ALLENTOWN – The Borough Council has appointed four professionals to Allentown’s greenbelt defense team.
The action at the council’s Jan. 21 meeting came after officials moved in late 2019 to allocate funding for the defense of the greenbelt at Allentown’s borders.
Council President Robert Strovinsky and council members Martha Johnson, Dan Payson, Michael Drennan and John A. Elder III named Greg Cannon (borough attorney), Michele Donato (Planning Board attorney), the Roberts Engineering Group (borough engineer) and Shropshire Associates (borough traffic engineer) to the greenbelt defense team.
Councilwoman Angela Anthony was absent from the meeting.
The council’s stated goals are to preserve land on Allentown’s borders and to have a say about the type of development that may occur on properties in neighboring municipalities that border Allentown.
The funds that have been appropriated by the council for the greenbelt defense team will be used for legal services in an amount not to exceed $5,000; traffic engineering services in an amount not to exceed $5,000; planning services in an amount not to exceed $5,000; and environmental services in an amount not to exceed $2,500, according to a resolution.
The creation of a greenbelt defense team was supported by the Allentown Environmental Commission.
Nancy Tindall, who chairs the Allentown Environmental Commission, has said the greenbelt at the borough’s borders “provides a sense of place and protects the historic setting of our village; it preserves sensitive environmental, historical and cultural resources; it mitigates the stress on our air, water and climate.”
