Palmer Township Planning & Zoning: Tomorrow's Palmer

12/04/2025

Last night at the 2025 Lehigh Valley Awards Gala, Palmer Township received the Open Space and Environment Award for the Palmer Bikeway.

The Palmer Bikeway is one of the most beloved, historic, and important recreation trails in the Lehigh Valley. First imagined in the 1970s, the Bikeway was one of the first recreation trails created from the conversion of former railroad right-of-ways. Selected by the U.S. Congress in 1977 and officially designated a National Recreation Trail in 1983, the Palmer Bikeway pioneered the field of trail creation not only in the Lehigh Valley, but also across the entire United States. Since its opening in 1981, the Bikeway has continued to expand and grow, reaching north to Tatamy Borough and south to the City of Easton. Today, the system spans more than 12 miles and is a part of the Two Rivers Trailway and THE LINK Trail Network and host to the September 11th National Memorial Trail.

We’d like to thank all the previous and current Board of Supervisors for their countless support of our beloved Bikeway, as well the tireless efforts of our volunteer board and commission members and Township staff for pushing to make our community better. We hope to see you out on the trail!

12/04/2025

Palmer Township Takes Home a Major Win!

Last night at the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s Annual Awards Gala, held at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, Palmer Township was honored with the Open Space and Environment Award for our Palmer Bikeway Trail!

In the photo: our Director of Community & Economic Development, Kent Baird, AICP, and Director of Planning, Craig Beavers, onstage proudly accepting the award beneath the “Winner” banner!

The Palmer Bikeway is one of the region’s most important recreation trails connecting our community to the entire Lehigh Valley trail network and now serving as part of the September 11th National Memorial Trail. This award recognizes our ongoing commitment to creating vibrant, accessible outdoor spaces for all.

A big thank you to the LVPC for this honor and to our residents for supporting projects that keep Palmer moving forward.

11/20/2025

10/29/2025

Big news for Palmer Township!

Earlier today, we celebrated a $50,000 grant from the Northampton County Livable Landscapes Program — funding that will help launch the Fox Run Park & Open Space – Schoeneck Creek Restoration Project!

This exciting project will improve water quality, expand environmental education, and help Palmer meet important stormwater management goals.

Huge thanks to Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Livable Landscapes Program Coordinator Sherry Acevedo for their continued support of Palmer Township’s conservation efforts!

Community & Economic Development Director Kent Baird kicked things off with introductions, followed by Vice Chairman Joseph Armato, who expressed heartfelt gratitude to Executive McClure for his long-standing partnership.

Finally, Matt Gunther, Director of Stormwater/MS4, gave a great overview of the project — reminding everyone this is just the first of several Schoeneck Creek restoration efforts to come!

💧 A big win for Palmer’s parks, our waterways, and our environment! 🌳

09/26/2025

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/big-blue-sign-coming-crayola-gets-its-due/article_1ab6d923-3d0a-4821-a5a4-8fdcde291f7a.html

A splash of blue has been a long time coming for Crayola crayons.

08/19/2025

🌿🌞 Exciting news for Northampton County!
Earlier today, County Executive Lamont McClure shared early findings from the 2025 Return on Environment (ROE) Study—and the numbers already show what we all know: our parks, trails, farmland, and open spaces make life better here.
From boosting home values 🏡 to growing outdoor recreation 🚴‍♀️ to strengthening our local economy 💼—the benefits of investing in green spaces are truly impressive.
The full report will be released this Fall, and Palmer Township is proud to serve on the Steering Committee guiding this important study.
💬 For more information, contact Kent Baird, AICP, Director of Community & Economic Development.

08/19/2025

Join us tonight at 7pm at the Charles Chrin Community Center as our consultants for the Bushkill Creek Greenway Master Plan share preliminary concepts for the future of our parks, including Mill Race, Penn Pump, and more! This meeting will be held in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

07/11/2025

We had an incredible turnout — at least 50 residents stopped by throughout the evening to share their thoughts on Mill Race Park and the entire greenway corridor. It was wonderful to see neighbors of all ages come together, enjoy a true community block party, eat some pizza and snacks, and connect with each other.
We even had a visit from a passing 5K group and the Easton Wrestling Booster Club, who joined in on the fun!
A special thank you to Chairman Young for attending and supporting our planning efforts.
We left with big smiles knowing we helped bring the community together, all while working toward improving our amazing township. 💚