The long-awaited, new Salisbury Township zoning ordinance is nearly ready for its public hearing.

"We're finally at the end of the road. I see the light at the end of the tunnel," Salisbury Township Manager Randy Soriano reported to township commissioners at the Jan. 22 meeting.

Following a Dec. 9, 2014 public hearing on the new zoning ordinances, the Salisbury Township Planning Commission voted 5-0 with two planners absent, to recommend approval of the ordinance by the township commissioners.

After the Jan. 22 meeting, commissioners were to each receive a copy of the 254-page zoning ordinance.

A public hearing for the proposed zoning ordinance must be held. The date for the hearing has not been determined, but it is likely to be held in February, possibly prior to the Feb. 26 commissioners' meeting. Once the hearing is held, the commissioners must approve the ordinance within 90 days.

It was noted a major portion of the zoning ordinance review concerned the Health Care Overlay District, which covers the Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest campus and vicinity. The process involved setting up a neighborhood advisory committee of residents living in the hospital area.

"I think those problems have been resolved," Commissioner Vice President Debra Brinton said.

"Right now, it's in its totality," Salisbury Township Director of Planning and Zoning Cynthia Sopka said of the zoning ordinance.

A copy of the zoning ordinance was sent Oct. 9, 2014 to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, which had 45 days upon receipt to review it.

Atty. John W. Ashley, township commissioners' and planners' solicitor, reviewed the ordinance and did not make any substantial changes, according to Sopka.

David J. Tettemer, Keystone Consulting Engineers, township consulting engineering firm, "provided some great guidance," Sopka said.

The zoning ordinance is seen as "the teeth" for the township comprehensive plan, which was approved in 2010. The township also updated its subdivision and land development ordinance.

The zoning ordinance, which carries out and enforces the SALDO, has been three years in the making.

The draft of the proposed zoning ordinance can be viewed on the township website at salisburytownshippa.org.

Go to the zoning hearing board page on the website.

The proposed ordinance can be accessed by clicking on the PDF file toward the bottom of the zoning board page.