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 12/2029)
- Erinn Bet | 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:
Planning Commission Meeting
New Submission Deadline: February 5, 2026. Resubmission Deadline: February 12, 2026
- Date: 03/12/2026 7:00 PM
Access the meeting recording HERE.
For inquiries regarding this or other Township meeting recordings, please email info@southwhitehall.com.
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, Thursday, March 12, 2026 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 through 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.
CHASE BANK
MAJOR PLAN 2025-104
REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY/FINAL PLAN REVIEW
An application to further develop the property located at 1603 N. Cedar Crest Boulevard, PIN No. 548734864802. The plan is proposing land development review for the addition of the dumpster and the connection to the Cedar Crest Boulevard right-of-way, on the 1.36-acre tract with an existing bank building. The property is served by existing public water and public sewer and zoned GC-1 General Commercial District. Roma II Revocable Trust - Elizabeth Roma Swallow, Trustee, is the owner and Bohler Engineering, PA LLC (Authorized Agent) is the applicant.
CANCELLED
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 & Clauser Road, PIN Nos. 546781173891, 546772519145 & 546781520384. The plan proposes to consolidate three (3) 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, and Lot 3, containing 5.31 acres; The electricity produced by the solar array would be solely for the church property's use with the intention of reducing onsite consumption of utility supplied electricity. 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.
Site Plan - St. Joseph's Solar
St. Joseph's Solar - Memo Packet
CANCELLED
PARKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION CENTER – LOT CONSOLIDATION
MAJOR PLAN 2025-101
REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY PLAN REVIEW
An application to further develop properties located at 4434 Orefield Road, 4362 Orefield Road, 2675 PA Route 309 and 2619 Stadium Drive, PINs 547801127956, 547801824720, 547800509889, and 547719272143. The plan is proposing to consolidate four tracts owned and operated by the School District. The parcel located at 4362 Orefield Road, being approximately 11.1 acres, exists with bus parking and maintenance buildings utilized by the school district. The parcel located at 4434 Orefield Road, being approximately 7.6 acres, exists in an undeveloped condition, previously utilized for mining. The parcel located at 2675 PA Route 309, being approximately 42.6 acres, contains the existing Orefield Middle School and surrounding recreation fields and stadium. The parcel located at 2619 Stadium Drive, being approximately 2.8 acres, contains the recently constructed Operation Center. The parcels associated with the Transportation Center and Orefield Middle School are located within the R-3 Low Density Residential Zoning District. The parcel associated with the Operation Center is located within the RR-2 Rural Residential-2 Zoning District. Three of the parcels are served by water and sewer and the fourth parcel being the vacant lot is not currently served by water or sewer. Parkland School District is the owner. Alloy5, LLC is the applicant.
CANCELLED
PARKLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION CENTER – LAND DEVELOPMENT
MAJOR PLAN 2025-106
REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY PLAN REVIEW
An application to further develop properties located at 4434 Orefield Road, 4362 Orefield Road, 2675 PA Route 309 and 2619 Stadium Drive, PINs 547801127956, 547801824720, 547800509889, and 547719272143. The parcel located at 4362 Orefield Road, being approximately 11.1 acres, exists with bus parking and maintenance buildings utilized by the school district. The parcel located at 4434, being approximately 7.6 acres, exists in an undeveloped condition, previously utilized for mining. These parcels are included as part of this Transportation Center Land Development application. The parcel located at 2675 PA Route 309, being approximately 43.4 acres, contains the existing Orefield Middle School and surrounding recreation fields and stadium. The parcel located at 2619 Stadium Drive, being approximately 8.7 acres, contains the recently constructed Operation Center. The plan is proposing a new maintenance building, being 17,547 sf, and improvements include a fueling area, vehicle wash area, and district vehicle parking for buses and vans, as well as employee parking. The site is the current location of two garage buildings and parking. The existing garages are to remain. The parcels associated with the Transportation Center and Orefield Middle School are located within the R-3 Low Density Residential Zoning District. The parcel associated with the Operation Center is located within the RR-2 Rural Residential-2 Zoning District. Three of the parcels are served by water and sewer and the fourth parcel being the vacant lot is not currently served by water or sewer. Parkland School District is the owner. Alloy5, LLC is the applicant.
PSD TC -Land Dev - Memo Packet
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.
David Manhardt, Community Development Department
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