Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Joshua Lorenz, William Vance, Regis Synan, Jeffrey Kepler, David Perry, Joan Kearns, and Loren Kase. Also present were Mayor Robert Brooks, Chief Administrator James R. Morrison, and Solicitor George Kotjarapoglus. MAYOR BROOKS WELCOMES KATI HARTWIG, COMMUNITY MANAGER RELAY FOR LIFE – AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY Mayor Robert Brooks commented on the recent Relay for Life held at the Franklin-Regional campus and noted the number of events held on the football field, the opening walk and number of teams participating. He then introduced Kati Hartwig, who is the Community Manager for Relay for Life, a position she has held for almost two years. Ms. Hartwig gave a brief history of her involvement with Relay and her education, ending up with the position she holds now with the American Cancer Society. Kati presented Mayor Brooks with a coffee mug showing luminaries displayed during the event. She then explained that the point of the Relay is to celebrate, remember and fight back against cancer. She had a power point presentation about the 2015 Relay and noted that over $99,000 was raised, but more donations were coming in and the group hoped to reach its goal of $105,000. She thanked the Murrysville Community and everyone that participated and welcomed all to participate in the 2016 event. PUBLIC HEARING Beginning at 7:13 p.m., Council held a Public Hearing on four Conditional Use Applications for timbering requested by Timber Harvest: CU-3-15, 3893 Windover Road, 7 acres; CU-4-15, 3898 Windover Road, 7 acres; CU-5-15, 4991 Crowfoot Road, 30 acres; CU-6-15, 117 Hay Lane, 8 acres. Dave O’Barto, the consulting forester representing the lumber company and the landowners, explained to Council the proposal to do a selective harvest on the mentioned properties to restore health back into the forest and salvage dead and dying timber. The hearing was opened to the public in attendance for comments. Alan Halperin, President of the Westmoreland Conservancy, advised Council that the Conservancy owns a publicly-accessible nature reserve adjacent to the 30-acre parcel proposed to be timbered. He said he had written a letter to the Planning Commission and summarized the contents: the Conservancy and Crowfoot are presently negotiating over lead contamination adjacent to Crowfoot’s trap range, as well as for a property exchange for some of the property proposed to be timbered; the amount of contaminated acreage has yet to be determined. The Conservancy is asking Council to table the Conditional Use application until the matter is settled. He said there have also be boundary issues with the Club and requested that the property have a registered survey prior to beginning any timbering in order to assure that only the timber on the Club’s property is cut. He also noted that all of the property to be timbered drains into Haymaker Run, a high-quality watershed, and asked that a condition be imposed that would allow the timbering to occur during hard-ground conditions, either in late summer or winter. car 6/27/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Donna Woehler, 4056 Hills Church Road, asked why a hearing is being held on timbering. She owns 40 acres of ground and wanted to know why she didn’t have the right to do what she wants with her property if she chose to timber it. Mr. Morrison explained that the requested timbering is considered major forestry and is regulated by the Municipality’s zoning ordinance. Although it is a permitted use, it is also a conditional use, which means that it has to go through a public hearing, which gives the Council the ability to put reasonable conditions on the activity. Mrs. Kearns said that other factors involved include the access to the property and the routes used to take the lumber out. David O’Barto acknowledged that there is an issue between Crowfoot and the Conservancy and Crowfoot has no problem tabling the harvesting; the company just wants to get the permits in line so they are ready to go once it is resolved. As far as the logging process, he has submitted the E&S plans to the County and the Conservation District and has approval from the Conservation District. He also said that Crowfoot has a registered survey, the pins are in place and well-marked, and he doesn’t believe the Club should be made to have another survey done. He said the harvesting will be done on the south side of Crowfoot Road; the lead contamination issue is on the north side. No timbering will be done until all the studies are completed. Mrs. Kearns said the map given to Council doesn’t show how he intends to access the lands; Mr. Perry said the map also doesn’t show the exact locations where the timbering is to be done. Mr. O’Barto said the map Mrs. Kearns referred to is not the map he provided to the Planning Commission; he had provided topography and soil maps and is not sure who has those maps. Mr. O’Barto said there are already existing driveways or roads to the properties and they will be using 72,000# log trucks. Mrs. Kearns requested a writing indicating that Crowfoot is willing to delay the timbering until the issues with the Conservancy are resolved. Mr. Perry asked if the roads to be used are weight posted roads. Mr. O’Barto said the haul routes have already been specified by the engineer. Mr. Morrison said there will be an excess maintenance agreement for the roads; Mr. O’Barto said the state has a bonding requirement, which the company will post with Murrysville in order to ensure the integrity of the system. Mr. Kase said the route suggested was to keep the trucks from running down School Road in front of the school buildings. There were no further questions from Council and no comments from those in attendance. