The June 9 meeting of the Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission was held at the township building with all participants wearing masks and following social distancing procedures.

The only development project discussed during the meeting was a property at 1935 Willow Lane. The plan involved subdividing the lot into two properties. The first property would include a residential building. The second property would include a two story barn and the historic Willows Family Restaurant.

Willows Family Restaurant was founded in 1952, but has been closed for the past seven years. The lot lies in both the 100- and 500-year flood plain. Ron Beitler is the applicant in the Willow Lane development.

Beitler said the barn on the property is 120 years old. He explained a mixed use plan for the barn. The second story of the barn would be two residential units, while the first floor would either be an indoor farmers market or a taproom. Beitler said he plans on demolishing the restaurant.

The planning commission said the project would involve subdivision of the lot and reuse of an existing structure when it came to the barn but it would not include land development.

There was a discussion about the township waving an easement along a creek on the property. Beitler talked about the sewer line on the southern end of the property.

Planning commission members suggested Beitler appear before the zoning hearing board in July to resolve the zoning issues with the project.

Maury Robert asked about the sidewalks and the type of street trees on the property. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting.

There was also a discussion about future Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance amendments. The planning commission wanted to revise the definition of lot area. They did not want large portions of residential properties taking up utilities. The idea of administrative review for certain projects was discussed.

Another possible SALDO amendment involved lot design standards. The planning commission wanted to make sure residential developments are up to high standards for the end users to enjoy.

There was talk about new standards for postal service delivery. The planning commission said the U.S. Postal Service would be changing the requirements for delivery and wanted to make sure the township has what is required.

This would involve standards in lighting and parking as well as being within a certain walking distance of the property. The planning commission believes group post office boxes at the entrance to a subdivision would no longer meet the standard.

There was a discussion about the reasonable access to stormwater drainage. The planning commission also talked about new restrictions on the amount of topsoil developers would need to leave at newly finished housing developments. They argued topsoil is a valuable resource in our community which needs to be preserved. There was a motion for advertising the SALDO revisions in the future which was approved.

The next Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission meeting will be July 14. Usually the planning commission meets the second Tuesday of every month and occasionally there is a workshop meeting on the third Tuesday of the month.

There will be no workshop in June but there will be a workshop meeting July 21. The planning commission meetings take place 7 p.m. in the township municipal building.