An idea floated by Lehigh Country Club to allow construction of age-restricted cluster housing could have township-wide implications in Salisbury Township.

The Lehigh Country Club representative, who spoke at the April meeting of the Salisbury Township Planning Commission, said there are no immediate plans to implement the idea. He recommended changes be made to the township zoning ordinance to permit it.

Speaking on behalf of Lehigh County Club was Attorney Joseph Bubba of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, LLC, law firm.

Planning commission members at the April 13 meeting, held via the Zoom online platform included Charles Beck, chairman; Richard Schreiter, vice chairman and Richard Hassick, Jimmy Brown, Jessica Klosic and Frank Frankenfield.

The approximate one-hour discussion was under the meeting topic, “Review of proposed changes to Salisbury Township Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 27) in regard to age-restricted housing.”

“I haven’t typed up any ordinance. I would like to discuss it,” Salisbury Township Planning and Zoning Officer Kerry Rabold said.

“We also have Attorney Bubba on Zoom. He approached the township about this and worked with other townships about this,” Rabold said.

Rabold said she researched information about planned residential developments and about cluster development with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

“I thought that they hit the mark with age-restricted housing with clustered housing and walking areas,” Rabold said.

“I would like to see it approved for every residential district in the township and not an overlay,” Rabold said.

“Do we have an area in the township that this can be applied to?” Schreiter asked.

“I think there are a few large tracts left,” Salisbury Township Consulting Engineer David J. Tettemer of Keystone Consulting Engineers, Inc. said

“We don’t have a lot. There’s always the possibility that people could do lot consolidations,” Rabold said.

“I was just wondering if our township has a need for this,” Schreiter said.

“Attorney Bubba represents Lehigh Country Club, but it wouldn’t just be for them,” Rabold said, adding, “I think there’s a great need for age-restricted housing.”

“I am the solicitor for Lehigh Country Club, but I am also a longtime resident of Salisbury Township,” Bubba said.

“Age-restricted housing creates a different use. It does not tax the school district,” Bubba said.

“While Lehigh Country Club does own some applicable open space, this would be applicable to other space,” Bubba said.

“I would expect that after Lehigh Valley Hospital, the school district is the biggest landowner and the ability to develop age-restricted property would be another arrow in their quiver,” Bubba said.

“For Lehigh Country Club, it would increase the tax base,” Bubba said.

“I call it age-restricted cluster development,” Bubba said.

Bubba said typically with cluster development, 24 units might be constructed in one corner of a property while the other three quadrants could be dedicated to open space.

“I even suggested the possibility of trail easements,” Bubba said. He has worked with two or three other municipalities on the age-restricted cluster development concept, including South Whitehall Township.

“The club [Lehigh Country Club] has no plans, but the club has asked me to take the laboring oar so that we as landowners, and others, have that possibility in the future.

“There are a lot of municipalities in the valley that have age-restricted cluster development in their ordinances and they can be very beneficial. It’s a very valuable tool to a developer because if you can cluster, you don’t have to spend as much money on road development,” Tettemer said. “Very often you get a smaller house. There’s good environmental reasons, as well as good economic reasons, to allow this type of development.”

“Even a slight increase in the density is more attractive to a developer,” Bubba said.

Hassick asked about whether or not a septic system would service potential development at Lehigh Country Club.

“It would be public sewer,” Bubba said.

Schreiter asked about the amount of acres available for development at Lehigh Country Club.

Bubba said it would be 40 to 50 acres.

“Salisbury Hills Road would cut across Devonshire Road. There would still be about 30 acres of open space,” Bubba said.

“I am thinking about the land over at the emergency center [at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest],” Schreiter said, referring to a possible area of land for development.

“I think the future is multi-floor housing,” Schreiter added.

“I would like to have standards set for all kinds of development, for semidetached, apartments,” Rabold said.

A question was asked about land at what was described as a horse farm along Devonshire Road.

“The church [Jerusalem Western Salisbury Church] owns the property. And the [Salisbury Township Devonshire Drop-Off] recycling center is owned by the church,” Schreiter said.

Schreiter mentioned the Salisbury School District tract in the vicinity of East Emmaus Avenue and Honeysuckle Road for potential development.

Beck said a letter received by township officials years ago indicated Pennsylvania had an intent to purchase the school district property.

“That land is connected to Franko Farm [Park],” Beck said.

“Without an ordinance, the developer can argue for density,” Bubba said.

“I am a resident of this township. If there’s going to be age-restricted housing I want it done right,” Bubba said.

“I believe we should allow some sort of age-restricted housing or cluster development. Whether a developer can find land, I don’t think that’s up to us,” Rabold said.

“I think we need to know things about density, so we can start tailoring something and putting it in our ordinance,” Rabold said.

“Do you want to allow all kinds of developments, including apartments? Do you want to keep the same density,” Rabold asked rhetorically.

“I would like you to come up with something,” Beck said.

“But I would like to know what you want,” Rabold responded.

“The difference is the lot size could be smaller,” Tettemer said.

“I think if the township proposes apartments in R1 and R2 [zoning districts], I think that residents are going to come out and oppose it. You might need to keep that in areas where apartments are permitted,” Bubba said.

“Apartments are generally not included in cluster development. The idea is to retain an undeveloped tract. It could be dedicated to the township, to the Wildlands Conservancy, to maintain it,” Tettemer said.

“I don’t feel we should have any more apartments. We have a height [restriction] on buildings,” Beck said.

“Are there any examples in the townships that we could steal from? Luther Crest [Senior Living]. Have we addressed the needs of the aged?” Schreiter asked.

“Does Salisbury Township want to have 55-and-older housing? If the answer is ‘yes,’ how do we do it to attract developers but still maintain Salisbury’s requirements?” Bubba asked.

“Devonshire [Park Apartments] has a 55-plus restricted building and there’s a waiting list,” Rabold said.

“I was only looking at garden apartments, which is three stories or less,” Rabold said of her research.

“It seems we’re writing an ordinance for 100 people,” Schreiter said.

“I’ve gotten phone calls. People are trying to assemble lots,” Rabold said.

“I’ve always been a cheerleader for the 55 and over community. We have an aging community that would love to stay in Salisbury, but has no place to go. There’s 27 acres along Emmaus Avenue,” Frankenfield, a former Salisbury Township School District school board member, said referring to the school district tract.

“Your ordinance is well done in a lot of ways. It’s probably part of SALDO [Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance],” Bubba said.

“We don’t want another South Mountain apartments,” Schreiter said, referring to an apartment complex off West Emmaus Avenue on a northern slope of South Mountain.

“With last month’s revision, we actually remove steel slopes controls from the zoning ordinance,” Rabold said.

“I think I can come up with a draft,” Rabold said concerning age-restricted cluster development.

The Salisbury Township Planning Commission is next scheduled to meet 7 p.m. May 11 via the Zoom format. Those who wish to attend are to preregister on the township website: https://www.salisburytownshippa.org/event/planning-commission-meeting-124.