Private road on pause as Penn Hills zoning board mulls approval

The Penn Hills Zoning Hearing Board will take a month to mull whether a landscaper can build a private road in a section of the municipality prone to landslides and drainage issues.

Vigliotti Landscaping started work on the road in 2020 to connect its storage facility at 10250 Buchannon Road to Jomar Supply at 10133 Frankstown Road. Joseph Vigliotti, who owns these properties and several others, requested an expanded legal nonconforming use to complete the project Wednesday.

Built before Penn Hills implemented a zoning code in 1940, the Buchannon Road property is grandfathered in as a legal nonconforming use.

Work was halted because Vigliotti failed to obtain proper approval from local, county and state authorities, according to Penn Hills planner Damian Butler-Buccilli.

The code department issued violation notices and stop work orders starting in 2022, Butler-Buccilli said. Vigliotti was cited for lacking a grading permit in September 2023, according to court documents.

Vigliotti’s summary trial has been continued twice, including on Feb. 29, with the next date set for May 2.

If granted, the following properties would count as legal nonconforming uses: 10142, 10244 and 10250 Buchannon Road; 620 Flamingo Ave., 10133, 10143 and 10125 Frankstown Road; and 828 Old Coal Hollow Road.

Vanessa Brown, owner of Chatterbox Daycare on Frankstown Road, vouched for Vigliotti as a responsible property owner. He purchased the parcel now occupied by Jomar Supply in 2019, formerly Bobo’s Car Wash.

Brown said the lot was a hot spot for crime before Vigliotti bought it.

“He helped my business from being in jeopardy,” Brown said.

Multiple residents who live on Old Coal Hollow Road expressed concerns that the project would worsen drainage issues. The road has a history of flooding, which the Department of Public Works tried to address in recent years with drainage ditches.

Mochelle Salisbury bought a home on the road in 2017 and has since experienced routine flooding.

“Water is just cascading down both sides like a waterfall,” Salisbury said. “Nobody is doing anything to help me, and the damage is getting worse.”

Vigliotti said the project entails two retention ponds as well as drainage improvements.

After hearing presentations from Vigliotti, as well as residents who might be impacted by the project, the board postponed its decision until the March 27 meeting.