May 16, 2025 By Jon Andreassi 3 min read

A group seeking to reverse the North Strabane Township supervisors’ approval of a conditional use application for a housing development along Peters Lake appeared in court Thursday.

About a dozen residents supporting Friends of Peters Lake were at the Washington County Courthouse in the courtroom of Judge Brandon Neuman. At issue is a 41-home, 35.5-acre development called The Collective at Peters Lake being proposed by Laurel Communities.

North Spring Valley Road residents Linda Lopez, Matt Maniet and Pamela Maniet filed an appeal against the supervisors and Laurel Communities last year following the approval of the conditional use application in May.

“We’re worried about our neighborhood,” Matt Maniet said following the hearing. “That’s a cherished area; we feel it’s something to fight for. I’m not saying every development is bad, but maybe this isn’t the right thing for this area. The potential for contamination of that lake is real.”

Joshua Ash represented the trio at Thursday’s hearing. Ash is the director of the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh.

Ash said during the hearing he hopes for Neuman to reverse the approval so the conditional use process can be redone to more adequately address the concerns of residents.

He argued the application requires that developers address potential deterioration of the environment.

“The word environment is not even mentioned,” Ash said. “There is no mention of the unique aspects of the site.”

Jon Caymin, the attorney representing Laurel Communities, responded that the conditional use hearing was not the appropriate venue for many of the issues being raised.

He noted that it is still very early in the process before any development can take place.

“All of these items that they are talking about are appropriately dealt with at the land development phase … The record is closed, the record is robust. We meet the criteria. It’s very simple at this point. We should be able to proceed,” Caymin said.

North Strabane solicitor Gary Sweat also appeared at Thursday’s hearing alongside Caymin.

“Just because we’re sitting at the same table doesn’t mean I’m defending the developer. I’m defending the decision that was made,” Sweat said.

Sweat argued that receiving conditional use was the “first step in a long, drawn-out process” for Laurel Communities.

He added that the township would need to “reverse engineer the process” to appropriately address the residents’ concerns, as some questions could not be answered until the developer completes studies related to traffic and environmental impact.

“At any point in the land development process, this thing could fall apart,” Sweat said.

Neuman did not render a decision during the hearing, but noted that regardless of his ruling he expects the issue to return to his courtroom.

“No matter which way I go, this isn’t the end of it. This is going to be a long process. I anticipate more proceedings in front of me no matter which way I go,” Neuman said.