O'Reilly Auto Parts clears zoning hurdle in New Kensington

An O'Reilly Auto Parts store proposed for New Kensington has cleared a major obstacle to construction.

New Kensington City Council voted 4-1 to change the zoning for a parcel of land along Carl Avenue from residential to commercial following a public hearing.

The decision is critical to the plan by the Hutton Group LLC, the developer of the store, which has been stalled for more than a year.

Todd Kimling, Hutton's vice president for development, said the project now will move to the next level, getting approval for the development plan itself.

“I think we're going to have to get back together with the engineer and the architect to make sure that our plan conforms with all the ordinances,” Kimling said.

Once that is done and Hutton obtains any zoning exceptions or variances that may be needed, Kimling said, the company will be able to move to close on the purchase of the properties from owner Ronald Festa.

Hutton Group intends to purchase two vacant lots fronting Tarentum Bridge Road at Carl Avenue that are zoned commercial as well as an adjacent lot fronting Carl, which is the one Hutton sought to have rezoned.

Residents of the Carl Avenue neighborhood opposed the store, claiming that it would add traffic to Carl Avenue.

The possibility of increased traffic and its effect on public safety was the biggest concern for council. In March, members asked the Hutton Group to do a traffic study to determine the impact.

Chuck Wooster of David E. Wooster and Associates presented the findings of the study.

“The results of the analysis show no major impact to the intersection (Tarentum Bridge Road and Carl Avenue),” Wooster said.

He referred to auto parts stores as “very low volume” traffic generators. But Wooster acknowledged that left turns into or out of the site from the four-lane Tarentum Bridge Road would be a safety problem.

Hutton Group will mitigate that problem by allowing only right turns into or out of the property.

Mark Zimmerman, a consulting engineer from Morris Knowles and Associates of Delmont working on the development, said trucks heading to the store would not be permitted on Carl Avenue. Delivery trucks will have to execute a turn in the parking lot and then back into the unloading area to avoid Carl.

Richard Bruni, chairman of the city's planning commission, which did not recommend the development's approval, also spoke. He referred to a letter he sent to council that cautioned it about approving the rezoning.

Bruni's letter stated: “Any use other than low impact would adversely affect traffic flow and safety.”

If the auto parts store is no longer operating in 10 or 20 years, he said, council would not be able to stop a wide variety of commercial uses that could have that adverse effect on traffic and safety.

That struck a chord with Councilman Dante Cicconi, who cast the only vote opposing the rezoning.

“You're just not looking at the property now, but what it could be in the future,” Cicconi said. “My concern is what happens when it becomes something else.”

He also thinks the building with parking area is too tight a fit for the property.

Mayor Tom Guzzo said public safety is the primary concern and Hutton has complied with council's wishes.

“They did the traffic study, and that is what we specifically asked them to do,” Guzzo said.

Councilman Doug Aftanas agreed: “I've been studying this for 15 months, and there were some concerns I had with public safety, and those concerns were answered tonight.”

Aftanas and Councilman Tim DiMaio said it would be difficult to turn down the badly needed tax revenue the development will generate.

As for when the store might be built, Kimling said, “It's hard to say. I would love to get in this year. If we get too far into the fall, we may have to wait until spring.”

Tom Yerace is a freelance writer.