Resident looks to block 117-unit apartment development in Shadyside

After a protracted battle appeared to be settled over a proposed 10-story apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, another barrier has been put up by a neighborhood resident.

Last month, Lania Rubio of Shadyside appealed a March Pittsburgh zoning board ruling in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. She is asking a judge to overrule the zoning variance that was granted to Mozart Development for its 117-unit building proposal.

Mozart objected to the appeal and has filed a petition to intervene in the case.

The March approval came after years of contention between the developers and a group of residents. Some residents were opposed to the proposal’s height and believed it would increase traffic in the area.

The 108-foot apartment proposal was seeking a variance because the zoning code for that area restricts buildings to 85 feet, even though some older buildings in the area already exceed that height.

Mozart initially proposed a 12-story and 131-unit building at 525 South Aiken Ave., but that was rejected. The developer lowered the height to 10 stories and 117 units, which satisfied Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, a community group and, ultimately, the zoning board.

But not Rubio.

She filed a civil suit April 13 that claimed the variance was “improper and unjustified,” and the board committed “an abuse of discretion or error of law.” Rubio wrote that the variance should be reversed.

Rubio lives on Clayborne Street, just a few houses down from where the proposed apartment building would be built. She contends that the zoning board used an improper interpretation of a 2014 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that dealt with potential hardships and relief and that the zoning board’s justification was “overly broad.” She wrote that Mozart failed to provide sufficient examples of hardship that would occur if not granted the variance.

During the zoning board hearings, Mozart’s partner, Camp Eight, testified that allowing the variance and more units would lower the cost of building each unit by about 37%. The zoning board concurred and said the project was the “minimum that would allow for an economically feasible development of the site.”

Mozart also provided testimony during the zoning board hearing with traffic engineers and architects who said that impacts on traffic would be minimal and noted the building height would match the adjacent Arlington apartment building on Aiken.

The zoning board approval came with conditions — at least 10% of the units will be affordable to tenants who make 80% of area median income.

In response to Rubio’s appeal, Mozart filed a petition to intervene April 27 stating that the developer will be directly affected by the outcome of the appeal.

Mozart managing director Zsolt Bessko said the company does not believe the appeal has merit and Mozart is proceeding forward with the project.