North Union supervisors hear concerns about development
A North Union Township sewer authority member told township supervisors on Tuesday that two other authority board members are moving recreational vehicles on to land on Hogsett Lane for which they have permission to open a mobile home park.
“It’s friends of a lot of people in this room,” is as far as North Union Township Municipal Sewer Authority member Bob Garbart would go in identifying the two men in question.
Garbart said he believes the two are violating the special exception they received from the Fayette County zoning hearing board (ZHB) by placing campers instead of mobile homes on the property.
When they asked the ZHB for the special exception, they said they were developing a gated park for 17 mobile homes, Garbart said. However, 10 campers have been placed on three of the mobile home sites, creating the appearance that they are leaving space for many more campers, he said.
Garbart said he believes as many as 60 campers would be set up and leased as temporary housing for Marcellus shale gas industry workers.
The zoning requirements for a campground and a mobile home park are different, said Garbart, who is an engineer.
These friends are putting the supervisors and other township officials in a difficult position, said Garbart. He said he contacted the county zoning office and he suggested that the supervisors contact the office and ask for an investigation.
In regards to a possible development, the supervisors tabled action on a request from the Fayette County Community Action Agency (FCCA) for a sewage module to build a 10-unit apartment building for low-income, single renters.
The supervisors rejected the request from FCCA after more than two dozen residents spoke against the development at a meeting in February and signed a petition against it.
“I’m still against it,” Supervisor Curtis Matthews said.
Supervisors agreed with a recommendation from solicitor Donald McCue to table the request so it can be reviewed. McCue said the township has 60 days to review the matter.
In other business, the supervisors:
n Transferred a .18-acre lot on Old Braddock Road where a water storage tank and pump station are located to the North Fayette County Municipal Authority.
n Awarded the fuel contract to Freedom Fuel, which submitted the only bid, for $2.93 per gallon for gasoline and $2.97 per gallon for diesel.
n Agreed to rescind a property tax exemption for a veteran because he is not the only person listed as the owner in county property records.