On December 19, Northampton Borough Council granted final conditional approval for 40 new townhomes behind the CVS and Redner’s Quick Shoppe on West 21st Street. The townhomes will be constructed by Northampton Residential, LLC, who was in attendance for the council’s vote. Abe Atiyeh owns the company.
The vote came after the borough’s planning commission recommended approval for the project, as long as it met several outlined conditions. Among these conditions were the payment of recreation and sewer fees and the construction of off-street parking.
Only Councilman Anthony Lopsonzski, Sr. voted against the plan. He has been outspoken in his stance against the development for safety and traffic reasons.
In other news, council unanimously approved the 2020 borough budget. This new budget includes a half-mills tax increase.
Council also celebrated the long-awaited opening of the new Northampton-Coplay Bridge. Over 11,000 vehicles will travel across the bridge per day. The old bridge took two years and $35 million to replace.
“Hopefully this helps out traffic issues on Route 329,” said Councilman Robert McHale.
However, all council members voiced concern over a new four-way stop sign at the end of the bridge, heading into Coplay. Mayor Thomas Reenock said it will likely cause accidents and back up traffic.
Finally, a second public meeting with residents and political figures in Northampton, Catasauqua, and North Catasauqua was held to discuss FedEx traffic concerns. FedEx refused to attend the meeting.
During the meeting, it was decided that police chiefs from all three boroughs will work together to monitor trucks and cooperate on enforcement.
Lopsonzski, Sr. said police should take their efforts a step further and attend “Weighmaster school” so that they can weigh freight and cite truck drivers not in compliance.
Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst said another meeting will be held in January and FedEx will once again be invited.
