The attorney for a Butler County development company said the firm might take Adams Township officials to court after supervisors denied a request to amend the township's zoning to allow large retail buildings.
"My client will look at all of his options, which includes litigation and also developing the property within the current zoning," said Don Graham, who represents Ridge Development LP.
Graham also said he might return to the supervisors to ask for an amendment that would allow township officials "to fix their ordinance."
"We gave them an opportunity to change," Graham said. "We were agreeable to what the township proposed, but now we can propose what we think will fix the ordinance, which might be less to the residents' liking."
The zoning amendment called for a change that would allow 120,000-square-foot retail buildings on lots of 35 acres or larger along Route 228 on the eastern-most and western-most sides of the township. Route 228 is the major connector between Routes 8 and 19 in southern Butler County.
Currently, retail buildings in that area can be no larger than 20,000 square feet, but Don Surrena, the township's code enforcement officer, said there are no restrictions on building size for other uses, such as a grocery store, video arcade, roller rink, banquet hall or specialty retail store.
Township zoning laws define specialty retail shops as those that cater to a specific market or are linked by an architectural, historical or geographical connection.
The zoning allows for a variety of commercial uses and says only that the buildings must be at a scale and with structural elements that are in concert with existing residential or nonresidential structures. The only size limit in the current ordinance is the one on retail buildings.
"The zoning ordinance is exclusionary; we said that from the beginning," Graham said. "We gave them an opportunity to change that."
Supervisors voted down the amendment June 24 with a 3-2 decision. Linda Lees, Herbert Kaufman and Thomas Franceschina voted against the change, while Chairman Don Aiken and Ed Vogel voted for it.
"My main concern was the eastern gateway that is part of the rezoning," Franceschina said. "Where is Route 228 going to end up⢠We could put this zoning in and 228 could get moved. We don't know what's going on."
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is working on plans for improving Route 228, including widening the road to building a bypass.
While the amendment would have dealt with the eastern and western ends of Route 228, the residents who spoke at a public hearing in May were focused on the repercussions on the western end. That area is in the busiest part of the township, near the Hidden Oaks and Adams Ridge housing plans.
At the May hearing, supervisors asked that residents and representatives from the developer get together to work on issues that had residents concerned. The two sides met, but no real progress was made.
At the public hearing, Bruno Muscatello, a Butler attorney hired by the Hidden Oaks Homeowners Association, said the township would have case law on its side if it did not amend the zoning.
Franceschina said several residents worried that a large retailer such as Wal-Mart or Sam's Club could be built on the land.
"I decided to vote on the side of caution and vote no," Franceschina said.
Franceschina said he would like to see conditional uses put on the land, which would add another layer of oversight for the township and the residents before the land could be developed.
Graham said it could be a month before a course of action is decided. C.J. Betters is a principal in Ridge Development and is the developer who built the largest plan in the township. Betters is the force behind the Adams Ridge development, which recently had 271 units approved by the township and could have 500 houses and 640 apartment units when the project is completed.
