Politics & Government

Upper St. Clair Board Recommends New Development on Route 19

The planning commission voted unanimously on Thursday night.

After a meeting that lasted nearly four hours long, the planning commission unanimously voted to recommend a text amendment which allows retail and residential development on the former Consol Energy headquarters site.

The township commissioners are expected schedule at least two public hearings for the proposed text amendment during their next regular meeting on July 5. The first public hearing could come as early as September.

The owner of the land, 1800 Washington Road Associates, is asking that the current special business district zoning be amended to allow residential and retail space.

Find out what's happening in Upper St. Clairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the current zoning, office buildings, banks and pharmacies are allowed.

The amended ordinance would allow a maximum of 75 percent non-residential use which could include retails stores such as coffee shops, supermarkets and restaurants. Each building would not exceed 55,000 square feet of gross leasable space.

Find out what's happening in Upper St. Clairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Our retail is less in size than the ," developer Gerald Cipriani said.

The ordinance would also require at least five percent green space and at least 15 percent residential uses—including five-story multi-family dwellings not to exceed 20 units in any one building.

About a dozen residents voiced their concerns about the proposed development on Thursday night. Their main concerns were traffic, decreased property values and safety near and  schools.

Jim Whalen, a representative for the developer, presented numbers to the commission that indicated the proposed development would bring in $1.5 million in new tax dollars to the township and school district.

Cipriani said with the cuts in state funding, the school district could use the revenue at this time.

Parent and nearby resident Deb Levy disagreed.

"Look at all that retail in Bethel Park. We don't have that retail and we have the best school district in the state. We don't need all that retail," she said.

After all public comments were taken, David Wade, secretary of the planning commission, said he felt there were three choices: one, have the concerned residents scrape of the money to buy the property from the owner and build a park; two, keep what's allowed right now and build 700,000 square feet more of office space; or three, choose what's being proposed.

Wade said he came to the meeting ready to vote against the proposal, but the developers changed his mind.

"They satisfied all my concerns. They changed all the language in the ordinance that I was opposed to," Wade said. "I didn't have a problem with mixed-use development. I just didn't want to see 25 acres of asphalt with a building sitting in the middle of it."

Cipriani and his son Justin, an architect for the company, held one group meeting and a number of one-on-one meetings with concerned residents .

"We went to houses and sat in their living rooms to see what the site looks like from their windows," Justin Cipriani said. "You do have to design a project that fits the neighborhood and is responsible."

"We did have many meetings with residents who spoke to us from their hearts," Gerald Cipriani said. "We're managing to speak to each other and not at each other now.

"I think the ball is in our court to do a better job of explaining our vision."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here