Residents file another lawsuit in landfill battle
Group tries to halt rezoning of forest in Lower Saucon
Eight residents have sued Lower Saucon Township and the Bethlehem Landfill Co. in another step to halt the rezoning of 275 acres of forest above the Lehigh River for landfill expansion.
The suit was filed Monday in Northampton County Court by residents Bruce and Ginger Petrie, Andrew and Tina Krasnansky, Bob and Elizabeth Blasko, and Bob and Cindy McKellin.
It contends the land, protected by conservation easements, falls under the state’s Donated or Dedicated Property Act. The law says the original use of a donated or dedicated property must continue unless the use “is no longer practicable or possible and has ceased to serve the public interest.”
The township in December changed the land use from rural agricultural to industrial, which permits waste disposal, but county Judge Abraham P. Kassis threw the rezoning out in May, saying officials did not strictly follow zoning law.
With Kassis’ decision under appeal, the township last month proposed a new ordinance that would reclassify landfills and waste disposal facilities from uses permitted by special exception to uses permitted by right. A hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Aug. 30.
The ordinance “would effectively ensure the landfill would be able to expand landfill activities to the property with no local oversight or planning considerations,” the suit says.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the land is subject to the Donated or Dedicated Property Act and bar the township and landfill from making any changes to it without seeking court permission.
Township solicitor B. Lincoln Treadwell Jr. and Bethlehem Landfill solicitor Maryanne Starr Garber could not be reached for comment.
“The majority of the forest was protected in 1994, when Lower Saucon Township placed the property in scenic and conservation easements that require the land remain undisturbed for the public trust,” said a statement from Citizens For Responsible Development, the group fighting the expansion.
“Lower Saucon and the Landfill are trying to buzzsaw these easements, violating the Donated and Dedicated Property Act.”
Landfill expansion would have
a damaging effect on the Lehigh River, the D&L National Heritage Corridor, the 9/11 Memorial Trail
and “the 275 acres of pristine high quality forest bringing fresh air to all,” the statement says.