The Aug. 8 meeting of the Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission focused on a pair of development projects on Hamilton Boulevard

The first project at 5374 and 5392 Hamilton Blvd. involved discussion about the zoning requirements as well as the parking lot and handicapped spaces. The planning commission also had questions about sight triangles on the property. Concerns also rose regarding the driveway on the property.

The planning commission asked to wait on the conditional use until more information was received from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding the driveway and overall access to the property. Since the original plan submitted is going to change, the planning commission wanted to wait until the adjusted plan is submitted. The sketch plan submitted was approved unanimously.

There was an adjustment made to the second project, 5347 and 5329 Hamilton Blvd., with the addition of the second half of a double to expand the property. The property size was increased to slightly over an acre. A stone building on the property will be used as an Arby’s fast food restaurant and the office building on the property will be used for tenants.

The restaurant will have seating in both the front and back of the property. Another subject discussed was the elevation difference between the building and the road. There was a suggestion of having a handicapped elevator next to the steps leading up to the building.

A suggestion was made to add more seating inside the building. There were questions regarding the flow of traffic around the office building.

There was a debate about what kind of signage to use on the property. The planning commission was unsure if they wanted to allow the applicant to make certain changes, such as adding back lighting to the existing sign concerned it will be an eyesore.

The planning commission was considering only allowing the applicant to replace the existing message on the sign with their own. There was a discussion about the architectural appearance of the main restaurant building. It was debated whether the township should have an input into the architecture of the building.

The planning commission recommended to the board of commissioners to not support the non-conforming sign with the current use, but to support all other aspects of the project. There was a discussion about a time extension regarding the conditional use plan until the end of October.

The County Ridge land development was a residential subdivision landfill project including 27 single family lots. There was a discussion about moving a billboard near the property in the future. The applicant mentioned there would be a separate lot for the stormwater basin. There was also discussion about trees and screening as well as the possibility of sinkholes.

The next Lower Macungie Township Planning meeting will take place 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Lower Macungie Township building. Typically meetings take place on the second Tuesday of the month and occasionally have a workshop meeting on the third Tuesday of the month.