Zoning change debated

The Penn Hills Planning Department is proposing a compromise in the latest request to rezone residential property overlooking Rodi Road near the Wilkins border.

Developer Joseph D'Andrea, who after a border dispute still has about 5 acres of property in Penn Hills, has also purchased about 8 acres of land from James Sable for $300,000.

The request goes before the Penn Hills Planning Commission tonight at 7:30 in council chambers, 12245 Frankstown Road.

D'Andrea wants to build two office buildings of 60,000 square feet and 48,000 square feet for a further expansion of Vocollect, a Wilkins communications company occupying the existing building that became the centerpiece of the border dispute.

"All of the revenue goes to Wilkins, and half of the Ridgecrest Plan homeowners are now Wilkins residents," said Penn Hills planning and economic development director Howard Davidson. "Where do we go from here• This is the attractive economic development that we've been promoting for years."

D'Andrea seeks a zone change from R-1 residential to mixed use, which again draws concern from Gramac Drive resident Greg Swatchick.

"With a mixed zoning district, they can put in a strip joint or just about anything they want up there," Swatchick said.

The planning department is recommending approval of a "modified" zoning change, that will include an increase in the amount of buffer between one of the buildings and Gramac Drive from 100 to 150 feet. The buffer zone would also be zoned as a conservation district.

"We want to lock them into professional office buildings and we want to lock them into preservation of the woodland," Davidson said.

For the section of the proposed development that's closer to the neighborhoods on Gramac and Ridgecrest drives, the planning department recommends a more restricted B-3 zoning designation, then mixed use only for the building closer to Rodi Road.

Davidson noted that the request needs more fine-tuning, such as traffic studies and further analysis of the proposal for 474 new parking spaces. He also recommends a hearing before council, which will make the final decision.

In the past, council has voted down D'Andrea's requests, despite positive recommendations from the planning commission.

"We are now looking at new opportunity and a growing company called Vocollect," Davidson said. "If we want them in Penn Hills, we need to find a way to work out the zoning issues. They are asking for a zoning change, not a 'TIF' (tax increment funding) or a tax break or a community development grant. This is economic development at its best."

Swatchick on the other hand wants the "residential integrity" of the neighborhood to remain intact.

"We have to go through this every time they put the public notices up on the street," Swatchick said.