At the July 10 meeting, the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners heard from multiple township residents regarding the potential preservation of Weinhofer Farms.

Currently, there is no preserved farmland in the township. The Weinhofers are hoping to preserve 155 acres of land they recently purchased.

Farmland preservation specialist Donna Wright said Lehigh County has around $930,000 it is willing to put toward this project. Wright said this amount will not be enough to make the December mortgage payment to make preservation a viable factor.

If the township does not provide $375,000, the preservation project cannot and will not go through.

A majority of residents attending the meeting were in favor of the township putting the money forward to preserve the land. They felt farmland is becoming scarce in the township, and preserving that many acres would be a benefit to the township.

Not only would it give wildlife more space, it would curb the constant commercial and industrial development in the township, they said.

These residents also said additional homes in the area would be too expensive and put unnecessary stress on the roads.

The few residents against farmland preservation were reportedly more against the township pulling $375,000 away from other more pressing causes, like the two closed pools and public safety issues.

After a debate, the commissioners decided to put the issue back on August’s agenda and take another vote.

The commissioners also approved bills 24-2023 and 26-2023. These bills established Center Alley as one way northbound from Hillcrest Lane to Route 329 and created a 100-foot length of 15-minute parking spaces along the west side of Front Street, respectively.

In other business, Heidi Shiver of BirdTown PA, was present at the meeting to acknowledge the township becoming Pennsylvania’s 39th BirdTown.

The commissioners will next meet 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.