Apr 17, 2025 By Jon Andreassi 2 min read

Freedom Transit will appear before the South Strabane Township Board ofSupervisors next week for a public hearing on its new facility.

The organization, also known as the Washington County Transportation Authority, is seeking approval on a conditional use application to operate a “bus depot” at 375 Berry Road.

The public hearing will take place at the supervisors’ next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Kristin Hullihen, South Strabane’s director of planning and zoning, said Freedom Transit needs approval for conditional use before moving forward with applications for land development.

“That will give us details that are not provided yet,” Hullihen said.

According to Hullihen, Freedom Transit has not submitted a traffic study for the project, and that a study would also be part of the land development process.

Freedom Transit purchased 12 acres of land at the Berry Road location for $3.2 million in October 2022. The land was previously occupied by Tower Golf driving range and Amish Touch storefi.

The following month the agency’s executive director Sheila Gombita appeared before the supervisors for a local share account grant application.

At that meeting Gombita indicated the facility would be 88,000 square feet and provide storage for Freedom Transit’s fleet of approximately 80 vehicles.

Supervisors will also hold a separate public hearing at next week’s meeting on an ordinance that would establish a traffic impact fee in South Strabane.

Developers would need to pay the fee at the time of being issued a building permit. The amount would vary depending on how much traffic the project is expected to generate.