Remarkably, one of the officers recognized for issuing the greatest number of traffic penalties in the Lehigh Valley region in 2023 came from an unexpected source.

Upper Macungie Police Department

Police Sgt. Dathan Schlegel works at Upper Macungie, a community with roughly only 28,000 residents.

However, the Lehigh Valley DUI Highway Safety Taskforce, which recognized the officers with the greatest number of DUI arrests and traffic citations last month, states that Schlegel issued 2,106 traffic tickets in 2023. Compared to the other honorees, there is a significantly higher number of traffic citations.

Last year, Jeremy Clinton of the Bethlehem Police Department and Trooper Brian Bird of the Pennsylvania State Police in Belfast issued a combined total of 607 citations. Given the stark differences in the data, one might wonder how a township police officer could have received so many traffic tickets. Schlegel is in charge of the traffic unit, according to Upper Macungie Police Chief Mike Sitoski. This means that he goes out and looks for people who are speeding and acting in a dangerous manner.

According to Sitoski, "the goal of traffic enforcement is to make the road safer for all users." "It is an effort to try and lower the number of road fatalities and crashes." Lieutenant Cory Reader of the Upper Macungie Police Patrol, other police agencies lack the manpower or resources to assign officers to "proactive policing," which involves searching for infractions prior to receiving complaints. The reader stated, "It is my belief that the statistics just demonstrate that there are lawbreakers and those who break the law, and that individuals such as Sergeant Schlegel are out there searching for and locating such things."

Sitoski stated that the township's aggressive driving awards and support enable his department to have a dedicated traffic section. The reader also mentioned that a lot of people travel through and work in the township, meaning that a lot more people use its roads than live there.

Schlegel issued citations on 198 days in the previous year, or 10.6 a day on average. The Upper Macungie Police Department's administrators attested to the fact that certain offenders were issued repeated tickets. Schlegel issued over 800 speeding fines in the previous year, making it the most frequent type of citation. Traffic light infractions came in at number 364, and expired licenses came in at number 269, making traffic light violations the third most common citation type. In the previous year, Schlegel also issued roughly 200 parking penalties. One to forty-two violations were issued per workday, with September 14 and September 30 having the highest number of citations.

Instead, to aid in measuring speed, Upper Macungie police employ painted bars and lines on the side of the road. “The equipment we use now is a labor of love." Reader said. "It's tedious. It's quite honestly a pain to do what we do to enforce a speed limit." However, Reader stated that he believes that minimizing traffic violations is crucial to lowering the number of people killed and injured in auto accidents.

He is supported by the evidence, which indicates that "lowering traffic offenses may contribute significantly to crash and injury reduction," according to a 2014 National Library of Medicine research. "To be honest, I do not really think much about the people who are suggesting that the police should be hunting for genuine criminals or that they have better things to do," Reader remarked. “Well, those real drivers are killing people and themselves.”

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The City of Allentown is increasing bike lanes for the safety of its members.

According to Yeimy Delgado, the traffic superintendent for the Bureau of Traffic Planning and Control in the city, on Tuesday, the city does have some bike and shared-use lanes, but they are not connected, "they are in different areas throughout the city." "We want to have a strategy that we can look at and strive toward, or at least that connectedness for bike users around the city."

"Safe, accessible, and welcoming transportation choices for everyone is our goal," stated WalkWorks Program coordinator Samantha Pearson in a press release at the time of the announcement. "WalkWorks increases possibilities for regular physical activity and lowers the risk of traffic-related injuries and deaths, which benefits communities by improving public health."

We are working hard to improve our environment so that it is more pro-access, pro-activity, and pro-health. Healthy individuals, resilient communities, safer streets and highways, and more robust local economies can all result from our partnership.  The State Department of Health, thehttps://padowntown.org/, and the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are among the state agencies that support the award, even though it is facilitated through the WalkWorks program.

The monies came from the state DCNR's Environmental Stewardship Fund as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program. After the funds are given out, the recipients—like Allentown—have to upgrade the bicycling and walking pathways by developing an Active Transportation Plan. Local leaders should collaborate with “transportation and community planners to collect data, assess present conditions and goals and include public input,” according to state officials, in order to achieve this.

