7516 Quarry Rd, Alburtis, PA 18011

Agricultural Protection District

Based upon information contained in the United States Department of Agriculture National Resource and Conservation Services Lehigh County Soil Survey, 68 percent of Lower Macungie Township, consists of prime agricultural land as that term is defined in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, and Part 2 of this chapter.; In 1971, it is estimated that there were 10,521 acres or 73 percent of land available for or devoted to farming in the Township. It is now estimated that only 3,700 acres are currently available for or devoted to agricultural purposes.; Between 1971 and 2008 approximately 6,821 acres or 65 percent of prime agricultural land in Lower Macungie Township has been lost to development.; As of the 2000 United States Census, 39 percent of the land (5,641 acres) of the Township was available for agricultural purposes.; The population projections for Lower Macungie Township, as set forth in the Lehigh Valley Comprehensive Plan, forecast that the population in Lower Macungie Township will increase from 28,000 to over 42,000 between the year 2010 and 2030, thereby jeopardizing the prime agricultural land which remains available in the Township for agricultural purposes.; The 2005 Southwestern Lehigh County Comprehensive Plan and the Lehigh Valley Comprehensive Plan 2030 reflect that roughly 30 percent of the land in the Township is enrolled in either the Act 319 or Act 515 preferential tax programs, or is included in agricultural security areas under Pennsylvania Act 43.; The farmland in Lower Macungie Township, particularly the prime agricultural land, is ideal for the growing of crops and raising of livestock, and the Board of Commissioners wishes to facilitate the continued availability of land for these purposes, subject to a reasonable allowance for residential and compatible nonresidential development such as churches, schools, and municipal and utility uses.