Press "Enter" to skip to content

Lower Nazareth eyes open space preservation plan after referendum vote

Lower Nazareth Township is poised to move forward with creating an open space preservation plan now that residents have voted in favor of the measure at the polls.A referendum question on Tuesday’s primary ballot asking voters if they were in favor of paying 0.25 mill more in earned income tax to purchase agricultural and environmentally sensitive land garnered the support of 62 percent of respondents. The outcome paves the way for the township to begin preparing an open space preservation plan once those results are certified.“This will give us the opportunity to get the ball rolling,” said township Supervisor Robert Hoyer, who will head a citizen’s advisory committee with expertise in environmental issues that will be formed to help weigh the merits of potential land purchases.Township supervisors will soon consider an ordinance that will implement the E.I.T. increase as of Jan 1, 2020, township Manager Lori Stauffer said following a supervisors meeting Wednesday.Funds generated by the increase are to be used solely for the acquisition of open space and agricultural and conservation easements.Once the E.I.T. increase is passed via ordinance, the township will then focus on the creation of an open space preservation plan that will also touch upon recreation and parks, Stauffer said.The township received a $27,500 grant from Northampton County as matching funds toward the overall $55,000 cost of the plan, Stauffer said, with the other half coming from surplus dollars from 2018.Supervisors will also be asked to consider a separate ordinance authorizing a map identifying potential target areas within the township for land preservation.A separate $4,000 grant obtained by the township through Lehigh Valley Greenways will serve as matching funds to prepare the official map, said Stauffer.The plan will touch upon both farmland preservation and setting aside environmentally sensitive areas such as woodlands and wetlands.The citizen’s committee, to be made up of 5-7 members selected by township supervisors, will consider whether land targeted by the township for purchase or offered by private landowners for farmland preservation meets the necessary criteria for inclusion, Stauffer said.Unofficial results on the county elections website show that 318 yes votes were tabulated out of 506 total responses to the referendum question.“It’s very rewarding that it passed,” supervisors Chairman James Pennington said.Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer.
Source: Morningcall

Call Now Button