Bob Donchez, mayor of the Christmas City, has little reason to be jolly. Instead of being greeted with holiday cheer at the Dec. 8 city council meeting, he was treated more like a piñata.

A city-sponsored mixed use zoning ordinance at the 53-acre Martin Tower site became even more controversial when The Bethlehem Press first disclosed that developer Lew Ronca had been meeting with city officials for six months. Planning commission chair James Fiorentino abruptly canceled a review, reasoning that discussions should have occurred “in the light of day.” A subsequent city council meeting was punctuated by public calls for resignations and even an FBI investigation.

On Monday afternoon, Donchez sought to “clear the record” about how the city ever got involved in the Martin Tower process and laid out his own three-page timeline. He specifically denied that the public was shut out of discussions, calling those accusations baseless.

“[S]ome of those who have complained the most actually met with my staff on several occasions to discuss the rezoning,” he said. “They were not excluded from the process despite the claims.”

In addition to meetings at block watches and other civic groups, Donchez pointed to five of his monthly “open door” days, in which anyone can speak to him about anything. He’s had as many as 25 people visit him for one-on-one discussions, but no one has discussed Martin Tower.

Noting that most merchants have his cell phone number, Donchez said all they had to do was call him.

“I would have met them,” he said. “I would have invited them to my home.”

How did the whole process start?

According to Donchez, it started late last year when the city approached Martin Tower developer Lew Ronca to ask what the city could do to help jumpstart development at the large site. Ronca requested the most lenient zoning designation permitted in the city, and that was quickly rejected.

What then followed was a series of meetings that culminated in July in a new Office Mixed Use Ordinance. When Donchez agreed to send it to the planning commission, he publicly stated that city staffers had been meeting with Ronca for months. He conceded that, until then, the public was out of the loop.

Donchez also denied there was ever any discussion about a third downtown. He claimed that Ronca was instead actively marketing Martin Tower with prospective major tenants that included Talen Energy and St. Luke’s. This was confirmed by Ronca, who added he also approached Guardian Life Insurance for their new headquarters.

At several public meetings, claims were made that Ronca had made no attempt to market Martin Tower.

Donchez pointed to a Mayor’s Business Advisory Committee meeting in July at which Martin Tower was discussed, but conceded he was absent. He did attend a meeting with Main Street merchants in September to discuss parking, but no one mentioned the rezoning.

He also pointed to several meetings between city staffers and merchants at which Martin Tower was specifically discussed. Director of Community and Economic Development Director Alicia Karner disputes merchant claims that they were rebuffed when they asked for a meeting with the mayor. Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines believes he was told to take his case to the public.

Haines complains the public is limited to “five minutes where no dialogue ever occurs - one way communication as you know. Meanwhile Ronca had an open door with the mayor.” But Karner, who insists she responded to every request that Haines made for a meeting, said the door was open for him, too.

At the Oct. 9 public hearing on the rezoning, council member Mike Recchiuti denied that the developer came and requested this change. Council President Willie Reynolds added, “One thing that has come up as well is that it is the feeling that the property owner or the developer is bringing this forward, but it is the administration.”

In reality, both Donchez and city staffers had been meeting with Ronca for several months.

Nobody corrected Recchiuti or Reynolds.

Will the mayor table the ordinance until Ronca comes up with a specific plan?

No. He said what happens at this point is up to city council.

The Martin Tower tract makes up about half of the City Revitalization and Investment Zone (CRIZ). That’s a special tax zone enabling a developer to use local and state taxes to fund construction. Under state guidelines, the city has no authority to remove acreage from the CRIZ without the owner’s assent. The mayor said he’d like to see the CRIZ extended along Main and Broad streets, but that would require changes in what he calls “flawed legislation.”

He denied there is any deal in the works to give Ronca favorable zoning in exchange for a few CRIZ acres.