North Huntingdon rejects buyers' plans to build homes on industrial parcel

North Huntingdon commissioners deadlocked on a zoning decision that would have allowed two families to build homes near a former strip mine.

Commissioner Virginia Stump, who could have been the tie-breaking vote, abstained from participating in the matter because she is a real estate agent and faced a potential conflict of interest because she shares a broker with the agent who handled the sale of the property.

The families bought the 97-acre property along Leger Road for $230,000 with hopes that each of them could build homes on the property.

But Brett and Alyssa Arnold of Manor and Andrew and Jeanna Smith of North Huntingdon can’t proceed because the property is zoned for industrial use. They asked the commissioners for a zoning change, which ended in a tie vote last week, and have filed a lawsuit over the township’s denial of a variance to build homes on the property.

Commissioners Richard Gray, Zachary Haigis and Ronald Zona voted to deny the request to rezone the land, while commissioners Jason Atwood, Eric Gass and Lyndsay Wengrzyn opposed the move to reject the rezoning. In a vote to approve the zoning change, both factionsof commissioners maintained their stances. Stump abstained in both cases.

The couples’ request to rezone the land was tabled in February when the commissioners discussed the possibility of creating an overlay of the property, which would allow the buyers to build their homes but maintain the industrial classification for zoning purposes. Stump had offered the alternative solution to the buyers’ dilemma when it was apparent that the majority on the board was not going to approve a rezoning request.

Prior to the vote, Brett Arnold asked township commissioners to consider an alternative — allow for the rezoning of a five-acre plot on each of the couples’ 47-acre parcels without rezoning the remaining acrage. That would allow each family to build on the land and generate property taxes for the township.

If the board were to approve the request, the township would be dividing a subdivision of the original 97 acres, said Ryan Fonzi, planning director.

Atwood said he saw the property and what would remain after carving out two five-acre parcels would be basically “garbage” and not of any use by an industry.

The township had an opportunity to gain tax revenue by allowing home construction instead of hoping for a business to build there, Gass said.

“They offered us an olive branch,” Gass said of the proposed compromise.

If the township changes the zoning of the industrial property, “it is gone forever,” Gray said.

Township officials told the Realtor involved in the sale that the property was not zoned for residential use, Zona said.

Brett Arnold declined to comment on any future plans. Andrew Smith was not available for comment.

Related:

• North Huntingdon property owner frustrated by stalled zoning change effort

• North Huntingdon property owners hoping to build homes await second decision on property rezoning