The April 12 meeting of the Lower Macungie Planning Commission involved the discussion of five proposed developments.

The first development discussed was a truck terminal at 7991 Quarry Road.

The trucking terminal would take its access off the newly constructed Sauerkraut Lane. Planning Director Nathan Jones praised the reserve parking on the property. Township Engineer Brian Cicak talked about further developing the stormwater plan for the project.

The applicant’s engineer, Sean Policelli, of Gilmore and Associates, discussed the different options for soil compaction due to the site being on a quarry that had been filled in.

Policelli talked about using static loading to consolidate fine grain soils and dynamic compaction to help deal with coarser grain soil. The planning commission asked if the property would have snow scrapers for trucks.

The owner of the development, Peter Bruno of JP Express Service, talked about the flow of the site. Bruno said there would not be a guard at the entrance to the property. He explained the drivers come to work in their personal vehicles and bring the trucks back to the property after their local deliveries at the end of the day. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting.

The next development discussed was a modification of an approved Ciocca Subaru plan. The plan would involve paving one of their parking lots which is currently grass and gravel. The property is along Hamilton Boulevard and would have to comply with the Hamilton Boulevard Corridor Plan. This included adding a walking path along the frontage of the property to connect the existing sidewalks.

There was a discussion about installing a “Welcome to Lower Macungie Township” sign on the property along Hamilton Boulevard. The planning commission talked about the lighting on the new portion of the site being dark sky compliant.

The planning commission made a motion to recommend approval of the modification of an approved plan. The motion passed 6-0.

Another project discussed during the meeting was the 900 South Hillview Road sketch plan. The proposed plan called for 48 town homes on the property. Jones mentioned town homes are not allowed in the suburban zone of the township. He suggested the idea of having an open space development with a combination of singles and twins.

Jones said there would need to be an overlay district or modification of the suburban zone for the project to be approved. The development was represented by Phil Erdman. Erdman said the developer felt a mixture of single family homes and twins was not a viable option.

Township Commissioner Maury Robert said the project hasn’t given a reason to allow for a density bonus. He added twin homes seem to be out of character with the existing neighborhood. The planning commission said they would not be in favor of the current twin proposal and the discussion was tabled.

The next development discussed was unit five of the Trexler Business Center. The plan calls for a fully drive-thru Wawa next to the existing carpet business. The property would have a two lane drive-thru for stacking. There will be a street wall and access to Movie Tavern Trexlertown Cinema as well as the neighboring vacant property.

The project was represented by Erich Schock, of Fitzpatrick Lentz and Bubba and Bud Newton and Newton Engineering as well as Mike Segal from Wawa.

The planning commission had questions about the drive-thru layout wanting to ensure it would not have the same issues Chick-fil-A was having across the street. The property had eight parking spaces.

The planning commission asked how they would be able to predict the number of customers parking and eating in the parking lot. Newton said there would be adequate additional parking by the movie tavern or credit union.

There was a discussion about adding a third drive-thru lane so a line would not back up onto the main access road. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting.

The final development discussed was the Cove at Millbrook. The project was a residual lot from the Weiner Tract subdivision. The property would be at the intersection of Sauerkraut Lane and Macungie Road.

The planning commission talked about adding a paved trail along the creek in the rear of the property as part of the Township Greenway Program. There was a discussion about moving some of the street trees close to the path area as some are coming in conflict with signs and light poles.

The planning commission talked about the idea of moving the culvert further away from the edge of the road. Kate Durso, of Fitzpatrick Lentz and Bubba, the attorney who represented the project, said the cost of moving the culvert would prevent completion of the project. Durso talked about a 4-foot shoulder widening of Sauerkraut Lane.

The planning commission discussed the idea of having a pedestrian bridge over the creek on the property. The project was tabled until the next meeting.

The next Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission meeting will be May 10. 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 April, but May will have a workshop.

Workshops begin 6 p.m. while meetings begin 7 p.m. and currently all planning commission meetings will be held both in person and over Zoom with a video recording uploaded to the township’s YouTube channel after the fact.