Parking lot plan prompts protests at council meeting

A group of Sharpsburg residents is asking the borough to consider reworking its zoning laws after the group learned that a company plans to tear down an apartment house in a residential area and replace it with a parking lot.

About 10 residents, including former borough secretary Jan Barbus, attended the council meeting Tuesday to ask council to review itszoning laws.

The residents said they learned from a recently evicted resident of the apartment house at 16291631 Marys Ave. that Tusk Development of Carnegie has purchased the rental property and wants to construct a parking lot there for the nearby site of the former Fort Pitt Brewery.

Franco Ferraro, a lifelong resident of Sharpsburg, said residents’ concerns include increased traffic and a loss of parking in the neighborhood. “We all thought we lived in a residential, not a commercial, neighborhood,” said.

“Maybe some zoning changes will need to be considered in the future,” Ms. Barbus said.

The residents want to be sure Tusk keeps as many trees as possible when it creates the parking lot and doesn’t impinge on the residents’ gardens. A flyer the group prepared stated: “We are seeking assurances and protection from the borough council. We are now in the reactionary position of managing the current situation on our block.”

Council members said they also learned about Tusk’s plans after the fact. “We could never have imagined this situation,” said Karen Pastor, council president. “We never would have thought there would be a parking lot in the middle of a neighborhood.”

Bill Rossey, who succeeded Ms. Barbus as borough manager about two years ago, confirmed Wednesday that, under the borough’s zoning rules, a private parking lot is a permitted use in a residential area.

He said he had heard about Tusk’s plans several months ago but council’s approval is not needed because the lot is a permitted use. The code enforcement officer will make sure the proposed parking lot meets all specifications, he said.

At Tuesday’s meeting, he told the residents, “No demolition permit has been applied for even to this date.” The borough does know that a business with about 100 employees is going into the former brewery building around the first of next year and that renovation work is being done inside the building. “But nothing’s happened here at the borough,” he said.

Mr. Rossey, Ms. Pastor and council member Brittany Reno said they have spoken with Tusk representatives, who have promised to be good neighbors. “It’s critical, though, that we reconsider the zoning before this happens in another part of town,”Ms. Reno said.

Councilman Matt Rudzki suggested a moratorium on demolition projects in residential zones until the planning commission can overhaul the zoning ordinances. “We want to make sure no other neighborhoods in R-1, -2 or -3 zones will be affected thisway,” he said.

Borough solicitor Michael Witherel said he will implement plans for upgrading Sharpsburg’s zoning laws by council’s meeting on Thursday and will know then how long the process might take.

According to Mr. Rossey, Sharpsburg last updated its zoning plan two years ago in a multi-municipal plan that included Etna and Millvale.

In addition to concerns about dirt, dust and vermin during demolition, residents also want to be sure retaining walls are constructed to protect properties at 1646 and 1625 Marys Ave. and that water runoff is contained.

From now on, they told council, they would like advance notice of such acquisitions and plans before they are irreversible.