A special meeting of the Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors was held July 31 to further discuss proposed changes to ordinances governing the second phase of developer David Jaindl’s Lehigh Valley Spa and Resort project, planned on the 600-acre former Mary Immaculate Seminary land, off Cherryville Road.

Phase two of the massive project focuses on the addition of 475 dwelling units, including single-family homes and apartments.

Under debate, among other things, were street width, alleyways and parking spaces as they pertain to the delivery of emergency services.

Lehigh Township Planning Commission wants 30-foot-wide streets with one-sided parking, citing the need for emergency vehicles to get through and be able to turn around with their much wider turning radiuses. The Jaindl team wants narrower streets and two-sided parking to mitigate the environmental footprint and runoff problems.

Professional planner Howard Kutzler, part of the Jaindl team, said, “These ordinance amendments don’t pose a public safety hazard.”

However, board Chairwoman Cynthia Miller said, “The problem is we’re changing an ordinance,” alluding to the fact that ordinance changes made to accommodate the Jaindl project will affect future developments.

Miller was also concerned about parking becoming an issue if they change ordinances and said, “Tell your people, ‘Don’t call us.’ The only time I’d be concerned is if there were injuries. I’m not dedicating resources to that.”

The Jaindl team said it has its own resources to deal with nuisance calls, but Miller is convinced people will still call township police.

The connector road was briefly discussed, with talks centering on whether driveways should open onto it and whether it would be open to through traffic.

By far the biggest sticking point seems to be the recreation fee the township is supposed to receive from Jaindl. Apparently, it can be satisfied in several different ways, including land allocation, cash or “work in kind.”

“We were supposed to get money for recreation (for the whole community). Now we’re not,” said Miller, who also mentioned the loss of half of Indian Trail Park due to the expansion of the water treatment facility in order to provide for the needs of the Jaindl project.

Miller’s main concern seems to be that open space is not being dedicated to the public, while Jaindl seems to want credit for private amenities, she said. Because phase two of the project is a gated community, none of those amenities would be open to the general populace.

“More development will come in, and we need to be thinking about open space preservation for the future. I just want to be sure the people who live in Lehigh Township, both now and in the future, are going to be taken care of,” Miller said.

In the end, no decisions were made and no votes were cast. Negotiations were set to continue at the Aug. 5 special meeting.