Members of Plum Council said they had no choice but to approve construction of a new Dollar General in the borough.

Council voted in favor of a conditional use application and a subdivision for store at Saltsburg and Clements roads.

Land development will be the last part of the approval process. It’s expected to be on council’s agenda for its Dec. 13 meeting, according to David Soboslay, interim borough manager.

It will be the third Dollar General in Plum. The others are on Unity-Center Road and Route 286.

Several residents in the vicinity of the new store have opposed the development since it first arose in January. They’re citing traffic, lighting and other concerns, including the impact on property values.

“What is the council obligation: Is it to the citizens of Plum Borough, or is it to Dollar General at this point?” asked resident Witney Downey, whose home is next to the pasture on which the store would be built.

Downey said she presented more than 800 signatures on petitions opposing the development.

“Our word has to mean something at some point,” she said. “We’ve had many meetings about this. Not one person has come up saying, ‘We want this.’ ”

“Please think about us, the community members,” she said. “Would you guys like to live next to a Dollar General? Just think about that.”

A representative of Dollar General did not respond to a request for comment Friday night.

The conditional use was approved on a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Dan Hadley voting against. Dave Vento was absent.

The property is zoned for neighborhood commercial.

“The last thing any one of us ever dreamed of was out on that horse farm that there would be a Dollar General,” Councilman Skip Taylor said. “I lived in Plum all my life. I didn’t even realize that that particular parcel of land was zoned that, but it was. It is zoned for that.”

Solicitor Bruce Dice explained that the company has a right to a conditional use if it satisfies the requirements in the borough’s ordinances.

“I see this in communities all the time. You want it turned down,” he said. “Problem is, in this case, I think they’ve satisfied and checked all the boxes. If they have, they get the use as a matter of right.”

Taylor said no one on council, including Mayor Harry Schlegel, wants the store to be built there, but it met all the criteria, tying their hands.

“You guys elected us to be fiscally responsible. If we vote against this, this is going downtown,” Taylor said, referring to legal action. “We might as well throw thousands and thousands of your dollars, tax dollars, away to defend this and we’re still going to end up the same situation: Dollar General is going to be there.”

If they voted no, Councilman Paul Dern also said Dollar General would take the borough to court and win.

“Every single thing that needed to be checked off as a conditional use for this property for Dollar General has been met,” Dern said.

Councilman Ryan Delaney said he wished he did not have to vote on the development.

“I wish there was a legal way to say no, but it is what it is. The law is the law, and that is what you elected us for,” he said.

Schlegel offered this advice to residents: “Don’t shop at Dollar General.”

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