Final vote due on Lafayette plan

The Easton Planning Commission will vote today on a final development plan for Lafayette College’s four-story McCartney Street residence hall.

Last month the commission approved a preliminary plan after city officials earlier this year made zoning changes that would allow for the project. Lafayette’s latest land development and subdivision plans were the first submitted under that new zoning.

The Planning Commission will take a final vote on the plan at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers at 123 South Third St.

The controversial project has faced plenty of backlash since it was first proposed two years ago. Residents who fiercely opposed the dorm said it would change the historic character of the neighborhood.

The Planning Commission rejected Lafayette’s original land development plan in 2017 based on the original zoning, which would have required the college to get additional approvals from the Zoning Hearing Board.

The new zoning allows the project by right, meaning the college does not need approval from the zoning board.

A group of residents filed a lawsuit in June that threatened to delay the project, but the suit was dismissed last week after residents and college officials reached a settlement that includes moving 517 Clinton Terrace, a home designed by famed architect William Michler in the early 1900s that was slated for demolition.

The house will be relocated to McCartney and Hart streets in 2020 at the earliest, said Mark Eyerly, vice president of communications for the college.