The Planning Commission is advisory to the Board of Commissioners. After it completes its own deliberations, the Planning Commission forwards its recommendation on to the Board of Commissioners for final disposition.
The Planning Commission’s annual reports to the Board of Commissioners can be found here:
Meeting Schedule and Information
All meetings are open to the public.
This Board meets at 7:00 PM in the Public Meeting Room of the Township Municipal Building , 4444 Walbert Avenue and virtually via the link on the event or through the Planning Commission GoToMeeting Room. The Planning Commission generally meets on the second Thursday of each month; but there may be cancellations of regularly scheduled meetings or extra meetings scheduled for emergency purposes and heavy case loads.
Meeting Recordings: Meeting recordings can be accessed by visiting the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission Meeting Recordings Playlist. You may also access the recordings by clicking on the specific event below and following the link found on the event page.
Meeting Documents: Recent Planning Commission meeting documents are available in the calendar list below. All meeting documents since February 2020 can be found in the "Planning Commission Documents" folders located at the upper left corner of this page.
Meeting Dates and Information:
CANCELED - Planning Commission Meeting
Planning Commission Meeting - August 14, 2025
- Date: 08/14/2025 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
- Location: Municipal Building
4444 Walbert Avenue
Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104
Note: This meeting was canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Planning Commission Meetings are held in person at the Township Municipal Building at 4444 Walbert Ave. They are also streamed on-line via the link found below.
Learn more about the Planning Commission HERE.
The Public Meeting Rules can be found HERE.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of South Whitehall Township will meet in the Township Municipal Building located at 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of conducting a public meeting to discuss the following, and any other business brought before the Board. The meeting will also be streamed live through GoToMeeting. Due to the limitations of the facility, public comment may or may not be available for remote viewers. To access though your computer, go to https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/757430189. To access the meeting through your phone, dial 1-224-501-3412 and, when prompted, enter 757 430 189.
ST. JOSEPH’S SOLAR
MAJOR PLAN 2025-103
REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY/FINAL PLAN REVIEW
An application to further develop the property located at 1879 Applewood Drive & 1915 Applewood Drive, PIN Nos. 546781173891 & 546772519145. The plan proposes to consolidate two (2) lots into one (1) lot as well as install a solar array for the church property, Lot 1, containing 8.5272 acres; Lot 2, containing 3.5687 acres; The electricity produced by the solar array would be solely for the church property's use and will not connect to the public electrical distribution system. Lot 1 is served by existing public water and public sewer and zoned R-3 Low Density Residential. St. Joseph the Worker Parish Charitable Trust is the owner and applicant.
Planning Commission Memo - St. Joseph's Solar 2025-103
PPL 827 HAUSMAN ROAD SIDEWALKS
MAJOR PLAN 2025-105
REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY/FINAL REVIEW
An application to further develop a property located at 827 Hausman Road,. PIN 547676288637 on 40.78 acres. The plan is proposing to install a new pervious patio paver walkway; new concrete sidewalk within with stone bed alongside of new sidewalk, relocate existing crosswalk, remove a small amount of the existing blacktop driveway to provide efficient turning movements, and install new stone pull-off area;. The property is served by existing public water and public sewer and is zoned IC-1 Industrial Commerical-1 (Special Height Limitation.) PPL Corporation is the owner. Fedetz & Martin Associates is the applicant.
Site Plan - PPL Hausman Road Sidewalks
Planning Commission Memo - PPL Hausman Rd Sidewalks - 2025-105
PLANNED INNOVATION, RESEARCH, AND TECHNOLOGY (PIRT)
OVERLAY DISTRICT
Request for zoning ordinance amendment review an ordinance of South Whitehall Township (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) Amending Part II (“General Legislation”), Chapter 350 (“Zoning”) of the codified ordinances to add “Data Center” as a new use to Section 350-48(D)(2), add Section 350-33 to create a Planned Innovation, Research, and Technology (PIRT) Overlay District and establishing regulations for the PIRT district, add Attachment 4 – Appendix D: PIRT design guidelines, amend the zoning map to identify the boundary of the PIRT overlay district, and provide for a repealer, failure to enforce not a waiver, severability, and effective date.
All properties are located in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Copies of plans, applications and supporting documents are available for public inspection upon request.
Virtual Meeting Link Information:
SWT Planning Commission Meeting
