Politics & Government
Neighbors Say 30 West Development Would Cause Traffic, Stormwater Runoff
30 West, a private enclave of luxury homes, has been proposed on two vacant lots off the 3100 block of Washington Street on the South Whitehall and West Allentown border.
Several neighbors say the proposed development of 10 upscale single-family homes off the 3100 block of Washington Street would bring excess traffic and stormwater runoff.
The residents expressed their concerns Thursday night at the first public presentation of a sketch plan of the proposed development, 30 West, at the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission meeting.
Owner Elysium Acquisitions LLC. has already cleared the land on two wooded lots off the 3100 block of Washington Street. The plans is to build 10 upscale houses on two cul-de-sacs created from the unopened portions of N. Marshall and N. 31st streets. Elysium would sell the lots.
The area is an established, traditional, walkable neighborhood with mature trees and sidewalks. It is zoned residential and neighborhood commercial.
Vice Chairman Steven Seyer questioned the feasibility of building such large houses on the lots, which range between 8,669 square feet and 14,359 square feet.
"What are you expecting, really, given that six or seven are all abutting commercial lots and some of that commercial is very busy?" Seyer said.
"Not everyone wants to live out in the country," said Arthur Swallow, a land surveyor whose firm AASA of Allentown is working on the project for Elysium. "This is an excellent location. The traditional neighborhood is coming back."
Resident Paul Lees said he would not give consent to have N. Marshall Street opened since the public use of the street ends in front of his property.
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Sally Saeger, who lives in the 3100 block of Washington Street, opposed that idea because she said cars would cut through it to avoid Cedar Crest Boulevard.
"We could not possibly deal with more traffic coming from Tilghman Street," she said.
Mike Hammond, who lives in the 700 block of N. 30th Street, said his home and several neighbors' homes suffer from severe water runoff problems that have only been made worse since the developer cleared trees behind his house.
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