Bethlehem mayor opposes proposal for student housing in residential neighborhood near Lehigh Univ.

Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez wants board members to reject an appeal at the upcoming Bethlehem zoning meeting that would pave the way for more student housing on a sloped street near Lehigh University.

Lehigh Property Management, which is not associated with the university, wants to build two four-unit homes, each with five bedrooms and three floors above garages, on a hilltop street zoned high-density in south Bethlehem. The project would require the demolition of four homes: 496, 508, 514 and 520 First Terrace Drive.

In a letter to the Zoning Hearing Board last week, Donchez said such a project is too dense for a steeply sloped neighborhood and will cause parking issues there. Requests made in the proposal, such as a one-way street pattern and street widening, would change the character of the neighborhood, he said.

“The plan as presented is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood development which consists of single family detached homes,” he said in the June 19 letter. “The project more than doubles the density of these four parcels when combined.”

Read more: https://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-nws-mayor-against-zoning-20190623-ytmfudjmkffbrfnrmkz7lvtuqa-story.html