By SUSAN RUMBLE

Special to The Press

South Whitehall will be having a virtual kickoff meeting 6-8 p.m. March 31 to discuss the next step in preparation of the township’s new comprehensive plan.

Gregg Adams, planner from the department of community development, commented on the procedure.

“We are ready to move forward with Phase IV,” Adams said.

“This is the meat and potatoes phase. We’ll lay out what we’re going to do.”

He noted the state mandates a minimum of five topics which must be examined in every comprehensive plan.

These include transportation, housing, community facilities, community utilities and resource protection.

“The municipality may have more, but it must address growth issues for each of these five categories,” said Adams.

During the meeting, participants will break out into five different groups led by experts in each category.

Most of the consultants will come from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

Adams said each section will meet three times in order to give residents more opportunities to hear the presentations.

“Then we will come back and discuss the next steps and how people can sign up to be part of these groups,” stated Adams.

He said all the proceedings will be recorded to enable viewers to watch at their own pace.

“We’re trying to get as much community involvement as possible,” Adams said.

He reported South Whitehall will have the virtual room open a half-hour beforehand to set up equipment and check audio.

Everything related to the comprehensive plan may be found at swtcompplan.org.

The meeting will appear on the main page of the township website.

“Once this meeting happens, it will be a few weeks until the next meetings,” said Adams.

“We plan to start individual subcommittee meetings in late April.”

He said staff will review survey results and experts’ comments, discuss concerns, and develop a list of potential solutions for incorporation in the comprehensive plan.

“This is the last serious thing we do before we compile the comprehensive plan,” Adams explained.