A proposed construction of a state facility in Lehighton needs a lot more planning before work could move forward, Carbon County officials say.

This week the Carbon County Planning Commission reviewed a plan from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 5-2 for the demolition and reconstruction of a maintenance facility off Bridge and Ninth streets in Lehighton. The current facility was constructed in the 1930s.

Ivan O. Meixell Jr., county planner, read through his review of the plans, which call for the demolition and removal of the current maintenance facility and then constructing a 40,104-square-foot government service building, which includes office space and a vehicle repair facility. In addition, PennDOT proposes also constructing a 2,960-square-foot truck wash, 289-square-foot brine storage building, a 305-square-foot salt storage shed, a 560-square-foot electrical room and a 1,040-square-foot storage tank.

Meixell said he worked closely with the Lehighton Borough engineer on the plan review.

He pointed out a few areas of the plan that already received zoning variance approvals from Lehighton zoning board on Nov. 7, including the maximum building height of 42.5 feet, as well as minimum yard front from the curbline, which is less than the required 50 feet.

Several areas of the plan didn’t conform to Lehighton’s ordinances and were outlined, including:

• Not having enough parking spots and enough ADA compatible access and parking for the size of the structure.

• Items not being shown on the plan sheets.

• Reports needed to show that the truck wash and vehicle maintenance facility will comply with the noise standards for the borough.

• Submission of information on safety devices mitigating the possibility of contamination of surface or groundwater from the brine and salt, truck wash and vehicle maintenance.

• Include, if requested by Lehighton, an environmental impact statement and traffic impact study for the project.

Meixell also read the borough engineer’s notes on the plans before telling the county planning commission that there are “several major areas of non-compliance” that precludes the commission making a recommendation on the plan.

The commission voted to send all comments to the borough, borough engineer and PennDOT for inclusion on further discussion.