Murrysville council opted to reject a request to rezone property at the corner of Wilson and Manor roads, part of a group of properties slated for a corporate campus for medical business Dedicated Nursing Associates along with other commercial, retail and residential aspects.
The first phase of the development is the Regan Ridge plan, high-end townhomes adjacent to the property that developer Craig Fusting wanted to rezone. Fusting’s original plan was to repurpose a barn on the property to create an activity center for Regan Ridge residents. Over the summer, he proposed rezoning the property from high-density residential to business, to build a gym.
“The potential (Regan Ridge) buyers are not interested in an activity center,” Fusting said. “They’re interested in a gym, and to get the project moving faster, I’d like to cater to what they’re looking for.”
Several residents from the nearby Westmoreland Farms subdivision went to a public hearing on the rezoning, saying they have been looking at a partially finished Regan Ridge for nearly three years and are against the zoning change.
“It doesn’t benefit me at all to drag the project out,” Fusting said. “And if this is denied now and ends up being approved later, that’s going to drag the process out further. I understand the homeowners next door want to see the project sped up, and this is a way to help do that.”
Murrysville planning commissioners recommended council deny the rezoning request. Some council members were concerned about setting a precedent by granting the request.
“The risk to the municipality is that, once we rezone this, they could decide not to develop a gym or sell it, and then anything permitted in business zoning could go in there,” Councilman Mac McKenna said.
Fusting said the proposed footprint for the gym is only 3,000 square feet, and he noted the high-tension electrical wires that also cross the property.
“There’s a limited number of things you could put in there, based on the square footage and the parking allowance,” he said.
Council voted 4-1 to reject the rezoning request. Councilman Jason Lemak voted for rezoning. Council members Dayne Dice and Carl Stepanovich were not present.
