Planning Commission

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Next Meeting (September 10, 2026) Applicant Submissions:

Note: Project Atlas will appear at a Special Meeting on September 23, 2026.

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Planning Commission Members

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.

 

  • 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 FahringerMember (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: 

2021 Report

2022 Report

2023 Report

2024 Report

 


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 Special Meeting

PROJECT ATLAS SPECIAL MEETING OF PLANNING COMMISSION
 
In recognition of the substantial public interest in Project Atlas, the project is next expected to appear on the agenda of a special meeting of the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission to be held:
 
Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Parkland High School, 2700 Cedar Crest Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18104
 
The current deadline to act on the Project Atlas plan is October 31, 2026. Additional information regarding the special meeting, including the meeting agenda and public participation details, is forthcoming and will be made available by the Township.

2025-109 PROJECT ATLAS LAND DEVELOPMENT PAGE

 PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of South Whitehall Township will meet in the Township at Parkland High School located at 2700 N. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, September 23, 2026 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for the purpose of conducting a public Special meeting to discuss the following, and any other business brought before the Board.  There will be no remote access to the meeting through GoToMeeting.  Anyone who wishes to comment must attend the meeting in person.

PROJECT ATLAS

MAJOR PLAN 2025-109

Submitted 8/13/2026- and rescheduled from 9/10/26 to a Special Meeting – Applicant will be prohibited from reviewing any new materials which were not part of their 8/13/26 Resubmission.

REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY PLAN REVIEW

 

An Application of CDE Acquisitions, LLC, to develop the property located at 2493 North Cedar Crest Boulevard, 2807 N. Cedar Crest Boulevard, and 2747 N. Cedar Crest Boulevard (PIN Nos.  548824698560, 548813031059, and 548803901857). The site consists of three parcels for a total of 410.6528 acres: Lot 1, contains 404.3042 acres; Lot 2, contains 5.8665 acres, and Lot 3, contains 0.4821 acres. The plan proposes to consolidate the existing parcels into one and to develop a data center campus as a coordinated development.  The proposed development would then include three (3) data center principal structures, one (1) data center accessory structure, and one (1) cell tower. Each data center principal structure contains 492,285 square feet. The data center accessory structure is 40,680.46 square feet, for a total building area of 1,517,535.46 square feet.  The proposal also includes associated site improvements such as emergency generators, internal access roads, 267 parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, perimeter security fencing, landscape buffers, stormwater management facilities, and a multi-use path. Stormwater management for the campus consists of three wet retention ponds and two dry-extended detention basins and one area of amended soils. The three wet ponds will utilize spray irrigation equipment to manage the 2-year 24-hour storm and will contain aerator fountains to help prevent algae growth in the ponds. A new roadway is proposed running east-west through the site, from the intersection of North Cedar Crest Boulevard and Suncrest Drive to the intersection of Mechanicsville Road and Mauch Chunk Road. This application also proposes dedicating land along both North Cedar Crest Boulevard and Mauch Chunk Road to meet the ultimate right-of-way width for each. Additional infrastructure will include an onsite electrical substation and emergency generators at the data centers. The onsite electrical substation will be visually shielded from North Cedar Crest Boulevard via a 12’ tall berm and plantings. The parcel is not currently served by public water. The applicant requests connection to and extension of the existing South Whitehall Township owned water main located within Ritter Road to the southwest of the site.  Public sanitary sewer does not currently serve the site.  A private septic field is proposed to serve the development. The property is located within the Industrial (I) Zoning District, and the applicant is proposing development under the Planned Innovation, Research and Technology (PIRT) Overlay District. Jeras Corporation is the owner and CDE Acquisitions, LLC is the applicant.

Deadline to Act – October 31, 2026

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.

Kent Baird, AICP, Director of Development

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