Board approves Project Kennedy land-development plan with construction traffic study tied to developer agreement
September 04, 2026 | Upper Macungie, Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
The Upper Macungie Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve the final land-development plan for Project Kennedy, a proposed Eli Lilly manufacturing and automated storage facility, conditioned on incorporating the developer's construction traffic-impact study and construction-safety measures into the developer agreement.
Township staff summarized the plan and five remaining waiver requests; project engineers and the entitlements director walked the board through key changes. Developer entitlements director Bailey Akaftanti said the team views "safety 1st, quality always," and described a construction logistics plan that includes five vehicle entrances, multiple security checkpoints, turnstiles, and off-site parking with shuttle service. "So during deconstruction, we expect there to be 1,500 total workers coming on-site," Akaftanti said, and added the team had secured an office lease and 600 initial parking spaces with access to nearly 1,926 additional parking stalls nearby.
Board members pressed for specifics about generators, noise and emissions permitting, and signal warrants. Engineer Mike Kissinger noted ongoing refinements to the utility and access design, including a PPL substation on the southeast corner of the site and on-site generators that have already received DEP air-quality permitting. Supervisors added as a condition that the construction traffic plan be incorporated into improvement or developer agreements so the township can require compliance and adjustments if operations deviate from the submitted plan.
The board's approval also directed staff to work with the developer and township engineer to finalize language that will make the construction traffic and safety commitments enforceable in the agreed development documents. The developer team said the project's peak construction phase is expected in the fourth quarter of 2027 through the first quarter of 2029, and that scheduled shuttle hours and delivery windows would seek to limit impacts on local intersections.
Township staff summarized the plan and five remaining waiver requests; project engineers and the entitlements director walked the board through key changes. Developer entitlements director Bailey Akaftanti said the team views "safety 1st, quality always," and described a construction logistics plan that includes five vehicle entrances, multiple security checkpoints, turnstiles, and off-site parking with shuttle service. "So during deconstruction, we expect there to be 1,500 total workers coming on-site," Akaftanti said, and added the team had secured an office lease and 600 initial parking spaces with access to nearly 1,926 additional parking stalls nearby.
Board members pressed for specifics about generators, noise and emissions permitting, and signal warrants. Engineer Mike Kissinger noted ongoing refinements to the utility and access design, including a PPL substation on the southeast corner of the site and on-site generators that have already received DEP air-quality permitting. Supervisors added as a condition that the construction traffic plan be incorporated into improvement or developer agreements so the township can require compliance and adjustments if operations deviate from the submitted plan.
The board's approval also directed staff to work with the developer and township engineer to finalize language that will make the construction traffic and safety commitments enforceable in the agreed development documents. The developer team said the project's peak construction phase is expected in the fourth quarter of 2027 through the first quarter of 2029, and that scheduled shuttle hours and delivery windows would seek to limit impacts on local intersections.
Don't Miss a Word: See the Full Meeting!
Go beyond summaries. Unlock every video, transcript, and key insight with a Founder Membership.
✓
Get instant access to full meeting videos
✓
Search and clip any phrase from complete transcripts
✓
Receive AI-powered summaries & custom alerts
✓
Enjoy lifetime, unrestricted access to government data
30-day money-back guarantee
