Jon Geeting of Nazareth Patch says that something fishy is happening in the township of Lower Macungie as megaproject is approved on 600 acres of farmland.
Geeting says the approval of the "700 homes, 4 million square feet of warehouses, a 443,000-square-foot shopping center, and a convenience store with 16 gasoline pumps and a sit-down restaurant" just goes to prove that regional planning commissions like the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) are completely powerless:
"They have written a very good Comprehensive Plan, but it does not have the force of law, so local officials are free to ignore their recommendations."
"The LVPC's Southwestern Lehigh Regional Comprehensive Plan designates this land for agricultural use. LVPC recommended that the Lower Macungie commissioners reject Mr. Jaindl's proposal on these grounds, but they were ignored."
Read the full story: What's the Opposite of Smart Growth?
A Transit-Oriented Regional Growth Plan
The Vision 2050 plan, which charts the growth for King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties in Washington State, would focus almost all the growth meant to accommodate 1.8 million new residents inside urban areas.
Regional Planning for Growth on Display in the Pacific Northwest
The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) released a new "Regional Centers Framework."
Better Land Use Planning: One of the Best Ways to Improve Transportation
Smart growth advocates have been making this point for years, but a new report from the Washington, D.C. regional planning organization provides more evidence for the strategic location of population and job growth.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
City officials are dumping billions of gallons of sewage into the Chicago River
This year, the Racine Avenue sewage pumping station has poured over 10 billion gallons of sewage into the Chicago River.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority