The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Monday adopted a resolution supporting an application for a City Revitalization and Investment Zone (CRIZ).

The application will be filed by Whitehall Township Industrial & Commercial Development Authority (ICDA) on behalf of Whitehall and both Coplay and Catasauqua boroughs. With a population of 26,738, Whitehall falls short of state's requirement that applicants have a population of at least 30,000. Grouping Whitehall with Catasauqua and Coplay allows the authority to meet the requirement.

Signed into law July 19 by Gov. Tom Corbett, the act creates a zone that offers tax incentives to developers. Residential properties are not part of the CRIZ designation.

With "very limited space available for new development," township officials note a number of underutilized former industrial sites that have proven to be difficult to redevelop are proposed to be part of the CRIZ. The former Lehigh Valley Dairy property a prime example.

Howard Lieberman, ICDA executive director, indicated competition for a CRIZ designation will be very competitive. Should the request be rejected, the intermunicipal application will directing Harrisburg's attention to the needs of smaller communities.

"We've all been left behind in most of the economic development programs," Lieberman said.

The CRIZ evolved from the controversial Neighborhood Improvement Zone, which allowed Allentown to build an arena.