Nowroski, a code enforcement officer who landed in Easton under mysterious circumstances after being accused of playing favorites in Forty Fort, has absolutely no training or education as a planner, according to his LinkedIn page. His proposed zoning changes make that abundantly clear. Mayor Sal Panto has pledged to uphold the Paris Climate Change Accord and supported a resolution to reduce greenhouse emissions by 80%. Yet his administration's proposed zoning changes will actually increase the City's carbon footprint and make it hotter. You can read Easton's proposed update, all 263 pages here.
With little notice, Nowroski scheduled a few public outreach sessions to discuss these changes, attended by only a handful of people. One of them was Peggy Palmer, daughter of the late great Clinton "Budd" Palmer, Northampton County's erstwhile President Judge. She asked the City to hold a meeting in College Hill, but the City said it was unable to find a venue. So Palmer scheduled her own meeting on January 28. Neither Nowroski nor Panto showed, though Palmer tells me both were invited. Over 100 residents were there, including three members of City Council and State Rep. Bob Freeman.
Here's a summary of the changes:
I. More Blacktop ... A Lot More Blacktop. - Despite Easton's pledge to reduce greenhouse gases, it is allowing a lot more impervious coverage:
II. Just What We Need ... More Warehouses.
III. More Ugly Buildings ... There Goes the Neighborhood
IV. What Comprehensive Plan?
V. Let Developer Decide How Much Parking He Needs.
VI. Because Easton Really Needs More Halfway Houses
VII. Three-Story Apartment Buildings on College Hill
These changes, of course, are insane. There is a separate story about them at LehighValleyLive.
Sounds like the party is over for Easton.
ReplyDeletesome are insane, some are not.
ReplyDeletee.g. 3 story apartments on college hill does not sound unreasonable
more halfway houses isn't necessarily an awful idea either, depending on where.
Three story apartment buildings permit the college to dominate College Hill realty market. The college charges about 10,000 per year to a student for housing. With a three unit conversion college can charge up to nine students 90,000 to occupy three units. Jam the kids in sleeping three to a room. The college can easily outbid any potential house buyer recognizing that the college can recover their investment in under three years. Unbelievable return. The college has destroyed the College Hill neighborhood. The change only permits what has been going on for years.
ReplyDeleteWarehousing uses are ironic considering that the city bans large trucks from most neighborhoods. Build the warehouses and delivery trailers will not be able to access. Warehouses will probably be an option for the vacated Huntsman factory. It’s a shame because it will destroy the silk milk reinvestment.
ReplyDeletePlease keep us informed. Excellent reporting.
ReplyDelete"The college has destroyed the College Hill neighborhood."
ReplyDeleteagree.
I like that the unsightly halfway houses are permitted on South Side and in West Ward - a world away from leafy College Hill. Panto brought in a compromised lackey to write a Lafayette-centered code. Very progressive.
ReplyDeleteThe accepted set back for development along a stream is not ten feet as proposed. 100 feet is preferred while 50 feet is acceptable. The Bushkill Creek has experienced serious flooding along its banks within the past fifteen years. College Hill was cut off from the city and Easton had to vacate its public works facility.
ReplyDeleteSal got rid of all the qualified City Planners. Steve is not a Planner, but will do what Sal tells him to do.
ReplyDeleteEverytime I drive through College Hill, I'm shocked at the encroachment of Lafayette College. I remember when you reported on this questionable hire-unfortunately, its politics as usual.
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote about the Nowroski hire, Panto responded with a 10-paragraph screed on Facebook, accusing me of lies and half-truths. He said no one should pay attention to me bc I'm disbarred lawyer. So you've been warned.
ReplyDeleteHe is basically a good mayor, but unfortunately, is thin-skinned and hates criticism. He has a large number of sycophants like Nowroski who tell him he can do no wrong. That is how he ends up with goofy ideas like a high school hall of fame, a gigantic fish tank or a 100' tall Vetruvian Panto.
Just curious, were any athletes charged with "felony riot" after the game ending brawl at the Easton - Pburg game?
