After listening to input from more than half a dozen residents Wednesday night, the Springdale Planning Commission decided it has more questions than answers regarding the future of the defunct Cheswick Generating Station.

So, the commission voted 3-0 to postpone whether to consider, in effect, changing the 56 total acres from a utilities/industrial zone to R-2, residential — which allows for medium density housing.

After listening to residents who are split on the issue, the planning commission agreed with chair David Prevost to postpone making a recommendation to council at least until its May meeting.

“I need more information, that’s the long and the short of it,” Prevost told the Trib. “I don’t want to make a decision that’s detrimental to either side. Companies have the right to operate and to make money in their environment, and people who live in town have the right to have a clean environment and stable property values. And I just don’t know enough about what’s planned here.

“There’s some confusion as to, ‘are all the properties zoned industrial?’ ”

Sam Miller, a representative of Kentucky-based Charah Solutions, a remediation service that now owns the former coal-fired power plant, made it clear that Charah opposes rezoning the property to create housing on the partially dismantled generating station’s 56 acres, which includes an adjoining 27 acre parcel.

“CPERG (Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group) has made a significant investment on the current zoning designation of the property,” Miller’s statement from Charah Solutions read. “The property owner has invested significant resources to remediate environmental conditions of the property to a standard suitable to future industrial uses.”

Prevost said he did not feel Miller, the company’s representative, was being specific enough.

“Yes, they tear down the plant, they take care of whatever environmental issues there are. But, I’d like to know where have you done this before and what has gone in there?” Prevost said. “And then on those sites, how close is it to a residential area? The power plant kind of splits between Springdale and Cheswick — one side has houses that are Cheswick and on the other side you have houses that are Springdale.

”I’d just like to know whether there are any similar situations, and what they did with it.”

Springdale Borough Solicitor Craig Alexander said the planning commission will give its recommendation to borough council, which can either accept or reject it. Alexander said. “Council will then have a public hearing.”

In January, a Charah spokesman said power plant demolition would likely be completed next year.

Last year, the company announced its plans to demolish the plant and potentially use the property for renewable energy and battery storage options. But Mitch Karaica, who worked at the power plant for 14 years and spoke Wednesday in favor of rezoning the property residential, said he is dead set against using the property for battery storage.

“Battery storage is giant tractor-trailer sized battery cells that suck off of the electric grid and charge all day. It doesn’t recycle old car batteries, and they are very dangerous. The chemicals are basically giant hydrogen bombs. (And) there would be almost zero tax base with that. Maybe a handful of employees at most and a giant danger to our community.”

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