Sean Delaney, counsel for Walmart, said there was little to update the planning commission about since there have already been multiple iterations. The Lehigh Township Planning Commission met Dec. 12 to discuss the Walmart planned for Route 145. It abuts the Hills of Greenock and most of the people attending were from that development.

Engineer John Hornick said sidewalks have been added along Birch Road. There has been talk with township engineer Phil Malitsch about uncontained runoff and energy dissipaters to cut down on flows. More detention ponds and bigger on-site facilities are planned.The building has been given a different shape, and new sound studies are being done."Walmart has a rigorous audit before application to the Conservation District," Hornick said.Planning Chairman David Shulman said the public will have questions they want answered. He said he believed left and right turn lanes should be included. If in the future the remaining land is developed, traffic will need to be able to go onto Birch Drive.Malitsch said by township ordinance, if traffic reaches a certain volume it has to be designed to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards.John Wichner, traffic planner, said they actually counted cars and made projections into the future. There were three counts made: rush hour at 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. and Saturday at midday. There were counts taken at nine intersections with the major one at Birch and Route 145. By PennDOT estimates there would be 700 vehicles in a 24-hour period.The intersection at Washington Street would be realigned.There will be a gas station with five pumps for 10 fueling stations. That will create cross traffic, which will be treated like a convenience store.Vegetation will be removed to increase sight distance.Planner Cindy Miller said she would rather have bus stops in the development instead of along a road, but Malitsch said it would be a liability issue to have them stop on development property.Shulman asked about the largest truck that would come in. It would be a WE57 semi. No doubles would come in. The truck lanes will be 25 feet wide with parking along the sides. Shulman wants to see more detail of the area. There will be a pickup area in the back where trucks are parked. Malitsch said that would be a drive-thru, not a parking space.None of the land will be mortgaged as of Dec. 31. A concern was that an unpaid mortgage would mean the store would not happen or continue.Resident Martin Baksembaum asked about the increase in runoff or how it will affect the rural aspects of the community. On the second issue Shulman said it is a permitted use at that location.To maintain the rural aspect it would have to be in the new comprehensive plan and Baksembaum said what he is seeing is similar to the present plan. The plan could be changed in the future by changing zoning, Shulman said.He asked about the possibility of failure because the supermarket in Walnutport did. That would be a business decision, not a planner's concern.Wiehner said there would possibly be 280 extra cars and a dozen trucks per day.Resident Al Bodzin asked when they hoped to break ground. Delaney said it all depends on clearing the permitting. Shulman said it would probably be 2019 until they are finished with the number of variables.Resident Jim Albert asked how many bays there would be for tractor-trailers and what about non-Walmart trucks such as Coca-Cola and trucks used for overstock. Hornick said that information depends on the sound studies.Resident Mike Gabovitz asked about the sound wall between Walmart and the Hills of Greenock. Shulman said it was on an earlier plan.Hornick said there is sewage capacity at the Walnutport Authority.Resident Lorraine Wessner asked about lighting at the intersections. Shulman said it should be considered at both intersections.In other business:Weiner's Auto Services, 4811 Lehigh Drive, may affect stormwater, Malitsch said, and the land use is a concern. The 120-foot building will have four bays with 60 percent used for storage. Weiner wants to keep the rural aspect. He expects 15 cars a day and said he does mostly motor work. He said he was just giving a little history and did not expect an answer that day. The person he brought the property from was present and said though it was used for warehousing it had been previously used for auto repair and was permitted.