Category Archives: Township News

Upper Saucon Township has been working with our fertilization contractor to schedule in advance the spraying dates for the year, however COVID precautions and weather issues have greatly disrupted scheduling this year. At this time we have scheduled the final treatment to be on Wednesday, October 28th for both park locations. We remain hopeful that will we be able to post all treatment dates in advance in 2021. 

As is typical practice for all fertilization and spraying activities, there will be an ALL DAY CLOSURE of both the park and playing fields. We anticipate opening the park the day after the spraying, and we ask that the Sports Leagues notify the coaches, and pass word along to the parents as well.

Pesticide Application Late Fall

Notice is hereby given that the regular public meeting of the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) of Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, is scheduled at the Municipal Building located at 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, PA on Wednesday November 4, 2020 at 7:00 P.M. for the purpose of hearing the following appeal:

APPEAL NO. 2020-10: JFD Realty (Owner/Applicant), 4400 Cumorah Avenue, Center Valley PA 18034. The property identified as Tax Map Parcel No. 641496076302 1 and 5270 PA Route 309, Center Valley, PA 18034, is .78 acres in size and is located within the Commercial (C) Zone. The Applicant seeks an interpretation that a building on the lot is a non-conforming principal use that can be changed to another permitted principal use via Special Exception approval as allowed in Section 704.B. The Zoning Officer has determined that the structure is accessory to an existing single family dwelling on the lot and has no historical rights for use as a principal commercial use on the lot. In the event the ZHB determines the use of the structure is non-conforming principal use, the applicant also requests variances from Section 220.E and 305 to allow for two (2) principal uses to be established on one (1) lot with each use having insufficient lot area and lot width.

The complete Zoning Appeal files may be examined at the Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building located at 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, Pennsylvania, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Questions should be directed to the Zoning Officer, Trent J. Sear, at 610-282-1171 ext. 1254.

UPPER SAUCON TOWNSHIP
ZONING HEARING BOARD
MICHAEL DEPAOLIS, CHAIRMAN

Work related to the Wawa Construction site is expected to begin the week of 11/2/20 for approximately 4 weeks. Construction will require a full road closure of Passer Road from Main Street to Route 309, with a PennDOT and Township approved detour in place from approximately November 2, 2020 to November 25, 2020, with local access only. Access to private, residential driveways and emergency services will be provided.

Lehigh County has rescheduled the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event originally planned for Saturday, March 28th, 2020. The new date is Saturday, November 14th. If you have already pre-registered you are already registered for the new event. If you have not pre-registered, you must pre-register on the Lehigh County Website. 

Click on the link below:

https://home.lehighcounty.org/bookit/hhwEvent/HHW_Intro.aspx

This is a Lehigh County Event, if you have questions or comments please contact Lehigh County. 

The Planning Commission’s next meeting is scheduled for October 6, 2020. Due to the anticipated attendance, this Planning Commission meeting will be held in a tent on the property at the Township building located at 5500 Camp Meeting Road. Seating under the tent is limited but attendance of up to 240 is authorized. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. Attendees will be expected to adhere to CDC guidelines related to mask wearing and social distancing. At this meeting, a final presentation will be provided by the consultant hired by the Township to prepare the update to the Comprehensive Plan. This presentation will address the anticipated growth in the Township over the next twenty (20) years as well as reviewing recommendations related to residential and non-residential land use changes necessary to accommodate this growth. Also included will be a discussion of the implementation schedule and the performance metrics included in the Plan to evaluate the Township’s progress. This will be the last Planning Commission meeting where public input on the Plan will be received prior to consideration of its adoption by the Board of Supervisors. The Agenda can be viewed on the Upper Saucon Township Website:

https://www.uppersaucon.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PC-agenda-10-6-20FNL.pdf

Notice is hereby given that a public meeting of the Board of Supervisors (“Board”) of the Township of Upper Saucon (“Township”), Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, will be held on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 6:30 p.m., prevailing time, at the Township Municipal Building, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, Pennsylvania, or such other time and public location of said Board lawfully held not less than three (3) nor more than thirty (30) days after the date hereof,  at which the Board will consider for enactment an Ordinance related to the issuance of certain proposed bonded indebtedness of the Township of Upper Saucon, a summary of which Ordinance is set forth in the following caption:

Refinancing Notice

The CDC has released guidance for Halloween Activities. They can be viewed on the CDC Website.  

Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween. If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Ultimately, the decision to participate in Trick or Treat is up to the individual families. We recommend that anxious persons and parents do not participate.

Below are listed Typical Trick or Treat activities and the CDC’s risk assessment of them:

Lower risk activities

These lower risk activities can be safe alternatives:

Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house

Moderate risk activities

Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard)
If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 second before and after preparing the bags.
Having a small group, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
Attending a costume party held outdoors where protective masks are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face.
Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 6 feet apart
If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
Lower your risk by following CDC’s recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.

Higher risk activities

Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:

Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots
Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

On Saturday, October 24, 2020, from 10am to 2pm, the Upper Saucon Police Department  will participate in  a collaborative effort with the DEA and other state and local law enforcement agencies focused on removing potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. A national Take-Back day will provide a unified opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications to law enforcement officers for destruction. This one-day effort will bring national focus to the issue of pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse. The program also provides an opportunity for law enforcement, prevention, treatment and the business community to collaborate and establish a safe collection site for all Americans, regardless of where they reside.

• This program is absolutely anonymous and all efforts will be made to protect the anonymity of individuals disposing of medications. No questions or requests for identification will be made by law enforcement personnel present

• Controlled, non-controlled, and over the counter medications will be collected

• Sharpies and syringes will not be accepted due to the potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens.

The drug collection box is located in the Upper Saucon Police Department Lobby. 

DEA TAKEBACK POSTER

Notice is hereby given that the regular public meeting of the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) of Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, is scheduled at the Municipal Building located at 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, PA on Monday October 5, 2020 at 7:00 P.M. for the purpose of hearing the following appeals:

APPEAL NO. 2020-08: John & Trisha Fistner (Owners/Applicants), 1704 Cortland Lane, Bethlehem, PA 18015. The property identified as Tax Map Parcel No. 642558114012 1 and 1704 Cortland Lane, Bethlehem, PA 18015, is 3.01 acres in size and is located within the Open Space Residential (OSR) Zone. The Applicant requests a variance from Section 210.J (as amended by Ordinance 141-A) to permit modifications to a house/driveway/walkways under re-construction and expand the proposed pool and patio resulting in 6,636 additional sq. ft. of impervious coverage and a resulting increase in impervious coverage to 13.1% of the lot where a maximum of 10% is permitted.

APPEAL NO. 2020-09: St. Luke’s Health Network (Owner/Applicant) 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015. The property identified as Tax Map Parcel Nos. 641495690784 1, 641496236498 1 and 641496326137 1 and 5415 Lanark Road, 5321 W. Valley Road and 5341 W. Valley Road, are 7.57, .74 and 1.79 acres in size and are located within the Commercial (C) Zone. The Applicant requests variances from Section 322.D (as amended by Ordinance 141-A) to allow two (2) signs with total area of 68 sq. ft. for the dermatology building where one (1) sign with 64 sq. ft. is permitted and four (4) signs with a total area of 209.5 sq. ft. for the pediatric building where one (1) sign with 64 sq. ft. is permitted. Applicant also requests to modify the relief previously granted in Appeal 2018-08 to add an additional 22.85 sq. ft. wall sign to the main building while reducing the area of the retaining wall sign by 38 sq. ft. Lastly, the applicant requests a variance to permit certain interior directional signs that exceed the height and area restrictions.

The complete Zoning Appeal files may be examined at the Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building located at 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, Pennsylvania, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Questions should be directed to the Zoning Officer, Trent J. Sear, at 610-282-1171 ext. 1254.

UPPER SAUCON TOWNSHIP
ZONING HEARING BOARD
MICHAEL DEPAOLIS, CHAIRMAN

The Administration & Finance Committee of the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors will meet as follows: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 4:00 pm; Monday, October 5, 2020 at 9:00 am; Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at 10:00 am; Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 9:00 am, and Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 9:00 am. All meetings will be held in the Township Municipal Building, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley, PA. The Committee will be reviewing various issues related to the 2021 Township budget at these meetings.

All interested parties are encouraged to attend.

Upper Saucon Township
Thomas F. Beil, Township Manager