The Dormont Zoning Hearing Board has rejected most of the zoning variances requested by developers of a proposed Guardian Storage building on West Liberty Avenue, likely delaying the project for either court appeals or a redesign.
East Liberty-based Guardian Storage was seeking to buy two buildings on West Liberty near Pioneer Avenue, demolish an old bank and add a new structure to the former Masonic Building to create an indoor self-storage facility. Residents and neighbors worried the project would bring too much traffic to an already-clogged intersection and wouldn't be appropriate for Dormont's business district.
Guardian was granted a special exception to build self-storage in the commercial zone, but then wanted variances from the code to build taller, closer to the property line and with less parking than the code requires. Interim borough manager Rebecca Bradley said the board last week denied several variances; developers can appeal the decision to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