ReplyDeleteMajor changes to the Easton Zoning Code are being hurriedly pushed through, in a process that has been remarkable for its lack of public information and transparency. Zoning laws are normally intended to protect individuals’ private property rights and to preserve the character of neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteThe Panto Administration's "vision" of how it wants our community to look is vastly different from how many residents want our community to look. As a resident of College Hill, I’ve reviewed the proposed amendments and was at the community meeting that Peggy Palmer organized, along with 80-90 other citizens. Instead of protecting homeowners, the City is making it easy for developers to do pretty much whatever they want to do. We went through this two years ago. Once again, our local government has put itself in an adversarial relationship with many of its citizens by putting the interests of favored developers over the interests of the people who actually live here. Who represents us?
This goes well beyond Lafayette College expansion. Opening the city up to real estate developers and high-density housing permitted by right on College Hill is a bad idea.
Panto must court developers because he can't raise taxes in his city. He already has all the money he can extract from individual taxpayers. They're useless to him. He needs Lafayette and developers with deep pockets to keep the Ponzi scheme alive. When Dillinger was asked why he robbed banks, he responded, "that's where the money is." Sal's figured out that developers are where the money is. It's remarkable how quickly red tape can be made to disappear when a two-faced politician wants the red tape gone.
ReplyDeletePanto is a extreme narcissist, an accomplished liar and far from an honest champion for Easton. When Comprehensive Plans are normally rewritten/revised progressive municipal leadership engages in what is known as a "Planning Charette". The Charette has appointed ( by Council and Mayor in strong Mayor forms of Government, but "effected" neighborhoods are allowed to lobby for representation) Citizen's from every sector and economic station in the community. Multiple public meetings take place and gather written feedback from all who participate. A "true" Plan is created and brought out for public view and comment. This process calms anti-growth citizens and creates a level playing ground for developers. Not everyone "Buys Into " the end product ( because you can't please everyone) but it becomes very difficult to view the process as secretive or biased towards special interests. What you have described, Bernie, is pure corruption and should be viewed with legal challenges in mind ( possibly criminal intent ) . Kickbacks from developers is a Lehigh Valley norm. A Comp Plan written by an unqualified individual is immediately a suspect document. The City Council should reject its passage on lack of transparency alone without even considering content. If they pass said document concerned citizens should immediately go to legal authorizes ( Pa.Attorney General or the FBI). The City Council may be complicit in the corruption.The product you have described is way out of the normal process for a municipal comprehensive planning document. Most States have a legal process that controls Comprehensive Planning. I am not familiar with Pennsylvania's and knowing the vagaries of this State one (legislation or governance of Land Use Planning) may not exist.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Sal thinks he is above the law like the now incarcerated mayor to the west. After watching the circus carnival show last night who needs the Russians when the dummied down Dems do just fine all by themselves. I have said before the developmental it's have moved east of the epicentral failing farce created by a change of the Z?
ReplyDeleteThis is just another Sal Panto snow job. Change the zoning to allow the college to expand their campus. Mayor Panto is just a stooge for Lafayette College and their "point man" when they want to get things changed in their favor. I cannot believe he actually thought he was going to make these changes without anybody noticing. This is Sals way of being transparent.
ReplyDeleteThe same way he was being transparent when he got his brother a job with the bridge commission. Maybe it was a good thing that Sal didn't attend that College hill meeting as his presence might have gone over like a wet fart in church.
Easton has a comprehensive plan that it hasn’t been following. The Northampton county assistance office was flooded twice within three years and one of the unions representing workers there, SEIU Local 668, urged the state to build or buy an office outside of the defined 100-year flood plain, which is where the CAO building sat. Easton’s own plan said that as buildings became flooded, damaged or condemned and torn down, the land they were on should become park land. The city declined to do so in the CAO’s case.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many infill sites in Easton that are ripe for redevelopment. Why not focus zoning incentives in those areas? If Lafayette wants to expand so badly, why don't they expand into the downtown corridor and help revitalize parts of the city? That would be responsible zoning. Taking away from neighborhoods up on college hill just drives away the mid to higher tax bases to the suburbs. Maybe that's the grand plan?
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe the tax abatements can expire so that Easton can actually benefit from all this "growth" in a way that's a bit more meaningful than a few nicer buildings.
DeleteThe development by Jaindl on Padula in Forks will be an utter disappointment.
ReplyDeleteExcellent reporting on this issue Bernie. Agree with your assessment 100%. These changes are not good for the citizens of Easton - they are good for select business interests and the college.
ReplyDelete