What happened in Hellertown?

How can sustainabile growth benefit a community?

In April LVLRI, through our tenacious approach in redevelopment, gained national recognition at the 2011 National Brownfields Conference. With this came accolades and benefits to the Lehigh Valley.

The Environmental Protection Agency selected the Borough of  Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township to receive Technical Assistance to explore smart growth and sustainable design

Cathy Kichline, Hellertown’s Borough Manager and host of the workshop said both communities were very pleased to be chosen by EPA for this seminar.

“Both Ryan Bouma of AECOM and Susan Gitlin of EPA facilitated the discussion on key community issues, constraints and interest and design for sustainable development of three sites within the Borough.  All three sites were either underperforming commercial, infill redevelopment or brownfield.  Using the concepts identified in Smart Growth, such as allowing mixed use zones, using urban dimensions in urban places, foster walkable places and using green infrastructure to manage stormwater, amongst other tools, the groups created a site development that will expand economic opportunity, protect the environment and improve the overall quality of life.  These site specific design concepts are available for public viewing at the Hellertown Borough Hall.”

Another community member, Kim LeBrake, AIA of MKSD architects, offered her perspective as a community member,

“What are the Sustainable Growth Guidelines?  I was lucky enough to find out.  I was invited to attend a sustainable growth workshop in Hellertown sponsored by the EPA Office of Sustainable Communities, made possible by a grant awarded jointly to the Borough of Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township.  Only 32 of over 350 communities across the nation were successful in obtaining this grant. Through this program the EPA strives to create partnerships with communities to improve their quality of life by explaining how the Smart Growth Principals can benefit a community.  Being a design professional, I work with the concept of “sustainability” on a daily basis with my client and their projects.  This workshop introduces these key sustainability concepts to empower change at a community level. 

The workshop invites members of a community to the table not only to introduce these concepts but to facilitate an open forum for how “sustainability” can benefit the community.  This discussion between the stakeholders identifies the positive elements already existing in their community as well as areas which can be improved.  Although each community is different, the Smart Growth Guidelines emphasize the development of a strategy which is unique to the community’s assets.   The key concept of this strategy,  which can supplement the community existing master plan, focuses on protecting open space, revitalizing the existing town center by directing new development where service already exist, looking at transportation options to reduce driving while creating “walkable” neighborhoods which are safe, accessible, and places people want to live, work and play in. In layman’s terms, walkable and efficient town planning can help communities save money, reduce traffic, and become healthier.

I was encouraged to see the enthusiasm by all participants. Each member, whether they were residents, business people, or community leaders bring a unique view of their community to the discussion and were all ready to jump in to make a positive impact on their community. As a resident, business owner and designer I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the ongoing task of creating a vision for the joint communities of Hellertown and Lower Saucon.”

By Holly Edinger

About the author:

Holly Edinger coordinates the Lehigh Valley Land Recycling Initiative (LVLRI). LVLRI funding makes possible the assessment and remediation of the region’s abandoned and underutilized sites. "Best thing about the Lehigh Valley is the diversity of people and places. Urban to agricultural, the Lehigh Valley has it all." Favorite Lehigh Valley Restaurant: La Placita, Allentown... read more


  • http://www.BaronessVonSmith.com Baroness Von Smith

    Was there a take-away from this conference on a smaller scale?  If we wish to impress the concepts of “Sustainability” onto regular people -  which we must if sustainability is to be, well, sustainable -  it becomes important to not speak in platitudes but instead use and set solid, immediate examples.  In Upstate NY we have seen many such projects and a lot of lipservice given to these concepts.  Architect and Planning and Civil Engineering firms obtain grants, troll out their Master Plan Maps every couple years and the regular people whose taxes go to pay these grants don’t feel they are getting much in return.  Meanwhile, people in local communities are flooding farmer’s markets, encouraging each other to spend money at local shops, trading plants and planting urban gardens, opening bookstores and community theaters.  Without the aid of grants and generally without much Leadership.  Why not take sustainability into areas where it is already blossoming naturally?  The approaches put forth in the conferences I’ve attended have a Nihilistic quality to them that makes them, to those people outside the planning and design, seem unreachable at best and elitist at worst.  How can we bridge this gap?

  • http://twitter.com/Kjlarch Kimberly LaBrake

    This EPA program and the Hellertown/Lower Communities were a born match.  This Community understands the need to implement sustainable concepts but was interested in obtaining strategies to do so, thus the interest in applying for the grant.  Joint proposals already in process include a “Walkable Streets Initiative” with completed elements along the main street of Hellertown, a gateway to the redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel plant; a successful community farmers market; and the newly opened Saucon Valley Rail Trail which opened earlier this summer. Each undertaking was completed with volunteer community input and hard work. This workshop included hands-on planning of 2 targeted sites in the community.  I really mean hands-on. After an explanation of the Sustainable Guidelines, 6 groups made up of community leaders, businesses and residents literally sketched out potential uses for these sites using the guidelines. The take-away for the participants, most importantly was a sense of concrete, attainable goals and strategies to guide the development of their community.  I think the gap has been bridged, at least for this community!

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