Plum considering subdividing vacant Saltsburg Road land into 3 lots for houses

A proposed subdivision in Plum could lead to the construction of three new houses.

Council will consider property owner Jim Meli’s request to subdivide a vacant lot at the corner of Saltsburg Road and Willow Village Drive into three residential lots, according to interim Borough Manager David Soboslay.

Meli could not be reached for comment.

According to the borough, the lot is just under 1 acre. The three new lots would be 0.39-acre, 0.23-acre and 0.32-acre.

The land is zoned neighborhood commercial. Single-family houses are allowed in that area, Soboslay said.

Nothing for the construction of homes has been submitted yet to the borough, he said.

Two of the houses would front on Willow Village, while one would be accessed from Saltsburg, Soboslay told borough council. For the house facing Saltsburg, a permit would be needed from PennDOT.

According to Allegheny County property records, Meli Properties has owned the lot since buying it for $69,000 in December 2016.

Now surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire, the lot is used for storage.

In 2017, Plum approved the construction of a commercial strip shopping center on the land. Soboslay said it would have had two or three storefronts. It was never built.

A final land development agreement for the commercial use was never signed, and council’s approval expired last year, Soboslay said.

Borough staff and its engineer are recommending approval of the subdivision.

Council will vote on it during its meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the municipal center, 2000 Old Mine Road.