Feb. 18, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Will overnight construction work off Farmersville Road shake Bethlehem Township “all night long,” as AC/DC put it?
Bethlehem Township’s Zoning Hearing Board will consider two interesting appeals on Feb. 25.
One is for an Airbnb in a residential district, and the other is for after-hours construction at the St. Luke’s University Health Network site at the intersection of Easton Avenue and Farmersville Road.
First, the potential night shift at the St. Luke’s medical office, one of many medical offices sprouting up or being converted throughout the Lehigh Valley. Lots of money is going into them, so they must be needed.
St. Luke’s is behind the development, though the applicant for zoning goes by the catchy name of TSV-HPIII Lehigh Valley. Limited liability corporations sometimes have obscure names.
In zoning terminology, “The relief requested is a variance from the permissible hours for construction to occur within Bethlehem Township.
Those hours are usually 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. when “maximum sound levels” are allowed, but “The applicant requests overnight construction be permitted between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.”
That’s all night long, and it’s construction so it doesn’t really fit the more mellow Lionel Ritchie song. This is a heavy metal setting.
The site used to be a concrete plant, and I’m not aware of any residential neighbors, but I wonder why they need to work overnight? Perhaps this office is “Urgent, Urgent!”
No, enough Rock of the 80s, but here is a link to the official AC/DC video of “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
Crank it, if you’re not at work!
The construction is at 3311 Farmersville Road, across from the blue grillhouse and around the corner from Skateaway.
The Airbnb is relatively simple. The agenda says Dorothy Verna wants to use 5005 Preakness Place, her primary residence, as an Airbnb. The use of a bed-and-breakfast is not permitted in the medium-density residential zoning district. The applicant seeks a variance.
The Bethlehem Township Zoning Hearing Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the township municipal building, 4225 Easton Ave.
Here is a link to the agenda, and below is a cut-and-paste version. Agendas are subject to change. Check the township website closer to the meeting.
ZONING HEARING BOARD OF BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP,
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
FEBRUARY 25, 2026
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE BETHLEHEM
TOWNSHIP ZONING HEARING BOARD, AT 6:30PM ON
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026 AT THE TOWNSHIP
MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 4225 EASTON AVENUE, BETHLEHEM,
PA 18020 WILL HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, AMONG OTHER
ISSUES, CONCERNING THE FOLLOWING:
[CONTINUED] Appeal #01-2026 of Julie B. Fogt, G. Stephen Fogt and
Teresa V. Fogt seeks relief concerning real estate located at 3399 Darien
Road, Bethlehem Township, Northampton County. The applicants are
seeking to appeal the zoning officer’s determination that the first 20 feet of
driveway from Darien Road be no more than a 7% slope. The applicants
contend that the driveway is a “private driveway serving one dwelling unit,” and
as such the maximum grade for the driveway is 12% according to Bethlehem
Township Zoning Ordinance Section §275-144.D(2)(a). The zoning officer has
determined that Section §275-144.D(2)(c) of the Bethlehem Township Zoning
Ordinance is applicable and that “any stricter requirements that may be in
Chapter 230, Subdivision and Land Development, shall apply”. Therefore the
requirements of Section §230-65.D of Bethlehem Township’s Subdivision and
Land Development Ordinance apply, specifically that
“Grades of access drives and driveways shall not exceed 12% when connecting to a local
or collector street and 7% when connecting onto an arterial street; however, the initial
20 feet from the edge of the cartways of an arterial street shall not exceed 4% and the
initial 20 feet from the edge of the cartways of any other street shall not exceed 7%.”
In the alternative, the applicants are requesting a dimensional variance from the
Bethlehem Township Zoning Ordinance which incorporates Section §230-65.D
of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. The applicants request
a variance allowing an 11% grade for the first 20 feet of driveway from the
Darien Road cartway, and therefore seek a variance of 4% grade. The real estate
is located in the Low-Density Residential (LDR) Zoning District, maintains
Northampton County Tax Parcel Identification Number M7NW2 3 16 0205
and is described in Northampton County Deed Book Volume 2024-1, Page
149744.
