That Mexican Pizza. It’s expected to return.

And in the not too distant future, you might be able to get Mexican Pizza even faster when a new Taco Bell restaurant opens at the South Mall, Salisbury Township.

Mexican Pizza, introduced in 1985, was discontinued approximately 1-1/2 years ago on the Taco Bell menu. A social media petition garnered 170,000 signatures. Mexican Pizza is to be reintroduced May 19 at Taco Bell.

Taco Bell, South Mall, 3380 Lehigh St., has one drive-thru lane. Under a plan reviewed and discussed for 1-1/2 hours at the Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board April 11, the new store will have two drive-thru lanes, intended to improve service for Mexican Pizza and other items on the Taco Bell menu.

Two drive-thru lanes represent a trend in the fast food business, a restaurant official said at the Salisbury zoners’ hearing.

“We have instituted a policy to have two lanes because drive-thru is probably 90 percent of our business as opposed to 20 percent back in the day,” Joe DePascale, development manager, Summerwood Corp., Conshohocken, Montgomery County said.

“The world has changed and COVID acerbated that,” Attorney Kevin J. Kelleher, Butterfield-Joachim-Schaedler-Kelleher, Bethlehem, representing Oak Restaurants, LLC, Conshohocken, applicant for the appeal to the township zoning board said.

DePascale said Summerwood, which manages 190 Taco Bells in six states, is the operating company of the Taco Bell at the South Mall and Oak Restaurants, LLC, is the leasee for it.

Brian W. Cleary is project engineer, The Pettit Group, LLC, Sewell, N.J., for the Taco Bell project.

“The building will be parallel to Lehigh Street and have two drive-thrus as opposed to a single drive-thru,” Kelleher said.

The 0.83-acre site on the north side of Lehigh Street will seat 52 inside and 13 outside. The property is in the C3 General Commercial Zoning District.

The Taco Bell has been at the South Mall since 1988, Salisbury Township Planning and Zoning Officer Kerry H. Rabold said.

“Taco Bell Corporation requires redevelopment when the franchise comes up. We were able to extend our lease,” DePascale said.

“We are proposing to demolish practically everything on site and replace it with a brand-new building and parking,” Kelleher said.

An April 6 letter from Salisbury Township Consulting Engineer David J. Tettemer of Keystone Consulting Engineers, Inc., Bethlehem, highlighted three items, including right of way, parking aisle and parking setback.

An April 13 letter from Rabold said a fast food restaurant is permitted by special exception, and parking and lighting would be addressed under the township subdivision and land development ordinance when the plan goes before the Salisbury Township Planning Commission.

It was said deliveries would be during off-hours and a loading dock is not needed. Impervious surface will increase by 500 square feet.

Operating hours are 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., drive-thru and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., inside.

“We believe that this is no change in use, for 40 years, give or take,” Kelleher said, adding, “The only thing that we are suggesting is an improvement.”

“It’s clear that the use is permitted as a special exception in C3,” Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor Attorney Victor F. Cavacini, partner, Gross McGinley Law Firm, Allentown said.

“All the requirements for a fast-food restaurant have been met,” Rabold said.

“The zoning officer can interpret it and I propose that she has interpreted it correctly,” Cavacini said.

Zoners voted 5-0 to approve:

- Appeal of Oak Restaurants, LLC, for a special exception to raze the existing structure and construct a new 2,722-square-foot, 52-seat fast food restaurant. The applicant also received a favorable interpretation regarding the reconstruction of an existing nonconforming structure.

Zoners voted 5-0 to approve:

- Variance for paved area setback (10 feet required; six feet proposed)

- Variance for trees to be planted within the parking lot island along Lehigh Street (one required; none proposed)

- Variance for designated loading spaces (one required; none proposed)

- A traffic study, if needed

Zoners voted 5-0 to deny:

- Variance for street trees to be planted along Lehigh Street (six to eight required; none proposed).

In a separate appeal, zoners voted 5-0 to approve the appeal of Fabian Cedeno for a variance to construct a single family detached dwelling. The specific variance request is for second front yard setback (25 feet required; nine feet proposed). The property is in the R4 Medium Density Residential Zoning District.

Attorney Joel B. Wiener, partner Wiener and Wiener, LLP, Allentown, represented Cedeno during the approximate one-hour discussion.

The majority of the deliberations concerned the definition of a public street.

“Wister [Street] is not a public street and, therefore, there should not be a 25-foot setback,” Wiener said.

“A public street is maintained by the owner, by Salisbury or PennDOT [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation],” Cavacini said.

“I’ve been down this road,” Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Attorney Kent Herman quipped.

An April 13 review letter by Tettemer was discussed.

“This plan will be submitted to the township engineer for the grading ordinance,” Rabold said.

The Salisbury Township Zoning Hearing Board next holds a public hearing 7 p.m. May 11 in the meeting room of the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave., to hear:

- Appeal, 1507 Lehigh Ave., of Craig Belles and CMB Properties, LLC for a variance to expand operating hours of a nonconforming use as approved by special exception of the Zoning Hearing Board, Nov. 4, 2020. Applicant wishes to operate 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Hours previously were restricted to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to noon Saturday. The property is in the R4, Medium Density Residential Zoning District.

The Salisbury Township Planning Commission will hold a public meeting 7 p.m. April 27 in the municipal building, to review:

- 1493 E. Emmaus Ave. preliminary land development site plan submitted by NuVision Properties, LLC to convert an existing structure into 12 garden apartment units. The property is in the R4 medium density residential zoning district.

- 950 S. Ott St. preliminary land development site plan submitted by Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Co. to raze the existing firehouse and construct a new firehouse. The property is in the R2 low density residential zoning district.

- Proposed amendments to the Salisbury Township Zoning Ordinance, which include the addition of “Cluster Housing Development Option.” Additional changes may be discussed, including updates to Part 2, “Definitions,” in relation to this addition. Proposed amendments may be reviewed at: https://www.salisburytownshippa.org/event/planning-commission-meeting-130.