Sewickley Herald

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PUmh'uCuiui'I
Herald
Suburban Pittsburgh's Largest Audited • Paid Newspapers
Twenty Cents.
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i r e	.
Wednesday, May 30,1979
In TwoSections
Vol. 80 JVo. 22
Marathon session for
Sewickiey Council
Sewickley Council played to a nearlyTull house at its meeting on May 21 when it set
•	a public hearing on amending the borough zoning ordinance for June 26. The marathon meeting lasted almost five hours. The eight councilmembers present
•	voted unanimously to hold" the public hearing in response to a May 18 letter from the Sewickley Planning Commission recommending the density requirements and height limitations in the
. R-3 (multi-family) zoning district be changed.
In the letter, planning commission chairman H. Alan Speak explained the planners believed, the zoning ordinance should “be amended to permit the development of the Griffith property on Beaver Street for. condominiums. The amendments the Zoning Ordinance that is necessary is to change the minimum lot area per dwelling unit in the R-3 district from 2500 sq. ft. to 1900 sq. ft. ’ ’
The commission also recommended reducing the height of structures that can be built in the R-3 district fr 50’ .to 40’.
Developers Lewis Molnar and Robert Mall had origjnally proposed a 25-unit, 4-story condominium building for the site. At a May 16 meeting of the planning commission, however, the developers agreed to reduce the number of units to 21, in conformance with the density change the planners were considering.
Speak’s letter noted the commissioners believed a need exists in Sewickley for condiminiums that cost $100,000 to $150,000, in addition to the need for other types of housing, such as housing for the elderly.
He went on to state that the commission had carefully studied the plans submitted by architect Anthony Stilson and had found they complied with the zoning ordinance except in two aspects—the minimum lot area per dwelling unit of 2,500. sq. ft. and the maximum lit coverage limitation of 35 percent.
Furthermore, Speak observed that although, the proposed building exceeds the lot coverage limit by VA percent “this 1% percent exceeding of the lot coverage standard should be accepted by the Community without formal action to amend the Zoning Ordinance to change the standard nor by seeking a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.”
In conclusion, the chairman said he believed the entire community would benefit from the proposed development and that while action was taken to amend the zoning ordinance the planning commission would secure from developer Molnar “a letter of assurance that he will continue to plan to develop his property for 21 units with underground parking and in the architectural style as proposed.”
Sewickley Council president Frank J. Sacco, Jr, explained to thevisitors at the meeting that amendments to the borough zoning ordinance required a vote and recommendation from the planning commission, a decision by council to hold a public hearing to obtain more,information on the proposed change, that the hearing be advertised for two weeks before it is held, and that council would then vote on the proposed change.
Quoitim lack cancels ambulance meeting
The May 14 meeting of the Quaker Valley Ambulance Authority was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. The authority is next scheduled to meet June 11 at Sewickley Borough council chambers.
The condominium project brought forth considerable discussion as it had at the planning commission’s May 16 meeting. * Councilmen James Maloney, Clinton Childs, and Louis Tarasi said they had not received copies of the planning commission’s letter and were reading it for the first time at the meeting. This prompted one resident, Leroy J. Egan, who lives^ beside the Griffith property, to suggest that this \yas not the time for council to decide to hold the public hearing.
Monte C. Wilkinson, another nearby property owner, noted he had questioned Sacco’s right to vote as a member of the planning commission at the May 16 meeting, and he requested information on this point from borough solicitor Gary McQuone.
McQuone said that Sacco, as council president, was an ex officio member of all borough committees and that according to the Pa. Municipalities Planning Code a councilmember could be on the planning commission.
Anna Egan asked McQuone if Sacco had the right to vote as a ’member of the planning commission, and the solicitor said that, according to the commonwealth planning code, he does.
