Sewickley Herald

              'A.-Gateway. Publications Newspaper
Serving Aleppo, Bell Acres, Edgeworth, Glenfield, Haysville, Leet, Leetsdale, Osborne, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights, Sewickley Hills
, Vof. 96 No. 10 •	‘ "	Wednesday, March 10, 1999
It was summer In January as a group from Pittsburgh made its way to Africa. For an account of the journey and the work of World Vision, see Page 13.
50 Cents.
inside ; V
School
(and play) of Edgeworth students.
Page 12
Around Town
■ Th&calendar is heating up in the valley. Clubs and groups have gotten together (and will get together) to support their causes.
Page B7
Sports
■ What's black and white and heard all over? They make the calls and set the pace on the court and on the field. For their story, see Page B1
.▼ CIRCLES OF CARING
LOVE LAPS: Running for love, Osborne Elementary students follow parent Maria Swanson’s lead. The first graders participated in “Laps for Love,” a community service-project that raised donations for The Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill.
▼ SEWICKLEY
Ligo files appeal for Maple Manor
Ry Mat B*rK» Staff witar
An eleventh hour appeal of the Sewickley Zoning Hearing Board’s denial of variances required to renovate “Maple Manor,” 44 Beaver St., was filed, capping a month-long wait for the neighbors of the proposed project.
Architect Lee Ligo, who is the equitable owner of the house formerly owned by Irene Shuttlesworth, planned to renovate and partition it into six condominiums.
Although Ligo said he was sorry that the board decided against the project at its Feb. 2 meeting, he still feels that this project is a win-win situation for the borough.
“We feel that the board made substantial errors in both law and fact and that’s why we appealed,” said Ligo.
The board’s decision did not permit variances to allow a six condominium complex in an R-l zoning district, which is exactly what next door neighbor Larry Mock wanted.
“My feeling is that the facts speak for themselves,” said Mock.
However, Ligo cites several instances on
which to base his appeal.
“Every garage there was done with variances,” he said. “We quoted law that was ignored.”
Lastly, a case that guided the board’s decision, Latrobe Speedway vs. Zoning Hearing Board of Unity Tbwnship, is, in Ligo's and his lawyer’s opinion, actually supportive of the project.
“I’m confused as to how they can rely on that case and apply it in the way they applied it,” said Ligo’s lawyer, Bruno Muscatello.
The Latrobe decision was over a dilapidated speedway that, while not a used structure, was still a speedway as the state supreme court determined,
Ligo also feels that appealing to a higher court will dispel some of the politicking that he alleges occurs in the small town arena.
“I think the board misread the community sentiment,” said Ligo. “Politics often rules the board at a local level.”
Mock disagrees: “It was not a question of preference or taste."
Mock’s contention, and that of his neighbors',
............—— Continued on mixf page
▼ SEWICKLEY
Meeting sets parking debate in motion
Sewickley Valley Chamber of Commerce met Monday with Jon Showe, borough council president, and Malachy Whalen, Sewickley mayor, to discuss the ongoing parking problems in Sewickley.
Also present was Jim Johnston, deputy director of Economic Development for Allegheny County, to shed light on the problem and possible solutions.
One of the main concerns was whether or not the shopping malls would threaten their businesses if parking were to change, an outcome Johnston said wasn’t likely.
“This is not Kaufmann’s and Lazarus,” he said, explaining that specialty stores, like those in the village would not lose out to malls.
While several studies were done on the subject, the chamber meeting suggests that the time for action is now as Showe concurred.
‘I sense that council would be open-minded to spending money on this problem,” said Showe.
However, he followed up by stating that the borough wouldn’t want to throw huge amounts of money at the problem without a sense that it would work.
Some of the options the chamber considered were building a parking garage or surface lots and shuttles to bus people from free parking to the business district.
The cheaper and more quickly implemented options included changing meter mechanisms to short times, possible leasing of space from Sewickley Valley Hospital and converting to smart meters, meters that have infrared sensors requiring the vehicle to be moved before it can be fed again.
While direct action has not yet been taken, Showe assured the chamber that council will most likely be experimental in attempting to solve the prob-
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