Politics & Government

Salisbury Neighbors Oppose Special Zoning for LVH

Salisbury Township residents who live next door to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest oppose a proposed health overlay district that would change the zoning and enable the hospital to build eight-story buildings and other structures.

Several Salisbury Township residents who live next door to oppose a proposed zone that would give the hospital carte blanche to build eight-story buildings and other structures near their homes.

The new Healthcare Overlay Zoning District was presented Jan. 10 at the meeting as part of the township's draft of a , a blueprint for the community's development for the next 10 to 15 years. There will be three more public meetings before the plan is sent to the board of commissioners for approval.

The residents, who live west of the hospital on Pleasant, Sunset and Sunrise avenues and Caroline Road, said the hospital had broken promises in the past when it expanded near their homes about 20 years ago, caused thousands of dollars in damages to their homes from demolition and was an eyesore.

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The LVH complex is currently in an R3 and R2 zone. Under the proposed health overlay district:

  • no building taller than three stories can be built within the first 500 feet of residential neighborhoods.
  • buildings as high as eight stories can be built beyond 500 feet of residential lots, which would mainly place them next to Cedar Crest Boulevard and Interstate 78.
  • no parking lot can be built within the first 200 feet of a residential neighborhood.
  • a landscaped berm would be built within the first 100 feet of a residential neighborhood.
  • light-use buildings such as psychiatric facilities and warehouses could be built near residential areas.

"Right now [LVH is] very constrained," said Charlie Schmehl, president of URDC of Bethlehem, which was contracted by the township to update the comprehensive plan.

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"The township zoning as written a number of years ago limits them pretty much to the property that's closest to I-78," Schmehl said.  The hospital has to go through a zoning variance process and prove a hardship before they can do any construction in adjacent areas.

Schmehl said the idea was to create a plan that provided flexibility for new healthcare uses, including medical research and new medical offices, "but to really emphasize the protecting of the existing neighborhood to the southwest." Some of those protective measures include berms, lighting, height and use controls, he said.

Schmehl said they wanted LVH to build "up versus out," that is, build taller buildings instead of extending into large, new swaths of land.

Adele Clemmer, a Sunset Avenue resident and former member of the Planning Commission who served for 15 years, told the commission she is very concerned about the new zone because the hospital won't have to apply for a special exception and residents would lose their right to appeal a zoning decision.

Clemmer said when she worked on the comprehensive plan in the early 1990's, the R3 zone allowed the township to closely monitor LVH's expansion.

"I urge you to consider what rights will be given up if you allow a special zone for the hospital."

"Buildings 500 feet away sound good on paper," Clemmer said. The homes on Sunset Avenue are at a higher elevation than the hospital parking lot, she added, therefore homeowners can still see the parking lots, even with berms.

"An eight-story building will not be hidden by a buffer," she said.

Dale Smith, who has lived on Pleasant Avenue for 45 years, was on a committee that met with LVH when it was being built.

"We were told when the hospital would get built, we would never see it, that it would be low enough, short enough, that we would never have to look at it," Smith said. "Well, come over to one of our houses and have a look at what we have to look at. A 100-foot berm, a 500-foot berm isn't going to do any good."

John Costello, another Sunset Avenue resident, said, "I'm not against progress, I'm not against expansion, but what I want you guys to do is protect the neighborhood and the citizens of that area. The last expansion they had was a seven-story highrise. I came to the meeting, and I said, 'Are you going to protect us?'"

Costello said his home sustained $49,000 in damages from blasting, which the hospital refused to pay. "I'm just a small guy fighting a big corporation," he said.

Costello said at the time LVH did not erect monitors until after they stopped blasting.

In contrast, LVH offered a legally binding agreement at the planning commission's December meeting that would provide pre-blasting survey of homes, Schmehl said.

Planning Commission member Richard Schreiter said the health overlay district was an attempt at a compromise between the township and LVH's expansion plans.

URDC is also updating Salisbury's zoning ordinance and subdivision and land development ordinance, the two main tools the township has to carry out development policies.


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