Councilman' Tarasi questioned the height reduction to 40’, and planning commission chairman Speak said the planning commission believed the reduction necessary because of the ten? dency of recently proposed buildings to be massive in their proportions. He noted that although many houses in the R-3 district were 38’ in height they did not appear as massive because they have gable roofs. • Councilman Maloney observed that Duquesne Way, the alley that would provide access to the building’s underground parking garage, already carried much traffic.
This statement caused Monte Wilkinson to claim that it was impossible for fire trucks to get through the alley, But Sewickley Eire Chief Hugh A. McMaster said Wilkinson was mistaken about this.
In response to another question, Speak said that although the planning commission was not exactly certain where the boundary is between the Cole and Griffith properties, the commissioners believed the structure met the side yard requirements there.
. Richard E. White, anbther councilman, said ’’the proposal seems to have more than ample benefit to the community and we’d be more than derelict in our duty if we failed to schedule shearing.”
“That’s true,” commented Sacco.
Mrs. Egan suggested that more con-sideration should be given to the effect the change could have throughout the R-3 district and that the plan should be referred back to the planning commission for further study.
Agreeing with Mrs. Egan, councilman Baird Atwood Said, “The thing that disturbs me is that we are talking about a 24 percent decrease in the square-footage requirement, which is pretty substantial in the entire R-3 area.”
Sacco, however, noted that the public hearing was part of the procedure to gain more information on proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance.
On a motion from White, seconded by Childs, council Voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the zoning change on June 26, at 8:00 p.m., in the Sewickley council chambers.
The date was selected to give the borough enough time to meet the
Continued on page 18
*
GOING, GOING AND SOON GONE FOREVER. No one seems to know the history of the little bouse at 405 Broad St. which is being razed for expansion of Gourley’s Chevrolet Inc. facilities. Local stories that the house was once an Underground Railroad during the Civil War are unsubstantiated but there was one room in the basen^ent enclosed by masonry. Anybody out there with long memories should contact the Sewickley Valley Historical Society in care of the Herald.
(Photos by Margaret Marshall)
New township hall for Aleppo
Sitting in special session on May 25, Aleppo commissioners approved a municipal building with a price tag of $263,000. The new figure was a markdown from a $326,000 bid total. Slashing “deducts” from the original specifications made the difference.
Even so, cost was a matter of debate between those who want the municipal building and those who. would have preferred to build a municipal garage instead.
Chairman Albert Pegher of the five-man board was joined ins his “Yes” vote by James E, Addison and Louis Trapizona. Floyd Russo and Harry Muders opposed the “municipal building first” concept.
In his opening remarks, Pegher said a low bid of $326,000 was unacceptable because it wouldnecessitate raising taxes. “That was the purpose of letting out the bids with “deducts”, he said. Changes from the original plans include reducing the number of rooms by eliminating some partitions, substituting crushed stone for asphalt on the sidewalks and parking lot, cutting the size of the parking lot, and lowering the roof on one portion of the building. Air-conditioning, except in the municipal meeting room, is out.
He said the building would house the offices for the secretary, authority and zoning officers and the police.
Reviewing the financial picture, Pegher said the municipal building ispossible but not the garage, which would cost $137,000 (later corrected to$175,000.)
Pegher was passionate about the need for a township headquarters where all the records could bekept in one place. “As itis now, they are in private homes all over the township, ” he said.
The township has been promised a 10-year-loan from the Pittsburgh National Bank at 6Vz percent for financing.
Pegher went into the financial picture stating emphatically that the township can biiild without raising taxes.
Visitor Ernest Tucci wanted to be assured that the modifications in the plans would not mean the township would be required to go for new bids to escape legal ramifications.
Wayne ' Gould, Planning Commission chairman, an engineer by profession, could not forsee any difficulties because the structural integrity of the building has not been altered, he believes.
However, in order to be certain all legal requirements are met, the action taken to go ahead with the building is subject to the scrutiny of the engineer and the solicitor.
The audience for the meeting numbered about six. One visitor called building the garage a mistake. Cost to maintain a municipal building was another query.