ZONING HEARING BOARD
FEBRUARY 25, 2026
Page 2 of 3
Appeal #05-2026 of Dorothy Verna seeks relief concerning real estate
located at 5005 Preakness Place, Bethlehem Township, Northampton
County. The relief requested is a use variance in order to operate an Airbnb
from the applicant’s primary residence. This proposal is classified as a bed-and-
breakfast use in Bethlehem Township’s Zoning Ordinance. Bethlehem
Township’s Zoning Ordinance Sections §275-46, §275-47, and §275-48
respectively identify uses that are permitted-by-right, permitted by special
exception, and permitted by conditional use within the Medium-Density
Residential District. The use of a bed-and-breakfast is not a listed use within any
of the referenced sections and therefore is not a permitted use within the
Medium-Density Residential Zoning District. The applicant requests permission
to operate a bed-and-breakfast type use from the applicant’s primary residence,
thereby seeking a use variance for the subject real estate. The real estate is
located in the Medium-Density Residential (MDR) Zoning District and
Institutional Overlay District, maintains Northampton County Tax Parcel
Identification Number M8 9 12-57 0205 and is described in Northampton
County Deed Book Volume 2025-1, Page 133312.
Appeal #06-2026 of TSV-HPIII Lehigh Valley, LLC seeks relief
concerning real estate located at 3311 Farmersville Road, Bethlehem
Township, Northampton County. The relief requested is a variance from the
permissible hours for construction to occur within Bethlehem Township.
Bethlehem Township Zoning Ordinance Section §275-132.B identifies
maximum sound levels permitted for the stated times within this section. The
applicant is requesting a variance from Bethlehem Township Zoning Ordinance
Sections §275-132.D(2) and §275-132.D(4). Zoning Ordinance Section §275-
132.D(2) sets forth that the maximum sound limits of Zoning Ordinance
Section §275-132.B are not applicable to repair or construction work to provide
electricity, water or other public utilities within the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00
p.m., except for clearly emergency repairs. Zoning Ordinance Section §275-
132.D(4) sets forth that the maximum sound limits of Zoning Ordinance
Section §275-132.B are not applicable to construction operations and repairs of
public facilities within the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., except for clearly
emergency repairs. The applicant requests overnight construction be permitted
between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., thereby seeking a variance from
the construction hour limitations of Zoning Ordinance Sections §275-132.D(2)
and §275-132.D(4). The real estate is located in the Planned Commercial (PC)
District and Commercial Enhancement Overlay District, maintains
ZONING HEARING BOARD
FEBRUARY 25, 2026
Page 3 of 3
Northampton County Tax Parcel Identification Number M7SE2 3 32 0205 and
is described in Northampton County Deed Book Volume 2022-1, Page 274029.
Appeal #07-2026 of Nicholas J. Bozakis seeks relief concerning real estate
located at 2850 Jefferson Street, Bethlehem Township, Northampton
County. The relief requested are (1) an appeal of the Zoning Officer’s opinion
and (2) a variance request from the Bethlehem Township Standards of
Construction documents as they relate to the permitted width of a driveway at a
property line. The Zoning Officer has determined pursuant to Section §275-
10.B(2) of the Bethlehem Township Zoning Ordinance that the Zoning Officer
does not have the power to permit any construction, use or change of use which
does not conform to this chapter or all other ordinances of the Township. The
Bethlehem Township Standards of Construction documents, being an adopted
standard of Bethlehem Township, require a driveway to have a maximum width
of 20 feet at the property line. There has been constructed upon the subject
property, a new single-family detached dwelling with a driveway that totals 25
feet in width. The applicant, therefore, is requesting a variance from Bethlehem
Township Zoning Ordinance Section §275-9.A(4)(c)[2], which requires all
construction, grading, and other work to be performed strictly in accordance
with the approved application plot plan; and in accordance with Zoning
Ordinance Section §275-10.B(2) in order to maintain the 25 foot wide driveway
as it has been constructed. As a result, a variance of 5 feet is sought from the
adopted Bethlehem Township Standards of Construction documents. The real
estate is located in the Medium-Density Residential (MDR) District, maintains
Northampton County Tax Parcel Identification Number N7NW3 15 11B 0205
and is described in Northampton County Deed Book Volume 2025-1, Page
110864.
All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard.
Supporting documents are available for review at the Bethlehem Township
Municipal Building located at 4225 Easton Ave, Bethlehem, PA 18020 by
appointment with Zoning Officer Aaron Stasiw (astasiw@bethlehemtwp.com /
610-814-6464) or Assistant Zoning Officer Erika Soto
(esoto@bethlehemtwp.com / 610-814-6434).
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
Do you know how to view minutes from previous zoning board meetings? The agenda for the next meeting is the only thing on the website; you can’t even see previous agendas let alone meeting minutes.
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