Debate continues on possible rezoning of Gateway Middle School

The debate on whether to rezone the Gateway Middle School property from residential to commercial continued during an intergovernmental meeting Tuesday.

Gateway school board is looking to rezone the 26-acre middle school property at 4450 Old William Penn Highway in Monroeville from R-1 residential to C-2 commercial to potentially sell it.

School district superintendent Bill Short said the district is still deciding whether to sell the property, a process that may take several years.

“We are looking at toward rezoning the property … to seek the highest value of the property should a sale or lease be sought.”

Mr. Short assured everyone in attendance that the school will be open for the 2018-19 school year and added the school board is committed to keeping all of its neighborhood elementary schools.

Robert Brown, Gateway facilities director, said the middle school, which was built in 1952, is a “challenge to keep up.”

He said both of the district’s middle school buildings are aging. The district’s other middle school, Moss Side, was built in 1957.

“Due to the age of the facilities, we struggle with the future,” such as installing new technology equipment, Mr. Brown said. “Our buildings are in desperate need of repair or replacement.”

Monroeville Councilman Ron Harvey represents the 3rd Ward, where Gateway Middle School is located. Mr. Harvey voted against rezoning the property in November.

“The main reason why we’re here is the rezoning issue,” Mr. Harvey said. “I didn’t want to rezone it C-2 until I knew what was going there.”

He added that once it is rezoned, the municipality would have very little say in what may be built on the property since there are more than 20 permitted uses for sites zoned C-2.

The rezoning matter could come before Monroeville council again as soon as its March meeting.

Resident Jeannet te Beighel, who has three young children, said she is concerned about not knowing where they would attend middle school in the future.

“I would be more comfortable with knowing what the plan is moving forward” if the property is sold and rezoned.

“We haven’t reached that point,” Mr. Short said.

If the Gateway Middle School property is sold, the board has said it would use the funds to build a new middle school.

Art McAuley of the 360 Group, which was hired by the school district to market the property, said he did not have an exact figure, but said if it was zoned commercial there would be a “much higher return,” but he could not state a specific sales price.

Bob Elms, a former school board member, said “zoning it C-2 before the school district knows what they want to do is a mistake.”

Resident Cheryl Boyce agreed with the school district’s point of view and said it is “trying to generate tax revenue” by selling the school.

“I think this is a smart move,” she said. insincere.

In his defense, Mr. Mertz said he’s also been the subject of public attacks. “This would never have happened with any other council member.”

Ms. Schweiger, who defeated Mr. LeDonne for the council seat in November, was visibly upset with the move to censure Mr. Mertz. “I can’t believe how much time we’ve wasted on this.”

She suggested tabling the motion, but it failed when no one seconded it.