With increasing demand, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission raising fees

Citing an increased demand in development, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission said it is raising fees for the first time in six years. 

Starting March 1 fees for filing Subdivision and Land Development and Stormwater Management plan applications will be increasing.  

The new fee schedule is:  

• $200 — Lot line adjustment
• $265 — Residential development, plus $20 for each lot above six.
• $415 — Non-Residential, plus $15 for every 1,000 square feet above 5,000.
• $415 — Non-Residential without a building, plus $20 for each acre above three.
• $1,175 — Stormwater Reviews for projects with more than 10,000 square feet of impervious coverage, plus $45 per each disturbed acre between two acres and 40 acres.
• $4,000 – Escrow fee required for stormwater reviews of projects with more than 10,000 square feet of impervious coverage and more than 40 acres of disturbed land.

All fees were determined through an analysis of the actual time needed to perform the reviews. 

The commission said the increased fees come at a time when development across the region has reached what it described as a fever pace, with the frequency and complexity of plans increasing.  

LVPC Community and Environmental planners and engineers perform reviews for land development and stormwater management plans designed to determine whether the plans meet local planning and zoning regulation and follow the policies laid out in FutureLV: The Regional Plan.  

The reviews are advisory in nature, leaving the municipality the project is located in with the power to accept, reject or request improvements to a project.  

The commission said most plans are filed by developers advancing multimillion-dollar projects, but they can be as small as a two-unit subdivision.  

The LVPC reviewed 547 land development or lot line adjustment plans and 223 stormwater management plans in 2022 – the most since 2008.