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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Last Night's Martin Tower Hearing

I skipped last night's public hearing concerning the new zoning proposal for the 53-acre Martin Tower developments, which is owned by Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick. So, apparently, did they. I was at my grandson's basketball game. I won't be missing those. I've learned that children grow up very quickly, and every second you miss is a second you'll never get back. But the time for talking is over. It's time for Bethlehem City Council to do what Eric Evans suggested in October - send it to a committee.

To those who think this raises the specter of contract zoning, I think the Right-to-Know showing the City and Lew Ronca exchanging seven different draft versions of an ordinance already makes that a distinct possibility. The only way to prevent that is by encouraging public involvement at a much earlier stage than happened here.

While watching Central Catholic win its first league game, I did receive a lot of first hand accounts from people who were at town hall for the two-hours of public comments. For the second time, public opposition to Martin Tower rezoning was unanimous. For the third time, Bryan Callahan mixed it up with one of the merchants. I don't know if Lou Stellato said, "We've got to do something!" again or whether Adam Waldron had any more questions about the frickin' tree canopy.

The sole reason for this mess, however, is NOT City Council or Mayor Donchez or Darlene Heller or Alicia Karner.

It's the developer who is hiding in some hallway, texting messages from his smart phone. An owner who let a building sit vacant for seven years and now wants new zoning so he can rip it down.  A businessman who never approached Guardian Life about relocating to Martin Tower. Who never marketed Martin Tower at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. An entrepreneur unwilling to defend his vision, if he even has one, in a public venue.

As Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines has repeatedly observed, there is nothing wring with the current zoning at Martin Tower. The problem is the developer.

Ronca is the beneficiary of a special tax concession that permits him to use nearly all state taxes and some local taxes to fund development. In Bethlehem's application for this special tax zone, the City bragged about how it would adaptively re-use a former Bethlehem Steel Building. What happened to that?

Ronca is also getting a $9 million RACP grant that was supposed to help Martin Tower survive, not knock it down.

Given the amount of public assistance he's received, he needs to share publicly exactly what he intends to do at the site, not slink around in back rooms and hope that his campaign contributions will do the trick.

I skipped tonight because nothing more need be said.  City Council needs to scrap this ordinance and start over, in a much more public setting, and insist that Ronca attend. Zoning or Planning by "appeasement," as Matt Malozi calls it, is never a good idea.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

why were all the comments deleted?

Anonymous said...

I wish you had gone. I understand your desire to see your Grandson, and you absolutely made the right choice. But there are more people out there than you probably realize who read, and appreciate, the play-by-play details you provide. Hope this doesn't get my comment deleted, but Bryan Callahan is dumber than a box of rocks, and anything he utters usually confirms that diagnosis. I for one like to read his actual exchange with Mr Fegley(?). The other council members were smart enough to keep their mouths shut (a public disservice, but what could they say other than lie?) but not Callahan . . . Anyway, keep up the good work, thanks for the public service you provide.

Bernie O'Hare said...

6:26, I accidentally deleted a shitload of comments from my phone. I will try to restore tonight when I get home.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Kevin Bellew: I respectfully disagee about the mayor and council having the right motives. What is happening is haste to pass a very, very bad rezoning before the new council takes over. If council members'intentions were honorable, sending the whole thing back to committee would lose nothing, except the chance to get things right.

There is a wall sitting forlorn at the intersection of the Hill to Hill and Main Street. I think that wall was the impetus to stop savaging Bethlehem's physical history and begin to conserve what is left of the 18th century industrial buildings. Has anyone seen how many parking lots there are on the plant site, having replaced the reusable brick factory buildings? How many more will the city allow Adelson to tear down when the casino's new plan is revealed?

In recent years I've noticed that we have a tourist economy all year now, given the foot traffic on Main Street. Jeopardizing that makes no sense, nor does tearing down the national historic landmark Martin Tower.

The wrong developers, bad ideas and forgetting the past are the ingredients for a very bad outcome.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anonymous comment: here's what Norton Herrick thinks about the tower and this is five years ago:

http://www.theherrickcompany.com/article.php?article=44

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anonymous comment: How is what Karner and Heller doing in Bethlehem any different from what Allentown's community development and planning offices were doing with Ramzi Haddad in Allentown?

There is a concerted effort to coach and protect developers through the process who have contributed large sums of money to the mayor and council.

I don't think the average Joe can walk into City Hall and get that level of service nor text the Community Development director.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I'll get the rest up. Thought I was deleting spam and I deleted comments instead. My apologies.

Anonymous said...

BOH, you and I don't agree on much, and believe or not, that's why I like this site , but nothing is more true than this statement you made.

"I was at my grandson's basketball game. I won't be missing those. I've learned that children grow up very quickly, and every second you miss is a second you'll never get back".

Excellent and oh so very true. I long for the days when I could spend those special times with mine as well.

Thanks for keeping it real and putting the important things ahead of these dirt bag politicians.

Posted 4:17 and accidentally deleted.

Anonymous said...

Mayor to downtown merchants: Go pound sand!

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 12:19 PM

Anonymous said...

How is what Karner and Heller doing in Bethlehem any different from what Allentown's community development and planning offices were doing with Ramzi Haddad in Allentown?

There is a concerted effort to coach and protect developers through the process who have contributed large sums of money to the mayor and council.

I don't think the average Joe can walk into City Hall and get that level of service nor text the Community Development director.

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 12:18 PM

Anonymous said...


10:31,
don't forget the state senator puppet master. This is how u got karner

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 11:26 AM

Anonymous said...

Bernie-

Try as I might, I can find nothing on Mr. Ronca. Is he related to a Lew Ronca who was a contractor some time ago? The elder Ronca would be in his eighties or nineties, so this must be another. What is his background and what makes him a developer? Does he even have a track record?

I have been saying for more that five years that the tower is in the wrong hands. What I mean is that I have heard nothing about the plan for the building/land.

Here we have arguably the biggest piece of the Beth Steel puzzle remaining for redevelopment and it appears as though it is in the hands of a mysterious fellow who may or may not be backed financially by an equally mysterious money man from Florida.

Over the years since he acquired the property he has done NOTHING with it. The tower should be demolished only after every honest effort has been made to reuse it in some fashion. Can anyone say with any certainty that he has an actual hones plan to do anything other than demolish the building?


VOR

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 11:20 AM

Anonymous said...

You don't have to worry about Donchez getting in trouble with the FBI when his good friend John Morganelli is the DA in Northampton County. Who do you think helps him run the city. God knows Donchez can't think alone. The council was sold a bill of goods from this mayor. Council was put down for not working with him and then when they do work with him, you see the results. They weren't told the truth either.

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 10:31 AM

Anonymous said...

9:34,

True, but that does not take away from the deceit of this administration.

POSTED ANONYMOUSLY AT 10:52 AM

Bernie O'Hare said...

From John Blankstein - How was the game?

(The game was good).