The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners hosted a presentation April 13 by Lehigh Valley Health Network representatives and Pidcock Company engineers regarding a proposal and zoning request to build a new hospital in Whitehall Township, specifically on a parcel of land that sits adjacent to MacArthur Road and Lehigh Street — next to the Whitehall Diner and neighboring homes near Whitehall High School.

Commissioners heard from LVHN in January about this plan, and they unanimously agreed to advance it to the legal and legislative committee. After numerous meetings, the committee suggested LVHN go back to the board of commissioners to get their opinions and ask questions about the proposed project.

There was a full house at the meeting, mostly residents who live on Rosewood Lane and Dogwood Drive and directly next to this hospital if it were approved by the township in the future. This plan is in the early stages and has to go through various stages of approval.

Back in January, LVHN representatives had come to the board asking for a zoning change on the 147-acre parcel on MacArthur Road and Lehigh Street. The property is currently zoned as R-2, with a small section that is R-4 on the property as well. They are looking to rezone those sections to an R-3 to allow for a hospital to be built on the property. As per the current zoning ordinance, the R-2 does not permit the residential campus and hospital they are currently seeking to develop.

As of press time, the zoning change has not yet been voted on by the commissioners.

Several months later, commissioners and the public heard a more detailed plan and were presented models of what LVHN is looking to do on the land. It drew a heated, extensive debate among the commissioners and developers and was met with much concern and frustration from the public, in a discussion and presentation that lasted more than three hours.

Scott Pidcock, land planner and civil engineer from the Pidcock Company, spoke at the meeting regarding what they are looking to do. Pidcock noted they’ve had extensive discussions with the legal and legislative committee, talking about rezoning the property, the possible construction of sidewalks along MacArthur Road, a bypass the developers are looking to build along the hospital property and other issues discussed at the meeting.

Pidcock noted the property adjacent to MacArthur Road and Lehigh Street was acquired by them several years ago after it was donated to them by the Kasych family.

LVHN is also proposing to build a bypass that would be in alignment with Lehigh Street and MacArthur Road leading to the hospital property and offering a shortcut to get onto Mechanicsville Road. The bypass would end across from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Mechanicsville Road.

Pidcock noted there are three principal areas along the bypass — the entrance, a proposed roundabout and the exit onto Mechanicsville Road, which would sit directly across the church.

“We have to be particularly aggressive in providing a buffer there,” Pidcock said.

Commissioner Ken Snyder asked the board how much of the land would be eligible for property taxes. Pidcock clarified that 107 acres of that land will be residential zoning and subject to taxes.

Graham Simmons, an attorney for the applicants, clarified and noted a hospital is typically exempt from property taxes, “depending on its use,” he said, whereas a medical office that leases for profit concerns may be taxable, but according to Simmons, it would be up to the county assessment office.

Snyder also asked them about whether they had any plans for behavioral or addiction treatment centers.

“Some hospitals have floors that are designated for specific uses. Is that allowed, where you can designate 25 beds for that scenario?” Snyder asked.

Dan Quay, LVHN representative, added they recently built a behavioral health facility in the Lehigh Valley, and that he had “no intention of replicating that at this facility” in Whitehall.

As for the facility LVHN is looking to build, Pidcock made the comparison to LVHN’s Cedar Crest campus, which has an office building on the right and the hospital on the left. It will feature a bridge that provides connectivity to the buildings. They are trying to avoid “separations that keep the building from being able to expand in a logical way.”

With the size of the facility they are looking to build, Pidcock said only surface parking would be achievable at this time. Pidcock argued they want to have the option to build a parking deck at some point if necessary. He said a parking deck will provide many more spaces, while surface parking “tends to sprawl.”

Snyder expressed concern about the buffer zone, noting the bypass shouldn’t have a negative impact. The buffer zone was also a concern for other commissioners.

Snyder reported if you were to make a right-hand turn from MacArthur Road onto the proposed bypass to enter the hospital campus, car headlights might shine into the adjacent homes near Dogwood Drive. Commissioner Taylor Stakes said one of the neighbors near Dogwood Drive would only have 35 feet of buffer space from the road to their property.

“The buffer zone in that area needs to be addressed differently than what’s here,” Snyder said to the developers, saying they needed a higher density and buffer zone.

“The limited buffer space affects several homes on Dogwood Drive. Some homes will have more buffer space because of the curvature of the road,” Stakes said.

Pidcock said they evaluated “what we could do to push that leg of the road further away from the residences.”

He noted they were able to slide the intersection itself (in alignment with MacArthur) about 5-8 feet. He called it “helpful but not meaningful.” Pidcock added they have no choice where the bypass must connect to MacArthur Road, saying it must be in alignment with Lehigh Street.

As for the length of the road itself, the curb was originally proposed about 60 feet from the private residences. Pidcock said they changed the position of the road itself, especially by keeping its original distance of 5-8 feet from MacArthur Road.

Pidcock explained their original measurement of 60 feet from the residences has grown to 160 feet, by being able to push the road more than 100 feet away.

“The neighbors will benefit from the road being farther away,” Pidcock stated.

Pidcock added they will be installing evergreens to provide a buffer between the residences and the property.

Stakes recommended Pidcock and the developers meet with the public, especially the residents of Rosewood Lane and Dogwood Drive, to hear their concerns, calling it “a disruptive development for people who own their homes there.”

Pidcock reported the hospital would have a helipad, but it would not serve as a trauma center. He added the helipad would be stationed there in case a patient required additional care and would need to be transported to another hospital. Stakes said the hospital anticipates approximately 50 flights a year.

Stakes also expressed concerns regarding LVHN’s proposal for signage, asking why it “needed to be that big.” Pidcock argued it had to be a certain size for drivers to be able to see it from a farther distance.

Several commissioners disagreed with his statement. Stakes and Commissioner Lee Christman both said the sign was too big, along with Stakes adding that the sign didn’t differentiate from the other medical facilities along MacArthur Road.

“Just looking at Jefferson Lehigh Valley does not tell me that it is a hospital. Nothing about that sign says that’s a hospital,” Stakes said. “If I’m driving on MacArthur Road, I’ve already hit a medical clinic, an urgent care and a doctor’s office. Your distinction in this sign is no different than the other two signs along MacArthur Road.”

Pidcock argued the sign needed to be bigger for drivers to see it, adding that it’s the biggest sign the current signage ordinance would allow, arguing that it would be “barely discernible.”

Snyder asked Pidcock how much square feet of LVHN’s proposed sign would be digital. The double-sided sign would be 430 square feet per side, with 273 square feet for the electronic digital messaging center and 157 square feet for the sign’s face.

“What can you do to make the sign smaller, so that it’s not so intrusive to the neighbors? You’re not doing us a favor; we’re working together,” Christman said. “When I was on the zoning board, we did not want to turn MacArthur Road or any road into a billboard street. That will be the biggest sign on MacArthur Road. We’ve turned down many signs as big as that.”

Board Vice President Thomas Slonaker made the recommendation to move the LVHN proposal up for a first hearing from the board of commissioners, so other boards like the planning commission can review the plan, make suggestions and add any input before it comes back to the commissioners for a final vote.

Commissioner Jeffrey Warren added there are a lot of homes near the proposed hospital, and a lot of land closer to the west that could be developed in the future. With this statement, he called for pedestrian access, saying these neighborhoods need to be walkable.

Pidcock noted he and the developers have thought about potential ways to construct pedestrian access near the proposed hospital, especially the possibility of adding a pedestrian crosswalk near Mechanicsville Road. He added the proposed bypass would have a sidewalk on the “non-neighbor side, the far side of the bypass.”

Pidcock also added the developers would be willing to build sidewalks along MacArthur Road near the proposed hospital and near the frontage. Pidcock called it an amenity for the neighborhood and the neighbors peripheral to the hospital to be able to walk to these locations.

Commissioner Randy Atiyeh asked the board about traffic control for the hospital. With the school district being near the proposed location, he asked Pidcock if the employees would be on similar work shifts to the schools and asked if the hospital’s shifts could be altered to not conflict with the schools, especially with traffic leaving the school campus around 2-3 p.m.

Pidcock noted all the traffic modeling incorporates the school and hospital shifts.

Pidcock said the proposed bypass along the hospital property will possibly divert “30% of the traffic that now goes through that tortured stretch of road and MacArthur Road.”

A resident from Rosewood Lane asked Pidcock if a stop sign or traffic light would be built on the bypass, specifically where the bypass would join Mechanicsville Road across from the church and argued that 30% of traffic being diverted onto the bypass would be “a lot of vehicles.”

Pidcock responded by telling them a traffic study has not been facilitated yet for traffic control devices, but Pennsylvania Department of Transportation would perform the study when necessary.

“This intersection does not warrant a traffic signal. If it were warranted, we would install it,” Pidcock said. “Even if it isn’t warranted, with the initial construction, we will put all the conduit and foundations for a signal if it came in the future. If a signal is warranted, the conduit is in place and the road is not torn up.”

Pidcock noted the township is in the process of scheduling meetings and discussions about this topic and related issues with PennDOT.

Another resident from Rosewood Lane asked Pidcock how close the buffer space would be estimated toward the residences and if the bypass would be built before construction for the hospital or after.

Pidcock said the bypass would be built with the first development proposed, at the same time as the residential campus, before the hospital.

Stakes agreed to hold a meeting with the residents of Rosewood Lane and Dogwood Drive to discuss their concerns and questions with LVHN representatives and the Pidcock Company.

“It’s going to make it a better neighborhood,” Pidcock said, regarding their proposal to build more sidewalks near the proposed hospital.