A sketch plan for seven homes to be built on an approximate 16-acre tract at Lindberg Avenue and Oxford Drive in western Salisbury Township has been presented to the Salisbury Township Planning Commission.

Jeff Russell, president of Russell Holdings, and his father Greg Russell, presented a sketch plan for a subdivision at 2602 Lindberg Ave.

The site at the southwest quadrant of Lindberg and Oxford is in the township's Low Density Residential (R-2) Zoning District.

The 15.88-acre tract includes a house in which Russell said he would live. The house's driveway exits onto Lindberg Avenue.

In his Aug. 30 letter to planners, David J. Tettemer, Salisbury Township and planners' consulting engineer, of Keystone Consulting Engineers, Inc., read from a list of 15 items at the monthly planners' meeting in the township Municipal Building.

Because it's a sketch plan, no action was required by planners.

"Most of these are waivers to SALDO [Subdivision And Land Development Ordinance] issues," Tettemer said of his letter to planners and residents at the Sept. 10 meeting.

Tettemer noted since Lindberg Avenue is what's known as a "collector street" and Oxford Drive is known as an "arterial road," a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation permit would be required for any widening of roads.

"If PennDOT sees no need for Lindberg permits, I don't see the township requiring this," Tettemer said.

According to Tettemer, the house now on the site has two driveways, one exiting onto Lindberg and one exiting onto Oxford.

There are curbs along both sides of Lindberg and no curbs or sidewalks along Oxford, Tettemer said.

A line of trees is along Lindberg.

Salisbury Township Director of Planning and Zoning Cynthia Sopka said information about the proposal was sent to City of Allentown officials.

Planner Richard Schreiter criticized the subdivision plan.

"These proposed homes are a lot smaller than those in the area," Schreiter said.

"You've got $700,000 houses across the street and you're basically going to put bi-levels on this site," Schreiter said.

"It's going to take away from property values," Schreiter alleged.

"Once the neighborhood finds out, they're going to come down on you," Schreiter said to the Russells.

"My objective is to personally reside in the existing residence," Jeff Russell said. That lot is approximately 8.8 acres.

"The purpose of my coming here [planning commission meeting] is to get a sense of what the township wants and what the neighbors want," Jeff Russell said.

"One of things I'm not opposed to is having fewer lots along Lindberg," Jeff Russell said.

Lehigh Valley environmental activist and former Salisbury Township commissioner Jan Keim was critical of the proposed subdivision.

Keim claimed that two developments in the Lindberg area had contributed to stormwater runoff problems at the Lil-Le-Hi- Trout Nursery and the bridle path in Lehigh Parkway in Allentown.

She asserted that because of an EPA order, no new developments should be approved in Salisbury.

"The township [Salisbury] was notified of this," Keim said.

Salisbury is included in a United States Environmental Protection Agency court order issued in 2009 to mitigate stormwater infiltration into the network of sewer pipes connecting to the Lehigh County Authority.

Overflow has happened during major storms, with untreated sewage spilling into the Little Lehigh Creek, a water source for the township, Allentown and other municipalities.

Approximately six neighbors were in the audience Sept. 10 for the 30-minute discussion about the proposed subdivision.