The Northampton Borough Planning Commission recommended conditional approval for three separate plans for Willow Brook Farm Trust at their Jan. 10 meeting.
The trust came before the planning commission seeking favorable recommendations for a lot line adjustment to combine two parcels into one, a minor subdivision of the combined parcel and a land development/subdivision of Willow Brook’s proposed Lot 3 into 11 single-family homes in Phase I of their development.
The trust is seeking to build 11 single family homes in the borough off of Howertown Road as part of a larger project that spans across multiple municipalities in Northampton County.
If approved by borough council, the approval of the three plans is contingent upon multiple conditions outlined by the planning commission.
Robert McHale, a member of the planning commission, asked whether or not the homeowner association for the borough would be responsible for handling the development’s sewer, and whether there would even be a homeowner association for the development.
“Now this was all predicated on the fact that there was a homeowner’s association,” McHale said. “It doesn’t sound like that’s been solid yet.”
Bob Dwyer, a consultant for the trust, confirmed that there would be a homeowner association and that it would handle the development’s sewer.
“It is solid and there will be an association, absolutely. All the sewer will be handled by the association, not by the sewer authority,” Dwyer said.
McHale also sought clarification on whether there would be a left-turn lane on Howertown Road onto Fuller Drive, as discussed at previous meetings.
“I didn’t see anything on these plans, and I don’t know if it should be on these plans, whether or not there is left-hand turns that were discussed going into Fuller Drive, and I don’t see them on the plans, and I’m not quite sure what the final was on Willow Drive,” McHale said.
Dwyer said that based on the traffic study conducted for the project, a left-hand turn lane was warranted onto Willow Drive, but not at Fuller Drive.
“The left-hand turn, based on all the traffic analysis—we would prefer that left-hand turn lane be at Fuller—but because of the complications that exist in doing that now, coupled with some potential future traffic improvements, the traffic shows that Willow requires the left-hand turn lane,” Dwyer said. “The left-hand turn lane, based on the traffic study, is going in here, not in Fuller… We’d like to think at some time in the future that we’d like to steer North Catty away from this and put it in Fuller.”
The recommendations for approval will be sent to Northampton Borough Council, the members of which will decide whether to approve or reject the plans.
