The March 12 meeting of the Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission began with the discussion of a new headquarters for Air Products and Chemicals.

Planning Director Sara Pandl talked about the property connecting to Hamilton Boulevard with the street lights on the access road. The project was represented by Pat Garay. The engineer was Kevin Markel from Barry Isset & Associates.

Lower Macungie Township Fire Marshal Brent McNabb discussed adjusting the size of the water main. McNabb also said he would like to tour the property and look at the hydrogen fueling station. The planning commission approved Air Products’ Final Land Development Plan unanimously.

Another project discussed during the meeting was the Mountain View Estates property represented at the meeting by Bud Newton of Newton Engineering.

Pandl explained the property was a consolidation of three parcels totaling 15.5 acres. She also said there would be 35 homes in the development and it would include a central recreation area.

The central recreation area would be about 1.25 acres and have an easement running through it. Pandl said the recreation area is sufficient for 25 homes and the applicant would have to pay a recreation fee of approximately $38,000 to cover the other 10 houses.

The planning commission discussed buffer yards. Some properties have reverse frontage and there was a discussion of making houses that boarder busy roads have a buffer.

There was a discussion about the central recreation area. If the recreation area was maintained by the homeowners association it would be private in order to prevent liabilities.

Co-chairman Maury Robert suggested the recreation area would be owned and maintained by the township. The township would do seasonal maintenance and hire a third party for grass cutting. This would allow the township to conduct the annual inspection and handle any repairs that show up in the inspection.

Newton talked about some ideas he had for the recreation area. He discussed the idea of having a gathering area for people or a flower garden. Another idea Newton had was to have a path crossing through the park.

Newton would have crosswalks at the intersections of the recreation area with the main paths going through the recreation area instead of around it.

The stormwater basin was also discussed during the meeting. Newton talked about using spray irrigation. McNabb wanted to make sure the system is deep enough underground so residents don’t damage equipment when digging on their property.

The planning commission suggested Newton appeal to the zoning hearing board to get a few driveways in the development aligned with the adjoining street as they questioned the design of the current driveway. They suggested a turnaround as part of the driveway so vehicles don’t have to back out onto a busy street. The houses on these few properties would probably be set back a bit more.

There was also a zoning ordinance amendment proposed from Upper Milford Township. The zoning ordinance amendment had to do with logging regulations. The planning commission approved the amendment.

The next Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission meeting will be 7 p.m. March 27 in the township municipal building.