At the April 15 Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council meeting, a Catasauqua resident addressed council. He noted the neighborhood he resides in is near the Hanover, Lehigh County, boundary with Catasauqua.

He informed council he wanted to address three issues. His first issue was the parking lot at the KABE Amazon facility used as a turnaround lot for Amazon trucks. He said it generates dust when the trucks use the parking, and the dust is blown around the immediate area and neighborhood on windy days. He noted the situation has been going for several years, and paving the lot would resolve the issue.

His second concern is a reported large dirt pile near Irving and Dauphin streets that appears to be growing, he said. He added he hears trucks allegedly dumping dirt there about 2-3 a.m. He added there is also a noise issue with the dump trucks operating overnight.

It was pointed out the sites in question are airport property, so the township has little say in those matters. Township Manager Melissa Wehr said the situation with the dirt pile is a temporary issue, and council Chair Bruce Paulus said he can consider calling the airport to make them aware.

The third concern involved a business by the township’s Canal Park. The Catasauqua resident said the park is beautiful, but there is a business on the Lehigh River side beyond the park that he alleges has unsightly construction debris that diminishes the ambience of the popular park.

Council and the township solicitor noted the area described is in the city of Allentown. He was referred to call Allentown to report the concern.

The Catasauqua resident thanked council for hearing his concerns.

After a discussion, council delayed a vote about the Michael Baker International-requested amendment for the design of the D&L Trail in the Hanover section. The issue of concern was the apparent addition of a retaining wall design at a cost of $79,000. It was noted the funding of the addition might be covered by grant funding.

After much debate and discontent voiced, particularly by Councilman Anthony Rossi and Vice Chair Robert Heimbecker, the vote was tabled until the next council meeting. The issue was reportedly about not being aware of the addition before the council meeting and being expected to vote without sufficient understanding of the request.

Resolution 2026-37, honoring the State Police Day as May 2 in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, was approved by council.

Ordinance 672, bill 2026-04 and resolution 2026-38 were approved to provide modified annual rental inspections and sets up areas of compliance to systematically complete the inspections.

Resolution 2026-39 approved a contract for the Sherwood Park improvement project. SLC Inc. was awarded the contract with a bid of $319,000.

An ordinance to amend Chapter 15, Part 6, Sections 602, 604, 605 and 609, which address new emergency declarations and prohibition of parking in snow emergency routes and assessing tow-away costs and fines for not moving a vehicle during a snow emergency were approved for advertising. If a vehicle is towed off a snow emergency street, the owner of the vehicle will be required to pay the towing cost and assessed a fine.

All ordinances and resolutions are available for review by contacting the township office or visiting hanleco.org.

Council authorized the township administration to advertise the proposed new township zoning ordinance and a proposed township zoning map.

Wehr noted the township’s spring newsletter is out and distributed to residents. More copies are available at the township office.

Wehr also reported Right to Know requests have increased. In 2025, there were 12 requests, and there have been 26 so far in 2026.

Township Solicitor Jason Ulrich noted this is a phenomenon occurring in more municipalities by entities seeking information about zoning and other operating procedures of local municipalities.

Council approved paying the bills up to April 15, in the amount of $109,328.

The next Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council meeting is planned for 7 p.m. May 6 in the municipal building, 2202 Grove Road, Allentown. Visit hanleco.org to review the meeting’s agenda.