Plans for a new elementary center in Lehighton need more work before ground could be broken.

The Carbon County Planning Commission recommended conditional plan rejection Tuesday on the school district's proposed project, which calls for building a 100,000-square-foot center that houses kindergarten through fifth grades on 83.83 acres of land near the high school.This is the second time the plans have come before the commission.Last month, the commission also recommended rejecting the plans and added that no land development should occur until all permits and approvals are acquired.Before voting, Ivan O. Meixell Jr., county planner, said that 17 areas are still in noncompliance. Last month, there were 24.Problems include:• Lehighton ordinances require preliminary plan approval before final plan submission. The plan that was submitted was for preliminary/final plan review. The school district's engineer requested a waiver from the requirement from the borough planning commission but the issue remains open.• A soil erosion and sedimentation control plan and permit approval from the conservation district and Department of Environmental Protection must be obtained before ground is broken.To date, the plans have been submitted to the conservation district but the issue remains open.• Wetlands are located near the proposed land development area and the proposed trail connecting to a new bike/cross-country trail will impact the possible wetland and flood plain area.Meixell said the school's engineer said no wetlands are within the area and the bike path trail has been eliminated. An update on wetland delineations will be performed by the school district.• Plans must be approved by the Lehighton Water Authority and the Lehighton Sewer Authority, as well as the borough, county and DEP for approval. An access agreement between the school district and sewer authority for access from the pump station for emergency access should be completed. Parts of the plans have been submitted to the water and sewer authorities for review but the issues remain open. Emergency access from the pump station has not yet been addressed.• Plans must be reviewed and approved by the Lehighton Power and Light Department as a requirement for final approval regarding any easements for the underground installation of conduit for electric power, phone and communications cable. Plans have been submitted for review and comment. The borough engineer recommends an existing electric line right of way passing through the proposed school be extinguished if it is no longer needed by the borough.• A new highway occupancy permit for access driveways is required. Plans addressing the recommendations from the Transportation Impact Study Executive Summary regarding widening Mahoning Street and re-striping roads around the school have not been shown.Meixell said the school district's consultant will be handling the permit and that the review has not been "satisfactorily addressed" in the plan.Other issues involve requesting waivers for plan scales and paving requirements, seals and signatures not completed on the plans, and agreements be signed.Meixell said several areas of noncompliance with the borough's ordinances need to be addressed before final approval could be recommended.