Politics & Government
Upper Nazareth Supervisors Approve Revised Trio Farms Land Development Plan
A portion of the Trio Farms residential development will cross into Upper Nazareth, but will not be developed.
Upper Nazareth supervisors unanimously approved a revised land development plan Wednesday for a large residential development that will stretch across the border of Upper and Lower Nazareth townships.
About five acres of the planned Trio Farms development will lie within Upper Nazareth; however, this land will continue to be "open space," or undeveloped.
The development's 180 townhomes and 140 single-family homes will lie within Lower Nazareth Township, just off Newburg Road near Georgetown Road.
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Lower Nazareth supervisors approved the revised plan earlier this year.
Upper Nazareth supervisors had approved the original Trio Farms plan about six years ago. At that time, the plan called for a clubhouse to be constructed on the land, but that will no longer be the case.
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Before unanimously approving the revised plan, supervisors added the stipulation that the property must remain undeveloped.
If the developer, which is Ashley Development Corp., decides to utilize the property in any way, they must submit a new land development plan, and the approval process will begin from scratch, according to supervisor Scott Sylvainus.
John Soloe, the township's zoning officer, brought up complaints that were made by several township residents regarding uncared-for grass and vegetation. Soloe asked the supervisors if they could clarify and determine what qualifies as "open space" in Upper Nazareth.
“This would be a good time to clearly define what open space or preserved land is,” Soloe said.
Supervisors tabled the topic on the advice of township solicitor Gary Asteak, who said he would look into pertinent local, county and state regulations and report his findings at a future meeting.
In other business, supervisors unanimously approved a new umbrella insurance policy, which will cover township-owned equipment and vehicles, the police department and general liability. The new policy costs slightly more than $42,000, but represents a savings of several thousand dollars.
