South Fayette businesses, individuals sue township
A group of South Fayette Township business owners and residents last week filed a land use appeal over a change along the Route 50 corridor in the township’s recently adopted comprehensive plan.
The appeal, filed in Allegheny County Court, claims the township did not follow proper procedures in adopting the plan, which changed an area along the Route 50 corridor from “mixed commercial or industrial/residential mix area” to “mixed-office commercial/residential.”
It claims that the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code “sets forth mandatory procedural requirements for the adoption and amendment of a municipal comprehensive plan.” The suit also states the township did not resubmit the adopted comprehensive plan to the Allegheny County Economic Development offices, the local school district, or neighboring municipalities prior to the public hearing and board adoption of the plan April 17.
Listed in the suit include nearly 20 business owners along the Route 50 corridor, including Cuddy Partners, Cuddy Land Company Inc., Howard Concrete Pumping, D. H. Bertenthal & Sons Inc., Harriet R. Bertenthal Development Authority, Clayton Engineering Co., Nicholson Construction Co., The Paul Partnership, Landstar Management, Zottola Investments and Servsteel Inc. Individuals named in the appeal include John T. and Nancy Hart, William W. Brown III, Albert Olshinsky Jr., James M. and Jacquelyn Ranalli, John L. and Madeline Kosky and John Alan and Stacy Kosky.
“The impact of the change in the future land use map between the draft comprehensive plan and the adopted comprehensive plan was to reduce by more than 80 percent the land in the township being designated for industrial uses, leaving only a small industrially designated area in the extreme southeastern corner of the township,” the appeal states.
“The future land use map in the adopted comprehensive plan designated the Route 50 corridor as ‘mixed office commercial/residential’ and deleted any reference to ‘industrial uses,” it continues.
The township’s comprehensive plan, which had been in the works since April 2010, was approved by a vote of 4-1 by township commissioners April 17. At that meeting, several industrial business owners spoke out against the elimination of most of the “industrial” portion of the future land use map.
From the map presented at the board’s March meeting to a map presented at an April 10 meeting, the wording for the area was changed from “mixed commercial or industrial/residential mix area” to “mixed-office commercial/residential.”
The appeal also states, “Upon information and belief, no member of the board or any other representative or agent of the township ever discussed at a meeting open to the public the source of or reason for the deletion of industrial uses from the Route 50 corridor on the future land use map in the adopted comprehensive plan.”
Township Solicitor Jonathan Kamin said the township was served with the papers Wednesday. Township Manager Ryan Eggleston would not comment on the pending litigation and said he had just received a copy of it.
Kamin said the comprehensive plan process by the township took multiple years and “the changes made were specifically requested by people claiming they had no input.”