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 For the residents of Lower Milford Township who are being inconvenienced by work on the power lines on Limeport Pike and Beverly Hils Rd, be assured the work is for a good cause. The existing line was built more than 80 years ago, the Hosensack-Wescosville line is a 230-kilovolt transmission line that runs through Upper Macungie, Lower Macungie, Upper Milford and Lower Milford townships in Lehigh County. The 4.4 mile run through Lower Milford is a 12 Kvolt line with all new bells and whistles as part of a pilot program to reduce outages during major storms. PP&l is erecting taller, thicker poles and stringing heavier-gauge wire with a special coating that protects against animal and vegetation damage.It is sectionalizing the line so that in case of an outage fewer homes will be affected.The poles are 10 foot taller than previous poles to prevent some trees from falling on the wires. Where trees are a real danger, the lines will shift sides if the trees cannot be trimmed. A total of 172 poles willl be replaced with a completion date scheduled for the spring of 2014. After 5 major outages since 2000, hopefully future outages will be relatively minor thanks to PP&L new initiative.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 October 2013 19:15 |
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 Geryville Materials won an appeal after 15 losses in 9 years (with no prior wins). The Commonwealth Courts of Pennsylvania overturned the Planning Commission’s and Court of Common Pleas Lehigh County’s decisions regarding their 2009 land development plan. While the court decision is extremely disappointing for us, we need to look at it in perspective. On the surface, Geryville has won this appeal. But this is not the whole story, nor is it where the story ends. The Township and the LMRA have been successfully fighting this zoning battle for the past 9 years. While Geryville wants to make it appear that they have won. THEY HAVE NOT. This decision DOES NOT mean the quarry is automatically approved and Geryville will begin blasting and digging. Geryville must first get zoning approval for the development. This has not happened. Their 2004 zoning application was denied, and the 2009 zoning application is still in hearings. Additionally, the Township has the right to appeal the Commonwealth Courts decision regarding the PC ruling reversal. We need to remain diligent and strong. The LMRA will continue to fight and do what is right for all citizens of Lower Milford Township.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 04 August 2013 13:50 |
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 On March 6, 2013, the Pa Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of Geryville Materials regarding the Zoning Board rejection of their application for a special exception to build a 268+ acre quarry at West Mill Hill Rd and Kings Highway. This ends the legal battle about the 2004 special exception application. After almost 9 years of legal wrangling and two appeals, the Zoning Board's decision was vindicated.
There remains a sole application to build a smaller quarry before the Zoning Board. Hopefully, this will be resolved in Lower Milford Township's favor supporting the right of our residents to life by ordinances that does not ruin our quality of life. |
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LMRA COOKBOOK - RECIPE DATA ENTRY PROCEDURE
LOGIN using the following User Name & Password
- USER NAME OR GROUP: LowerMilfordRACookin
- CONTRIBUTOR PASSWORD: boiling763
- READ MESSAGE FROM CHAIRPERSON – THEN ENTER YOUR NAME (THE PERSON WHO WILL BE ENTERING THE RECIPE) IN THE BLOCK AND THEN PRESS SUBMIT
- NEXT CLICK ON THE ADD RECIPE(S) ICON
- ENTER CONTRIBUTOR DATA – THE FIRST & LAST NAME OF PRINCIPAL AND ANY ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS
- ENTER THE RECIPE INFORMATION
- RECIPE TITLE – WHAT YOU CALL THE DISH
- RECIPE SUBTITLE (IF ANY), E.G. CROCKPOT MEAL
- CATEGORY – SELECT FROM ONE OF THE 8 MANDATORY CATEGORIES
- ENTER THE RECIPE PARTS (CLICK ON THE TIPS ICON FOR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT QUANTITY OR ABBREVIATIONS OR THE SPECIAL CHARACTERS ICON FOR SYMBOLS LIKE DEGREES)
- INGREDIENTS – ONE PER LINE, E.G. 1 LARGE EGG OR 16 OZ CAN; ONCE ENTERED CLICK ENTER TO GO TO THE NEXT INGREDIENT UNTIL FINISHED
- RECIPE INSTRUCTION – ENTER THE STEPS TO THE RECIPE REMEMBERING TO ENTER ANY SPECIAL TIPS OR TRICKS OR STEPS AND ORDER.
- CLICK ON SPELL CHECK ICON (UPPER RIGHT) AND CORRECT ANY ERRORS
- CLICK PREVIEW RECIPE BLOCK – DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE FORMAT OR TYPE FONT – THIS IS A PROOF COPY ONLY
- IF SATISFIED WITH RECIPE ENTRY CLICK SAVE RECIPE [IF YOU DO NOT SAVE IT BEFORE MOVING ON IT WILL BE LOST]
- GO TO YOUR NEXT RECIPE AND REPEAT THE PROCESS OR LOGOUT (ICON AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE) – DO NOT FORGET TO LOGOUT WHEN YOU ARE DONE!
OR
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO ENTER YOUR RECIPE, YOU CAN SEND IT TO
LMRA
PO BOX 138
LIMEPORT, PA 18060
ALONG WITH CONTACT INFORMATION IN CASE WE HAVE QUESTIONS, AND WE WILL ENTER IT FOR YOU. |
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Commonwealth Court Denies Gerryville Materials Appeal of Zoning Board Decision |
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On September 12, 2012, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the Court of Common Pleas rejection of the appeal by Geryville Materials of the Zoning Board decision to deny a special exception to our ordinances to permit a 628+ acre quarry at the West Mill Hill/Kings Highway location. This was the first of several applications to the Zoning Board. It was filed on August 25, 2004, and hearings continued for 5 years. At that point, the Zoning Board decided to set an end time for testimony. On August 26, 2009, after the final hearing was held, the Zoning Board denied the special exception.
