Carbon County planners say a proposed ambulance garage in Lehighton needs more work before plans should proceed.

During the county planning commission meeting last week, the board made no formal recommendation on plans from Joseph and Debra Kay Bennett.

The plans call for constructing a 60-foot by 150-foot, 8,791-square-foot garage/storage building for St. Luke’s vans at the intersection of Bridge and Millway streets.

Ivan O. Meixell Jr., county planner, said that there are “several areas of non-compliance with the requirements of the Lehighton Borough land development ordinance that precludes any recommendation for approval of this land development plan at this time.”

He said that the commission’s comments, which he outlined prior to the “no recommendation” recommendation, outlined several items that Joseph Bennett needs to address before plans are approved.

They included getting approval from the Lehighton Borough Sewer Authority on sewage service plans, as well as updated approvals from the Carbon County Conservation District and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

There were also several items that need certifications and seals from various entities.

This is the second time some of the proposal came before the planning commission.

In February 2024, the commission also made no recommendation on Bennett’s proposed land consolidation plan for the property because the two paper streets between the properties to be consolidated were never legally vacated by Lehighton at the time of the previous plan submission.

The commission’s comments will now be sent to Lehighton officials, the borough engineer, Bennett and his engineer for the project.