Environmental Conservation Plan
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PLAN Salisbury Township includes extremely important natural resources, including the mostly wooded Lehigh and South Mountains. The hydrology and other natural resources of Salisbury have great impacts upon the quality and quantity of groundwater and surface waters in the region. In particular, where groundwater reaches the surface at springs and seeps, it greatly impacts creeks and rivers and feeds into wetlands and other habitats. Salisbury Township is a stopping point for a wide variety of migratory birds, and a home and breeding grounds for many other species of birds and wildlife. Salisbury Township includes the headwaters of the Saucon and Trout Creeks. The Trout Creek and many other areas drain to the Little Lehigh Creek, which is a major drinking water source for Salisbury and Allentown. Other areas in drain directly to the Lehigh River. The mountains and areas at the base of the mountains are particularly critical for recharge of the groundwater supplies. The Lehigh County Conservation District in 2011 completed a Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) for Salisbury Township. That effort provided detailed mapping and analysis of many natural resources, including water resources, water quality, birds and habitats. A full copy of that report is available on the Township’s website. Prime Agricultural Soils The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rates soil types for their ability to support crop farming. Soils most conducive to producing food and sustaining high crop yields are given the designation of “prime” and are rich in nutrients, well drained and permeable, as well as resistant to erosion. Prime agricultural soils typically have gently rolling to flat topography. The USDA further assigns a soil rating, from Class I through Class VII, to estimate the average productivity of different soil types for crops. Most of the prime agricultural soils in Salisbury Township have been developed or approved for development. The main remaining areas are lands along Cedar Crest Boulevard that are owned by the Lehigh Valley Health Network and several areas in eastern Salisbury, including an area of land along Cardinal Drive and areas off of Seidersville Road. There also are scattered areas of agricultural use and undeveloped prime soils in eastern Salisbury. Most of the prime agricultural soils in Salisbury are in the Linden, Duffield, and Washington soil series. The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code authorizes municipalities to use zoning to “preserve prime agriculture and farmland considering topography, soil type and classification and present use.” The Wildlands Conservancy reports that approximately 160 acres of land in Salisbury was farmed, as of 2009. Most of the soils in this category in Salisbury Township are in the Linden, Duffield, and Washington soil series. Salisbury Township Comprehensive Plan 4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PLAN State regulations allow for the creation of Agricultural Security Areas (ASA). ASAs serve several purposes, including: 1) to provide legal protection for farmers from nuisance complaints and ordinance enforcement that may arise from normal farming practices, 2) to make property-owners eligible, if they wish, to apply to have the County purchase the development rights to permanently preserve their land, and 3) to make government condemnation of land much more difficult. To establish an ASA, property-owners would first voluntarily sign a form requesting that there land be included in an ASA. The Township would then need to follow a series of procedural steps to establish the ASA, including forming an Advisory Committee and a vote by the Board of Commissioners. The State Department of Agriculture publishes an “Agricultural Security Areas Handbook” that lists all of the procedures and requirements for establishing an ASA. One entire section of that Handbook addresses how to establish an ASA that includes two municipalities. An ASA needs to include a minimum of 250 acres, with each parcel including at least ten acres. The lands do not need to be contiguous. Salisbury Township would probably need to participate in a joint ASA with an adjacent township to meet this requirement. Many landowners have difficulty earning a full-time living from farming. Consideration should be given to offering additional flexibility in zoning regulations for parcels that are farmed and include more ten acres. The goal is to allow opportunities for a landowner to general additional income to make it easier to keep the land mostly undeveloped. The intent is to allow a wider variety of small business uses and a greater intensity than is now allowed as a home occupation, but with proper controls to avoid conflicts with neighboring homes. Geology Much of the history of Salisbury Township is defined by its underlying rock formations. For centuries prior to European settlement, jasper was mined and even exported by Native Americans. This activity helped contribute to the health and vitality of the local Lenni Lenape tribe. Iron ore, limonite and magnetite were later quarried throughout the Township and contributed to the Industrial Revolution. Sandstone taken from the north slopes of South Mountain was used in buildings of Lehigh University, Moravian College, Bethlehem and Allentown. 4.2 Salisbury Township Comprehensive Plan City of Bethlehem Salisbury Township r ive Comprehensive Plan R South gh hi e Whitehall L Township MAP 4.1 Source Water . Summer Ave . n aple Ave io M Protection Areas t tu ti Drive s n o C CaS rd W W inal D u r. i m e s i t l m a S r i . t Fountain e t PublicWater Authorities v S ia A . Virgin S t . t . Hill W e il S Borough t. Lehigh County Water Sei Authority Zone III ders ville City of Allentown t. hanna S E. Susque Rd. Lehigh Ave. Emmaus Borough Public S C S . h . H P . u y RGd r a ur Water Authority Zone III o isb al P c l S a t h s o a s R t d e m x k . a f i l a o l d r . c A n d r L S v e . S d od St Al o R e nnw t . Ly . t E . d S . C . Lower City of Allentown - Zone A y y St. e D er v . p . Montgom A d r E s d R a u oo e a enw u Saucon Gre s m p k m s ee h r E H . C A C E i t o n u h Township v ro n T u e S e r . t y c r . S e su h iv . c R k R 2 le k d c 4 la . t B h South Gr . S y ee Dr t River Rd. n s . a Black . Acre w e rk Whitehall v a A P r h e g Township x i e h l e R F L d . ve. Lindberg A . Rd Lincoln Ave. Rock st Ea d. tchery R Fish Ha n. Rd. L d. od R o ire rw h a ns ri o 3 B ev 3 k D rd c S o t. R e v . t A S s u t K h s Lower a e g e i W m y h s E e December 2011 Macungie t . o L n e W Township R d . Base Information Provided By: k Rd. ee Club r ountry C C h ig eh L Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. le tt Upper Saucon Township Li Rd 0 3,250 6,500 l . il Emmaus Borough H Feet O t u a n k t h s i e ll h R C d . Urban Research & Development Corporation 28 West Broad Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018 610-865-0701 Upper Milford Township City of Bethlehem Salisbury Township ver Ri Comprehensive Plan h South ig h e Whitehall L Township MAP 4.2 Ave. Hydrology Summer e. n Maple Av io ut tit Drive s n o C CaS r W W dinal u Dr. i m e s i t l m a S r i . t Fountain e t S Av ia . Virgin S t . t . Hill Streams W e il S Borough Cold Water Fishery t. Se High-Quality - Cold Water Fishery iders ville City of Allentown t. ehanna S E. Susqu Rd. Tributaries* Lehigh Ave. S C S . h . H P u Rd. r a ury o b alisP c l S s t h o a R t d e m x Watersheds a f . a o d r . c n L d r S e . S d d St Al o R Lehigh River nwo t n t . Ly . E . d S . C . y y St. e Lower D er v . p . Montgom A Little Lehigh Creek d r E s d R a oo e u enw u a Gre s m Saucon p k s m ee E H h r . C A C E i Saucon Creek t o n u h v ro n Township T u e S e r . t y c r . S s e u h iv . c R k R 2 le k d c 4 a . l t B h South Gr . S y ee Dr t River Rd. n s . a Black . Acre w e rk 100-Year Floodplain Whitehall v a A P r h e g Township x i e h 500-Year Floodplain l e R F L d . Wetlands Seeps & Springs* ve. Lindberg A . Rd Lincoln Ave. Rock st Ea d. chery R Fish Hat * Note: Mapping was provided by the . d. Ln . R d d o R Lehigh County Conservation District o ire rw h a ns ri o 3 B v 3 De rd ck S o t.