Planning Director Sara Pandl told the Board of Commissioners Thursday a proposed ordinance would rezone land along East Texas and Lower Macungie roads and Willow Lane, which currently are zoned Suburban and Village Overlay.

The area, which includes housing and businesses, would be divided into to zones, East Texas Village 1 and East Texas Village 2. Each are located within a 400-foot radius of the center line of the intersection of East Texas and Lower Macungie roads. The area is also bounded to the south by the Little Lehigh Creek.

Permitted uses within East Texas Village 1 would include agriculture, single-family detached and semi-detached dwelling units, and forestry. Conditional uses would includebed-and-breakfast facilities, community centers and places of worship.

East Texas Village 2 would allow for agriculture and forestry, clubs and social buildings, cultural facilities such as libraries and museums, and single-family detached homes. Conditional uses would include retail, light manufacturing, office professional and day care facilities.

The new zones would create standards for lot widths and setbacks as well as building heights and allowable designs.

A total of 28 homes currently encompass the area, and most pre-date current zoning laws, said Pandl.

There are thus non-conforming uses with respect to setbacks and the proximity of the homes to the streets.

"A lot of narrow parcels and homes close to the road," she said.

Smooth-On, a manufacturer of special effects for the movie industry, makes up a large chunk of the commercial space. It takes up a small portion of the former Day-Timers site, a manufacturer of calendars and monthly planners that left Lower Macungie in June 2012.

Several smaller, service-type businesses are also clustered within.

Pandl said the new zoning will guide future development within the large, undeveloped parking area which abuts Smooth-On that was part of the 131-acre Day-Timers site.

"If any new construction came in it wouldn't conform to lot patterns and setbacks," she said.

The proposal has been reviewed by township planners and will now be referred to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for consideration, said Pandl.

She hopes to have an ordinance in place for consideration by the Board of Commissioners in January.