Gerryville Materials appealed on the ground that the Board did not have the authority to deny further continuances and that they erred in imposing the natural resource protections in our ordinances. The Court of Common Pleas denied the appeal on all counts in Sept 2011. The decision was affirmed by the Commonwealth Court.
Geryville Materials can further appeal to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania but we hope that the court will refuse to hear it. This is the 11th loss the Geryville Materials has suffered in the courts and hearings. They still have 2 ongoing hearing at the Zoning Board. Hopefully, these hearings will conclude this year. |
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Gerryville Loses in Court to Provide More Evidence on Curative Ammendment |
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 Geryville Materials provided evidence for over 7 years to support its filing of a Curative Amendments to Lower Milford Township Zoning Ordinances contending the ordinances are invalid. They want to develop a 628 acre quarry, the second biggest in Pennsylvania, along with an asphalt & cement plant. They finally rested their case after a consultant provided inaccurate data regarding the effect of a quarry on similar areas and Geryville lawyers could not withdraw it. It seems they believed that they could reopen their testimony and avoid cross examination of the consultant after the Township and LMRA presented their case defending the ordinance. However, the Township and LMRA did not present any evidence instead claiming that Geryville Materials did not make a case in support of the Curative Amendment and asked the Township Supervisors to dismiss the petition. After a month delay where the evidence was examined, the Township Supervisors agreed with LMRA & the Township lawyers defending the ordinance and dismissed the Curative Amendment petition.
Geryville Materials went to Commonwealth Court of Common Pleas to force the Township to reopen the case and hear more testimony. On June 12, the Court ruled against Geryville Materials saying that the amendment was a matter of law and further fact finding would not be necessary to rule on the law.
Geryville Materials has filed an appeal to the decision of the Supervisors in the Court of Common Pleas. It is expected that this appeal will go to the Supreme Court before becoming resolved. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 29 June 2012 15:08 |
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Court Denies Geryville Materials' Appeal of Planning Commission Decision |
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 For the second time in June, Geryville Materials lost an appeal in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. This time it was their appeal of the denial of the preliminary land use plan by the Planning Commission in October 2011. An approved land use plan is necessary to proceed with the quarry.
- Geryville appealed the Planning Commission decision saying that the Township zoning ordinances are preempted by state law. Court ruled that the preemption only applies to the operation of a quarry, not the siting of the quarry. Further, they affirmed that the Planning Commission has sole responsibility to interpret the Zoning Ordinances in this case as long as they did not commit an error in law.
- They also appealed on the basis that the Planning Commission did not act in good faith. They claimed that the Planning Commission did not communicate with them about the requirements of our Zoning Ordinances, that they did not give them time to modify their plans, and that the Commission observed the proposed site with knowledge or permission of Geryville Materials. The Court found that the record did not support the contentions. They were given help three months prior to the decision but Gerryville Materials chose not to modify the plan; the failure to allow an extension was justified since Gerryville Materials had ample time to make changes and a decision had to be made at some point; the plan submission explicitly gave the Planning Commission permission to observe the site
- The claimed that the Commission was unduly influenced by comments from the public. The Court ruled that the public had a right to make comments. The comments by the public on the record indicated that they were proper and not intimidating.
This is another win for the residents of Lower Milford Township. The Court recognized the good work of the Township and LMRA lawyers in their briefs. Having very competent counsel gives us the best chance to save Lower Milford Township's quality of life from Geryville Materials onslaught. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 01 July 2012 14:47 |
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LMRA Now a Not-for-Profit Association |
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Dear LMRA Members and Friends. . .
The LMRA Board of Directors is pleased to announce that as an organization we recently received a long-awaited document from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
. . .our designation as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. What does that mean for us as an organization and for you as an individual? Here are a few points of information:
- We are designated as a non-profit organization.
- Donations to LMRA may be regarded as donations to a charity and are tax-deductible as such.
- Your membership dues and your personal donations may be tax deductible.
- Donations from businesses may be tax deductible.
The primary purpose of the LMRA is to promote and protect the quality of life for all residents in and around the Lower Milford Township community by facilitating the preservation of prime agriculture and farmland, promoting the protection of natural, scenic and historic values in the environment and promoting and facilitating reasonable land use and growth management practices within the Township and the surrounding community, protecting and facilitating property values within the Township, and educating the public regarding the above described quality of life issues as necessary to promote a coordinated and informed local community.
When situations arise that can challenge the Township adversely, LMRA may take more direct measures, whether legal, persuasive, or other strategies that are consistent with our mission and remain within the guidelines of our 501(c)(3) status.
If you are considering a charitable donation this year, would you please consider LMRA as your recipient? Your charitable donations will help keep our backyard rural, clean, and pristine for the greater good of all. This will benefit all our residents by allowing them to enjoy the tranquil country environment that make Lower Milford Township such a great place to live.
If you know businesses that make donations or matching gift contributions, please ask them to give to LMRA. Our mission statement and activities are listed on this website and our website at www.crushthequarry.org. We can supply additional information as needed.
Individuals and businesses will receive documentation for tax records. Feel free to forward this letter to friends who concur with the purposes and mission of LMRA.
With best wishes. . . LMRA Board of Directors
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Last Updated on Friday, 13 January 2012 12:32 |
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