Next Meeting (September 10, 2026) Applicant Submissions:

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 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: 

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: