Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, intends to introduce a new zoning ordinance and get rid of a couple of old firearms laws on the same night next month.
Both issues should be on the agenda of the township commissioners’ next public meeting at 7 p.m. March 12.
A public hearing will be held on the township’s new zoning ordinance, which has been years in the making.
And, under threat of legal action and to be in compliance with a new state law, commissioners intend to delete firearms language from two ordinances during the same meeting.
Unless residents show up to raise objections to the zoning ordinance, commissioners plan to adopt it at their March 26 meeting.
They held a hearing on a totally different subject Thursday night: allowing flowers to be sold out of a tent in the parking lot of South Mall along Lehigh Street.
No one from the public objected to that plan.
The same flower tent business has been outside the mall each spring for many years.
Commissioners also had a long discussion about the possibility of eliminating discounted payments in quarterly sewer/water/refuse bills, which means a lot of residents would be paying more.
But they probably won’t take any action on that proposal until later this year — when the 2016 township budget is developed.
Raritan Valley Disposal will replace Waste Management as the township’s trash hauler on Monday.
When that happens, residents will see their quarterly trash bills drop from the current discounted rate of $77.75 to $65.
New zoning law
A public hearing is required before the township’s new zoning ordinance can be adopted.
“Everything basically was reviewed and changed,” said township manager Randy Soriano.
He announced that hearing is scheduled for March 12, with adoption of the zoning law on March 26 —“provided we don’t get a big crowd that says ‘we don’t like the way you did it; you have to redo it.'“
Soriano explained adoption could be pushed back if that public hearing results in a need for additional changes.
Atty. John Ashley, the township’s solicitor, said commissioners will have to determine if they think anything in the zoning law should be changed based on the public’s comments — if any — at that hearing.
Soriano said Urban Research & Development Corp. of Bethlehem, the township’s consultant on the new zoning law, will summarize it and highlight major changes during the public hearing.
The manager said the process to create a new zoning ordinance began three or four years ago and that the township planning commission spent a year reviewing it.
He said the lengthy draft ordinance will be available for review on the township website and in the township municipal building. He said copies also will be available for a fee.
Gun ordinances being changed
In December, a lawyer representing Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection threatened legal action against Salisbury if it did not come into compliance with a new state law — Act 192 —by getting rid of two ordinances regulating firearms.
Tom Campione, who has been making the rounds of many local communities to reinforce that threat of litigation, stood before commissioners Thursday night.
Campione, who resides in Hellertown, is legislative affairs director for Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection and vice chairman of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party.
He reminded commissioners that he told them in January to find out if the township intended to remove its ordinances and that the township manager told him some revisions were being prepared.
“Since then, however, we don’t see any evidence of any revisions to the ordinances,” said Campione.
Soriano assured Campione that two firearms sections in township ordinances will be deleted.
He said the proposed changes will be advertised and action will be taken on them by township commissioners at the March 12 meeting.
“I’m here out of courtesy, to urge you to move you quickly,” said Campione.
Flower tent approved
James Pompa, principal owner of Carbon County-based Cornerstone Consultant Co. LLC, was given unanimous approval by commissioners to operate his flower tent at South Mall for the next five years.
Ashley, the solicitor, told commissioners Pompa will have to go before them again only if he intends to expand or otherwise dramatically change his operation during that time period.
The flower tent will operate 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the week for 11 days before Easter, 11 days before Mother’s Day, then daily until late June.
Pompa testified that he will sell only potted flowers and potting soil inside the 30-by-50-foot tent.
He testified he has operated the seasonal flower business for 14 years at that location.
Water/sewer/refuse bills discussion
Cathy Bonaskiewich, who is assistant township manager and finance director, proposed doing away with discounts in quarterly utility bills during Thursday night’s meeting.
She acknowledged the township will get many complaints from residents if commissioners approve her proposal.
“People will be upset.”
The finance director explained a current combined bill for water, sewer and refuse averages about $220 per quarter.Township officials also discuss eliminating discounts in quarterly utility bills
Eliminating discounts would raise that to an average of $245 per quarter, she estimated.
The water rate would start at $5.30 per 1,000 gallons, eliminating the $4.77 discount. The sewer rate would start at $52.60 a quarter, eliminating the $47.34 discount.
She suggested those combined utility bills could increase by 10 percent if not paid in 15 days and by another 25 percent if not paid in 30 days.
Bonaskiewich estimated those changes would generate an additional $100,000 for the township water fund and $76,000 for the sewer fund.
She called those increases: “Not a windfall, but a good start.”
She said the township has not raised water rates since 1994 — except for increases required by Allentown —and not raised sewer rates since 1999.
She said the township’s sewer and water funds have been substantially depleted in recent years by rising costs and more required projects. “We can’t keep going at that rate.”
“We need more money for the water and sewer,” confirmed Soriano.
Bonaskiewich noted eliminating the discounted rates for water and sewer would be off-set by the coming decrease in trash rates when Raritan Valley takes over next week.
The finance director told commissioners that 84 percent of Salisbury’s residents do take advantage of the existing discounts by paying their utility bills quickly.
Commissioner Debra Brinton said she will have to pay more — “not a lot more” — than she pays now if commissioners would approve Bonaskiewich’s proposal, even though trash rates will be decreasing.
“Approximately 85 percent of our households will not be realizing any benefit from this,” said Brinton.
But Bonaskiewich said only those billed for water, sewer and garbage would see their bills increase. She said that is a little more than half of the households in the township.
“So that 50 percent will see an increase,” said Brinton.
“That is correct,” said Bonaskiewich.
Some residents apparently are not billed for all three because they have wells and septic systems.
The finance director said sewer and refuse customers would save about $7.50 a quarter and those who only get trash service would save $12.75.
The township manager said making the changes proposed by the finance director would require formal action by commissioners via an ordinance.
Bonaskiewich initially suggested commissioners do that at their March 26 meeting, so the new rates could go into effect for the April bills.
But Soriano said that “timing is not ideal” — explaining the township has been telling residents their rates are about to go down because of changing trash haulers.
“It will look like we didn’t save them any money,” he said.
Commissioners James Brown and Robert Martucci advised waiting.
“If we want to increase the rates, we can do it during the budget and have that start the first quarter of next year,” said Brown, president of the five commissioners.
Soriano warned commissioners that, even if rates go up by only two dollars, “You’ll pack this room.”
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