Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved the preservation of Weinhofer Farms on Spruce Street at the Aug. 14 meeting.

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

The vote was originally scheduled for July, but the board decided additional review was needed. The preservation is expected to curb commercial and industrial development at the site, as well as provide more space for wildlife.

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

The board approved the preservation with a 4-2 vote. Whitehall Township will use $375,000 from the Lafarge Fund.

The Lafarge Fund was created in 1998 when Lafarge North America opened a new quarry in the township. The fund money has been used on occasion to pay for projects and then is repaid to the account.

Later in the meeting, commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the repayment of the $375,000 back to the Lafarge Fund over the course of five years.

In other business, commissioners, as recommended by board President Joe Marx, approved a motion sending bill 29-2023 to the legal and legislative committee.

Bill 29-2023 would place a referendum question regarding an additional earned income tax of 0.1% to be used for “financing the preservation of land in, or the acquisition of land for, open space” on the November ballot.

Commissioners will next meet 7 p.m. Sept. 5 in the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.