According to Cindy Adams Dunn, secretary of the state DCNR, "improving access to trails and creating safer chances to spend time outside is vital in connecting people to nature." "We know that being outside improves a person's physical and mental health, and the influence that trails have on local tourism throughout the commonwealth is also helping local economies."

Although Allentown has only recently gotten funding, it has already received at least two additional grants this year. The city has received an influx of state and federal cash in recent months to expand and upgrade its pathways and provide a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians.

The city received $500,000 for the replacement of traffic lights at three junctions along 17th Street and the extension of the MLK Trail off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from the Multimodal Transportation Fund, or MTF, of the Commonwealth Financing Authority in late March. When finished, it will link Fountain Park with Lehigh Parkway.

The following month, the city and local lawmakers unveiled the Safe Streets for All initiative. With funding from a $312,000 grant from the U.S. Transportation Department, a steering committee will assess the safety of the streets and create a "roadmap for safety improvements" and "holistic approach."

After a year of fatalities on city roadways, the project was revealed. Based on city records, there were over 4,000 reported crashes in 2023, of which 136 involved pedestrians. Twelve pedestrians were critically hurt, and five pedestrians lost their lives. To identify issue locations, residents can fill out an online survey.

According to Delgado, the Safe Streets for All project and the trail extension are unrelated to the WalkWorks program. While the latter has an overall safety purpose, the former has a master plan for paths through the city. However, the information gathered and insights gained from both will assist in shaping the Active Transportation Plan. It is anticipated that some trail segments will be utilized to establish connections with our bicycle network. And connection is ultimately the aim, according to Delgado. This will be an addition to the Safe Streets for All program and more focused on bike utilization and connections across the city. "This is solely focused on helping us connect their bike infrastructure around the city, whereas that is looking at making roadways safer and more accessible to everyone overall."

Delgado stated, "We are going through it with an open mind to see which streets are the most open to including these types of bike infrastructures, whether they are shared lanes, bike lanes, or protected bike lanes. This is because we do not have that much going on in terms of bike lanes and bike facilities in general." "Check which city roads would be suitable for that.

Furthermore, creating a link between the east and west, as well as the north, is our overarching objective. As a result, for this strategy, we sort of investigate which roads, if any, would be most effective in achieving that objective.

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The UNESCO World Heritage Committee recently named the city's ancient Moravian Church settlement a World Heritage Site.

Early on Friday, at a UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, the motion to approve was passed. A group of locals, including Mayor J. William Reynolds, went to India for the historic vote.

Following the voting, Reynolds released a prepared statement, saying, "Our community has long treasured and conserved Moravian Church Settlements —Bethelehem, and we are thrilled to earn this global distinction." "The UNESCO World Heritage Site designation is a striking monument to the ongoing heritage of the Moravian Church and the unsurpassed historical and cultural significance of Bethlehem."

The acceptance completes a multi-year study, application, and nomination process that acknowledges the historical significance of the Moravians and solidifies Bethlehem's and other Moravian communities' place in history. Aside from attesting to historical significance, being named a World Heritage Site is highly desirable due to its possible effects on tourism.

There were 1,199 World Heritage Sites worldwide and just 25 in the United States as of right now.

In actuality, Bethlehem is a member of a group of four cities that constitute a global Moravian Church settlement site. Together with Bethlehem, the towns of Herrnhut, Germany, and Gracehill, Northern Ireland, are also included. Christiansfeld, Denmark, was named a World Heritage site in 2015.

The Bethlehem World Heritage Commission is headed by Mayor Reynolds, along with Curtis "Hank" Barnette, the former chairman and CEO of Bethlehem Steel, Don Cunningham, the president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., Charlene Donchez Mowers, and Daniel McCarthy, a public relations strategist and former PPL executive, according to the Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites website.

In the 50-year history of UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, it was the first multi-nation nomination for the World Heritage list. Bryon Grigsby, the president of Moravian University, and Chris Giesler, the bishop of the Moravian Church and an advisor to the World Heritage Council and Commission, accompanied Reynolds at the meeting in India.

More than two decades ago, the road to approval began. In 2016, the local site was added to a list of potential nominations. Participating in the first planning meeting in April 2002, Charlene Donchez Mowers reported that she watched the World Heritage Committee's livestream from her home in Bethlehem. She expressed her joy at the result.

Being listed among 1,100 or 1,200 locations worldwide is quite significant, she remarked. Here in Bethlehem, precisely. "We essentially have a heritage tourism triangle if you consider the Statue of Liberty and Independence Hall (additional locations on the World Heritage List). Within 90 miles of one another, you may visit Bethlehem, Independence Hall, and the Statue of Liberty.

The Bethlehem site totals ten acres close to West Church Street and is home to structures including the 1744 Single Sisters' House, the 1741 Gemeinhaus, and the Central Moravian Church.

God's Acre Cemetery, the Colonial Industrial Quarter on the hillside under the Central Moravian Church, and the Historic Hotel Bethlehem are also included.

Among the settlements in the group, the Bethlehem settlement is distinct. According to the UNESCO website, Historic Moravian Bethlehem presents a settlement with significant geographic influences and does not follow the conventional pattern of continental Europe.

"With an exceptional collection of early classic Moravian Church buildings (including the only surviving Gemeinhaus in the series, and all choir buildings represented), and a clearly zoned industrial quarter with significant buildings, it demonstrates clear, functional differentiation between residential and industrial." Supporters of the World Heritage Movement claim that recognition contributes to increased public awareness of the need to preserve cultural assets. It gives access to the World Heritage Fund, which finances emergency damage repair assistance as well as site maintenance.

Additionally, it supports conservation initiatives for World Heritage Sites that are in jeopardy, like Florida's Everglades National Park.

The Moravians, whose origins in this area trace back to 1741, founded Bethlehem. German-speaking immigrants left the contemporary Czech Republic in the early Moravians' quest for religious liberty. Mowers stated that she anticipates "greater awareness of the Moravian Church community internationally" as a result of the World Heritage classification. "They were teaching everyone and bringing Christianity to both indigenous people and those without church affiliations. Being the first school to teach women the same curriculum as men was theirs. "It was just a very diversified community, in terms of spirituality, quality, and diversity."

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Allentown Looking to Increase Transfer Tax

Get Ready To Pay More When You Buy or sell a Home In Allentown, if the City Council Gets its way...

This Fall, a 1996 tax cap will be up for debate in Allentown. On Wednesday, the City Council voted in favor of approving a ballot issue that may lead to the first hike in the deed-transfer tax in many years. The city's home rule charter prohibits rate increases for a number of revenue sources, including the deed-transfer tax.

It is forbidden for members to raise taxes on deed transfers, earned income, company rights, amusement devices, and other sources over the rates established in 1996. This month, Allentown Finance Director Bina Patel pleaded with council members to approve the ballot question and put it on the ballot for autumn voting.

A 2% deed-transfer tax is levied on all real estate sales in Allentown PA, including homes, buildings, and land. Of this amount, 1% goes to the state, and the remaining 1% is divided between the city and school district, according to Patel. If it were raised to 3%, purchasers of a $250,000 home would have to pay an extra $2,500 in deed-transfer taxes.

Budget season is going to be difficult. Following their disagreement with Mayor Matt Tuerk late in the previous year and rejection of his requests for tax hikes to pay for additional roles and services, city officials appear to be getting ready for another challenging budget season. Their relationship has probably been further strained by council's decision to employ a counsel to investigate filing a lawsuit against Tuerk at the meeting on Wednesday.

Two budgets that featured no new taxes for 2024 were approved by the council late last year; Tuerk vetoed the first, but allowed the second to become the city's yearly spending plan without his signature. According to Patel's statement this month, Allentown currently has a $6 million “gap” between its earnings and expenses. The city would have "greater chance to collect income" if the 1996 cap on deed-transfer taxes were lifted.

The main sources of funding for the city are property taxes and earned-income taxes, which the council can raise with a simple majority vote during the yearly budgeting process. "One more asset, one more item that we can tap into" is the deed-transfer tax, Patel informed council members during a committee meeting on July 17. Santo Napoli, a councilman, pleaded with his peers to back the ballot question.

He suggested that the council set aside any additional funds from the increase for community programs to aid first-time and current homeowners.

According to Napoli, recent data on property sales suggests that Allentown could earn almost $2 million annually by raising the deed-transfer tax by just half a percentage point. In order to pay for those initiatives and "really get some of this stuff done," the city would have "a consistent stream of revenue," according to Napoli.

Furthermore, the vice president of the council stated that companies, not individuals, would bear the majority of any new deed-transfer taxes.

According to Napoli, corporations and LLCs purchased 46% of all properties sold in Allentown last month. He declared, "Homeowners are being forced out of this market."

Realtors promise to oppose the referendum. Asher Schiavone, who began serving as the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors' director of government affairs last month, stated that his organization's members are "100% opposed" to eliminating Allentown's deed-transfer tax cap. He stated on July 17 that the Lehigh Valley real estate market is "very challenging" and that even a slight rise in deed-transfer taxes might result in price increases of thousands of dollars.

"How is housing becoming cheaper if the cost of home ownership rises, particularly for those with low to moderate incomes?" Schiavone stated.

Furthermore, he indicated that rent increases in Allentown might result from any future increases in deed-transfer taxes. He declared, "We are willing to wager that [LLCs] will charge the renters for such expenses." "We do not believe developers could bear that expense." Schiavone asked the council to make sure the referendum's wording is not "misleading" and makes it abundantly evident that passing it will allow deed-transfer taxes to rise.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections will examine the proposed referendum before deciding whether to put it on the ballot in November.

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A significant construction project is planned for the township's most important crossroads. Public feedback is being sought for the Route 309 at Center Valley Parkway Intersection Improvement Project by the California Transportation Department.

The intersection, which according to PennDOT sees tens of thousands of vehicles per day, will become a "grade-separated interchange" with a bridge that would carry Route 309 over Center Valley Parkway and West Saucon Valley Road. At the crossing, the roadways are now at the same level. The project's website describes the divided four-lane Route 309 as something that "supports regional traffic" and travels north-south.

According to the website, the modification would increase the intersection's "safety and capacity." Ron Young, a spokesman for PennDOT, believes the project is expected to cost between $120 million and $140 million in total, including design engineering, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocations, and building.

The Lehigh Valley Health Network area for Healthcare Education and the Promenade Saucon Valley shopping area are next to each other at the intersection of Route 309 and Center Valley Parkway. As per PennDOT's project description, "People or organizations that have a proven interest within the project boundaries, nearby companies, and nearby property owners who might be impacted by the proposed project are encouraged to evaluate the displays and contact us with any questions." Along with constructing new signalized on/off ramp crossings to connect the routes, PennDOT also intends to upgrade the pavement marking, drainage, guide rails, and lighting on the highways.

It is projected that construction will start in late 2026 and be finished by 2030. The PennDOT website states, "All schedules are subject to change." By the website, the project will be completed in phases, with two lanes of traffic in each direction being maintained on Route 309 throughout construction.

The public can view the online plan display, which includes digital picture boards and a questionnaire, until Monday, August 5.

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Lehigh Valley Health Network celebrated the grand opening of a brand-new, 10,000-square-foot daycare facility at Bethlehem's Westgate Mall!

Prior to a Monday morning ribbon-cutting, the health network stated in a news release that the center was constructed to "fill a critical gap in access to quality childcare services for LVHN colleagues and community members." It is situated in the mall next to the LVHN-Muhlenberg campus off Schoenersville Road.

The announcement release states that the center will be independently operated by the River Crossing YMCA.

In the release, LVHN stated the following about the center:

"The LVHN Childcare Center will provide full-time programming from Monday through Friday. It will have two outdoor playground areas, a multipurpose space for indoor gross motor activities, nine age-appropriate classrooms, and a full kitchen. The facility is a part of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital's extensive pediatric health network. Based on input from its 23,000 colleagues, who indicated a need for better access to childcare, LVHN invested $3 million to build this facility.

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A new local supermarket has opened to the community of Easton South Side. Opened by Grizel Mazariegos-Perez; she knows the struggle of how difficult it may be to budget for groceries. Mazariego-Perez decided to change that for her community. 

Bravo Grocery Easton

She had little when she fled Guatemala for the United States eighteen years ago. "It was quite difficult," she added. After putting in a lot of labor and saving money, she and her spouse are starting a company that will offer reasonably priced groceries to people in similar circumstances to their own.

Bravo Grocery, located at 210 Line St., staged its grand opening on Tuesday. On Easton's South Side, it was the location of the former Easton Food Market. Frank Pintabone, a city councilman for Easton, stated, "Having this major supermarket, a cornerstone of the neighborhood on the South Side, is huge." About thirty people showed up for the ribbon-cutting, including him.

The 45-year-old councilman has lived on the South Side all of his life. With the closure of Easton Food Market almost a year and a half ago, he cannot recall a period in which there was not a grocery store. Many people who live on the South Side lack access to transportation. Pintabone stated that before Bravo opened within walking distance of their homes, they had to find a way to get to Wegmans or Giant. In Easton's food desert, Bravo has emerged as a haven, he claimed.

According to Pintabone, Bravo provides a selection of ethnic ingredients that most Hispanic residents had to trek to South Bethlehem to find. Mazariegos Perez stated that shopping at Bravo does not require Hispanic ancestry. Ingredients for many ethnic recipes, including Jamaican cuisine, are available at the supermarket. Traditional supermarket essentials are also widely available.

Bravo is a grocery company that operates 70 locations in the eastern United States, from New York to Florida.

Mazariegos-Perez relocated to Easton from New York with her spouse, Felix Perez. Felix Perez spent eight years working at the grocery shop that was once T.J. Bart's, then C-Town, and finally the Easton Food Market in Easton, South Side. Felix Perez founded Easton Meat Services a few years before to the closure of the Easton Food Market, providing meats to nearby markets and eateries.

He and his spouse seized the chance to build a supermarket in the location where he had previously worked. They claim that they have more goals than being a retailer. Their goal is to live in harmony with the South Side. Business is flourishing so far, according to Mazariegos-Perez.

"I sincerely appreciate the community's support," she remarked.

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Lehigh Valley home prices continue to increase.

According to a survey by the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, the median price of a home sold in Northampton and Lehigh counties peaked in June at $361,100, a 7.8% rise over June 2023 when prices soared to $335,000, the highest price ever recorded in the region's history (matched in April 2024).

According to GLVR CEO Justin Porembo, rising sales prices actually made it harder for the market to operate during what is usually one of the busiest months of the year. "It seems possible that buyers will have to wait a very long time for mortgage rates to drop to once-in-a-lifetime levels again."According to the data, in June, sellers received about 102% of the asking price for their houses.

The GLVR Housing Affordability Report, in May, the median household income satisfied 98% of the requirements needed to be eligible for a median-priced home at the current interest rate. That figure represented an 8-point decrease from the prior year. According to GLVR President Lori Campbell, "one of the many wonderful things about the Lehigh Valley is the range of options in housing, price points, rural vs. city, and more, even though the increase in inventory has yet to moderate home prices."

Closed sales decreased 10.6% overall to 591 listings.

Quick overview of June 2024 housing data:

-New Listings rose 7.3% to 748 Listings

-Pending Sales rose by 6% 632

-Months of Inventory Supply increased by 18.2% to 1.3 months.

-Even if it decreased by 0.5%, the percentage of list price received—102.3%—was still above and beyond.

-Similar to June of last year, homes sold in an average of 15 days.

The Median Sales Price in Carbon County dropped to $215,000. Closed deals decreased to 48. Pending Sales fell to fifty-five. There are now ninety new listings. With 200 units added to the inventory, the months' supply of inventory climbed to 3.7 months. Days on Market saw a rise to 36 days from 27 days in June of the prior year.

According to Bankrate.com, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage as of Monday is 6.85%, which is a 7 basis point decrease over the previous week. The interest rate on a 30-year refinancing was 6.84% on average.

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Monroe County is living lavishly! Recently, the most expensive residential real estate sale in Monroe County during the previous week was a $725,000 Stroudsburg house.

Over the course of the last week, the county saw 40 transactions of residential real estate, with an average price of $288,233, or $209 per square foot.

10. Townhouse at 133 Laurel Court, $350,000

There are new owners of the Tannersville property located at 133 Laurel Court. The residence boasts 1,908 square feet of living space and was constructed in 1998. It costs $183 per square foot. The agreement was signed on July 8.

9. Whispering Hills Court: $360,000 for a single-family home

The Whispering Hills Court single-family home in Saylorsburg, which has 1,248 square feet, has been sold. In July, the ownership transfer was finalized, and the entire purchase price of $360,000—or $288 per square foot—was paid. The home was constructed in 1993. The agreement was signed on July 10.

8. 3142 Leisure Drive, a single-family property worth $365K

The Pocono Summit single-family home, located at 3142 Leisure Drive, has been sold. The house was purchased for $365,000, and the new owners moved in in July. The house is 1,184 square feet in size and was constructed in 1993. It cost $308 per square foot. The agreement was signed on July 10.

7. $381K, 41 Tara Drive, single-family home

The single-family home located at 41 Tara Drive in East Stroudsburg has been sold. The house was purchased for $381,000, and the new owners moved in in July. The living area of the 1983-built home is 1,142 square feet. In the end, the cost per square foot was $334. The agreement was signed on July 10.

6. 126 Meadow, a $385K single-family home

The single-family home at 126 Meadow, Saylorsburg, has been sold. The transaction is complete. The house was purchased for $385,000, and the new owners moved in in July. The 1,756 square foot living section of the house was built in 1988. $219 was the cost per square foot. On July 9, the agreement was concluded.

5. 1145 Red Fox Court is a $400K single-family home.

The Kresgeville single-family home at 1145 Red Fox Court, which is 1,230 square feet, has been sold. July saw the completion of the ownership transfer, and the entire purchase price of $400,000—or $325 per square foot—was paid. The home was constructed in 1995. On July 9, the agreement was concluded.

4. 611 Shane Drive, a single-family home worth $410,000,

The owners of the property at 611 Shane Drive in Effort have changed. It cost forty-one thousand dollars. The 2,383 square foot living portion of the house was built in 2012. It costs $172 per square foot. The agreement was signed on July 8.

3. A $410K single-family house located at 384 New York Boulevard

There are new owners of the property located in Effort at 384 New York Blvd. It cost forty-one thousand dollars. The home is 2,397 square feet in size and was constructed in 1985. It costs $171 per square foot. The agreement was signed on July 10.

2. A single-family home located at 3333 Mountain Laurel Lane for $430,000

The Pocono Pines single-family home at 3333 Mountain Laurel Lane, which is 2,628 square feet, has been sold. July saw the completion of the ownership transfer, and the entire purchase price of $430,000, or $164 per square foot, was paid. The home was constructed in 1976. The agreement was signed on July 10.

1. A single-family home at 119 Pinetop Court, valued at $725,000

The single-family house located at 119 Pinetop Court in Stroudsburg has been sold. The transaction is complete. The residence was sold in July for a price of $725,000. The residence boasts 3,388 square feet of living space and was constructed in 2001. It cost $214 per square foot. On July 9, the agreement was concluded.

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In its beginning stage, the planning for single-family homes with recreational areas is getting started in Bethlehem Township and Lower Nazareth! With 206 residential lots and roughly 38 acres of open space could be built on four sites in Northampton County—three north of Route 22 and one south. However, as of Monday, Farmersville Estates is still only in the planning stages and has not received any approvals.

Planners in Bethlehem Township learned more about developer Jaindl's request to develop land for single-family houses, some of which is located close to the intersection of Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships. Project managers estimate that there are roughly 214 acres in Bethlehem Township that are available for use.

Hecktown Road borders the project's properties north of Route 22 to the west, Farmersville Road borders them to the east, and Route 22 borders them to the south. There is some undeveloped land to the north. Green Pond Road lies to the south, Farmersville Road to the west, Route 22 to the north, and existing residential and open space to the east are the boundaries of the single southern property.

Plans called for 34.5 acres to be set aside for preservation. The northern portion of the largest parcel is bisected by the municipal boundary of Lower Nazareth.

According to Ana Martins, senior project manager at Van Cleef Engineering Associates, "the developer plans to unite the four lots, of course accepting the section that is in Lower Nazareth Township, and then create a single-family cluster development."

A project of that nature in the Agricultural District would need conditional use clearance because township ordinances typically permit 150 lots for projects of that kind. According to Martins, each lot would have a minimum area of 20,000 square feet. Proposed for the north side is thirty-eight acres of open space; this is a portion of the consolidated property that is also scheduled for development.

Martins stated, "On that side, we will be proposing some walking paths, active recreation spaces, and basically other types of open space components." The primary access points to the residential development will be provided by two direct links to Hecktown and Farmersville roads.

Commissioner Leslie Walker stated that Farmersville Road would eventually be unable to accommodate the additional traffic, even though he recognized the developers had a long way to go and would need to finish a traffic study.

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