Borough-owned property near Route 28 in Tarentum could be used as a vehicle impound if zoning and leasing issues are negotiated.
Council will discuss a proposal that would turn a portion of the empty land off Bakerstown Road into space for vehicle storage.
“I’ve been here 45 years, and nothing has ever been done with that property,” Mayor Bob Lang said. “This person wants to store vehicles there.
“He doesn’t need water or electric, and he said he will maintain the road that goes back there.”
Terry’s Towing Service, which operates on Ninth Avenue in Brackenridge, is interested in the land.
Owner Terry Lilly said he wants to buy or lease up to 10 acres near Tower Drive.
It would be used to store abandoned vehicles only, he said.
“This wouldn’t be a pick-a-part. It would be just to store them,” he said. “We would also be willing to maintain the road.”
The property has been vacant for decades, with people pitching ideas over the years that included housing and sports complexes.
But before anything can occupy the land, council would need to rezone the property away from its R-1 designation.
“Right now, only single-family houses can go there,” Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said. “We would have to change the zoning by adding an overlay district or by changing it, flat out.”
An overlay district would give the borough flexibility. The land could remain an R-1 zone but allow developers to build carriage homes or other structures.
“There’s a lot of land up there that’s not used,” Boddorf said. “If I see anything up there that puts it back on the tax rolls, it’s a benefit.”
Council members also will need to discuss whether the borough wants to subdivide the property for sale or lease.
They can section it off to leave options for future industrial or commercial development, members said.
Resident Marilyn McClain is one of only a few people who live in the neighborhood.
“We weren’t happy when we heard about this,” she told council Tuesday. “It’s a little piece of heaven up there. Nobody comes up there and disturbs anyone, and we want to protect that.”
McClain said Tower Drive is very narrow, fitting only one vehicle at a time.
“You would have to widen it, and there’s no way we want to cut into our property to do that,” she said.
Resident Tina Guthrie told council that the impound would attract a traffic flow to the area that she doesn’t want.
“The only way to have two cars on Tower Drive is to come onto my property,” she said. “We’re tired of fixing ruts.”
Councilman Ray Kerr asked whether conditions could be applied to limit the hours of operation.
Lang said he would suggest no business at night.
Councilwoman Carrie Fox said there has been talk for years about potential uses for the property.
“Everything from windmills to baseball fields,” she said. “It’s worth a conversation. It’s wasted land right now.”