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:27 p.m. Beginning at 7:28 p.m., Council held a Public Hearing on the request to transfer a restaurant liquor license to premises located at 4920 William Penn Highway, Murrysville, PA and operate thereon a restaurant with liquor license as a tenant of real estate owned by Summit Apartments, Inc. The restaurant liquor license R-5414 was formerly operated at 101 S. Main Street, New Alexandria Borough, Westmoreland County, PA. Mark Kozar, an attorney with Flaherty & O’Hara representing Apple Pennsylvania, LLC, came before Council to request a Resolution permitting the inter-municipal transfer of the liquor license. Mr. Kozar gave some background information on Apple Pennsylvania, as well as information on the facility to be built in Murrysville, including hours of operation, number of employees and seating capacity. There were no questions from anyone in the audience or Council. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:33 p.m. car 6/27/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA UNISTED AMENDMENTS: None. Mr. Kepler moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Kase seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. MAY 6, 2015 MEETING MINUTES TO BE APPROVED Mr. Synan moved to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Lorenz seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY INPUT: None. WORKSHOP ITEMS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 10A. DISCUSSION FOUR CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATIONS FOR TIMBERING REQUESTED BY TIMBER HARVEST: CU-3-15, 3893 Windover Road, 7 acres; CU-4-15, 3898 Windover Road, 7 acres; CU-5-15, 4991 Crowfoot Road, 30 acres; CU-6-15, 117 Hay Lane, 8 acres. Mr. Vance asked for clarification of the types of trees to be harvested. Mr. O’Barto said they will be salvaging dead ash trees and also thinning through other species of all diameters (i.e., maple, oak, ash, poplar). He said he personally marked all the trees at chest height and also on the root collar so that the loggers know what trees are designated for removal. Mr. Morrison asked if there are specific areas identified within the parcels or if the logging will be done throughout the parcels. Mr. O’Barto said there are specific areas, and those were identified on the maps he previously submitted. Mrs. Kearns again requested a letter indicating that no logging will be conducted on the Crowfoot property until the issues with the Conservancy are resolved. Mr. O’Barto said that, as the forester in charge of the project, he will furnish a letter stating that the lumber company will not commence operations until the matter is resolved. Mrs. Kearns asked to have someone from Crowfoot also sign that letter. 10B. DISCUSSION ON THE REQUEST TO TRANSFER A RESTAURANT LIQUOR LICENSE TO PREMISES LOCATED AT 4920 WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY, MURRYSVILLE, PA AND OPERATE THEREON A RESTAURANT WITH LIQUOR LICENSE AS A TENANT OF REAL ESTATE OWNED BY SUMMIT APARTMENTS, INC. THE RESTAURANT LIQUOR LICENSE R-5414 WAS FORMERLY OPERATED AT 101 S. MAIN STREET, NEW ALEXANDRIA BOROUGH, WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PA. Since this was discussed in the public hearing, there were no questions from anyone in attendance or Council. This item will be on the June 17 agenda. car 6/27/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 10C. DISCUSSION ON S-4-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER SUBDIVISION, 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY, LOT CONSOLIDATION. 10D. DISCUSSION ON CU-2-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER, A CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION TO ALLOW PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY, MURRYSVILE, PROPOSED TO BE USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CHILD CARE FACILITY AND REDUCTION IN THE SIDE AND REAR YARDS OF THE OUTDOOR PLAY AREA TO 40 FEET, WITH ADDITIONAL LANDSCAPE BUFFER BEING PLANTED WITHIN THAT YARD AREA. 10E. DISCUSSION ON SP-3-15, TENDER CARE LEARNING CENTER, SITE PLAN, 4490 OLD WILLIAM PENN HIGHWAY. Robert Bodnar, president of VEBH Architects, addressed the suggestions Council made at a previous meeting regarding planting 6’ instead of 4’ trees, which has been changed on the drawings submitted. Another concern was if there was enough square footage for the number of children on the play area. Those calculations were made and have been added to the drawings. Mrs. Kearns again discussed the trees and noted that there are mature, well-established trees planted on the adjacent properties, which would pose a potential problem in the future as the trees to be planted on the Tender Care lot grow. She suggested a 6’ fence might be a better option on the side where abutting residential properties. Mr. Kepler asked if any feedback was received from any of the property owners; Mr. Morrison said he was not aware of any. Mr. Synan said the fence seems to make more since, because the trees will get bigger and crowd everything out. Frank Reabe, CEO of Tender Care Learning Center, said he would rather look out at trees that provide shade and natural color as opposed to walling the children in with a fence. He said he would do so if that is Council’s wish, but does not think it will be aesthetically pleasing. Mr. Reabe reminded Mrs. Kearns that there were two public hearings held on this matter and none of the neighbors came forth with any objections to the children playing on the adjacent property. Mr. Kase said he visited the property and noticed that some of the houses are a raised up a bit and he didn’t know if a fence would be as effective as a natural barrier. He said the trees would be a nicer fit to the neighborhood than a wooden fence. Mr. Reabe again invited Council to visit any of the other Tender Care facilities and stressed that none of the playgrounds are a hindrance to the community, but rather are an amenity and would not want the children to fee that they are walled in. He will, however, do what Council asks them to do. Mr. Morrison reminded Council that the expiration date for approval is June 17, and if Council wishes to see specific items for staff to review, he recommended that they be considered tonight in order to give Tender Care an opportunity to get the information to Council for review prior to the next meeting. Otherwise, Council will have to ask the applicant for a time waiver. Mr. Kepler commented that he likes the trees. Mr. Lorenz said, in car 6/27/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 fairness to the applicant, Council needs to give some direction as to what is needed. He said the applicant seems willing to comply with any request, but Council needs to tell him what they would like. Mr. Kepler said if he was one of the neighbors of this property, he would prefer trees over a fence and would expect more people complaining about a fence. Mr. Lorenz agreed and noted that, to date, none of the neighbors have complained. After further discussion, Council was in agreement to allow trees as opposed to a fence. This item will be on the voting agenda for the June 17 meeting. ADMINISTRATION: 12A. DISCUSSION ON MUNICIPAL HEIGHT REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO GRASS AND WEEDS. Mr. Morrison reminded Council that there is an existing Ordinance that regulates grass and weeds throughout the Municipality, with the regulations varying by zoning district. The ordinance currently provides for notice to remedy by the Code Enforcement Officer. If no action is taken after 30 days, a registered letter is sent to the offending property; if the owner chooses to appeal, there is an additional 30 days for appeal. By that time, summer is done and the grass is dead. Mr. Morrison researched similar ordinances in Pennsylvania and other states and the notice to remedy the violation ranges from 5 to 30 days. The height, in other communities, ranges from 6”-18”. Murrysville’s current regulation is 16”. Staff suggests that Council might want to consider different heights for different zoning districts, reducing the time to cure to ten (10) days, clarify that the fines are progressive for repeat offenders, and make it clear that payment of the costs to remedy does not eliminate court action. Mr. Kepler asked how the 6” height was determined. Mr. Morrison said 6” is tolerable, is not offensive, and doesn’t become a nuisance visually. Mayor Brooks said the 30-day time period is the biggest problem. Mr. Synan said he agrees with staff’s recommendation as presented in writing. There was some discussion about “improved” and “developed” lots in a residential district. Mr. Morrison said if Council is agreeable to the recommendations, it will be put into a formal ordinance presentation to authorize advertising. COUNCIL - ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF PLANTING THREE (3) LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEAS AND A PLAQUE AT THE MURRYSVILLE COMMUNITY PARK WETLANDS IN MEMORY OF RAYMOND MEEHAN, JEROME WOLFE, AND BRIEN PALMER BY THE CITIZENS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF RURAL MURRYSVILLE. Mr. Kepler moved to approve the requested plantings and plaque. Mr. Vance seconded. Linda Martz, 3210 Bryson Court, representing CPRM, explained that the group sent a letter to Mr. Morrison requesting permission to plant the hydrangeas and also asking the Public Works Dept. to enlarge the planting bed by the sign. CPRM will plant and mulch the area. There was discussion on the plaque and Mr. Morrison advised there is a company that makes a plastic plaque that looks like bronze. It is not as expensive and bronze plaques seem to disappear rather quickly. car 6/27/15 Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Synan – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. ENGINEERING: 15A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF BOND RELEASE FOR PNC BANK. Mr. Synan moved to approve the release of the bond being held to ensure completion of the required improvements for the PNC Bank development. The value of the bond is $378,235. Mr. Kepler seconded. Upon a roll call vote: Mr. Lorenz – yes, Mr. Vance – yes, Mr. Synan – yes, Mr. Kepler – yes, Mr. Perry – yes, Mrs. Kearns – yes, Mr. Kase – yes. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: Remind the Planning Commission that the report of the Marcellus Shale task force was given to them for their review, opinion and recommendations, with the hope that it would come back to Council in the form of a pending ordinance for Council to accept or reject and move forward. Mr. Lorenz asked about the Commission’s trepidation. Mr. Kase said he believes the concern on the part of the Commission is that they put a lot of time into it with the possibility that Council would say it’s “completely backwards” and send it back. The report was not discussed in detail at the Commission’s meeting. Mr. Vance asked if there were a number of corrections or additions made by the Commission. Mr. Morrison said there were no recommendations incorporated in the task force report because the Commission was not charged to recommend; they were charged to review the Supreme Court decision and were provided with numerous reports and data in order to view alternatives. The data provided was intended to serve as a background to understand the impact of Act 13, so that the Commission members could look at the various options and do that in context with the existing ordinance to determine if any changes were necessary. Council asked Mr. Morrison to write a letter to the Commission asking for their recommended changes based on Act 13 and the current ordinance. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Kepler asked about the status of the Rt. 22 light project. Mr. Morrison said it appears that the Alpine Village light is dysfunctional. The contractor is currently pulling all the wire, equipment is being received and they are progressing. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. ACTION ITEMS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Kepler moved to adjourn. Mr. Kase seconded. All present voted aye. The Council Meeting concluded at 8:25 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting was broadcast on local government Channel 19. A true copy of the Council meeting DVD is available for the public to purchase from the Municipality of Murrysville and is in the Murrysville Public Library for review. car 6/27/15