Murrysville looks to balance growth, rural character that attracts new residents

Oct. 12—Murrysville Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns is not happy at having missed a vote last month to hire a consultant who will help municipal officials take a deep dive into their zoning laws.

Korns has been advocating a long look at Murrysville's zoning ordinances for several years.

"With a lot of the zoning changes I've seen on the planning commission and now on council over the past decade, we've had to react and respond to requests because we've had other priorities and projects," Korns said.

In rejecting a rezoning request this summer for high-density housing along Cline Hollow Road, several council members noted that they weren't rejecting the idea, only the notion of "up-zoning" property.

Several residents who objected to the rezoning cited the potential for increased traffic.

That's just one part of a larger discussion in bedroom communities such as Murrysville. Officials face the question of how to grow the town while also retaining its rural aspects, and how to maintain the level of services to which residents are accustomed.

'Nobody bothers us'

Elaine Yarabinetz of Murrysville has seen the discussion from multiple angles, as both a 22-year resident and a local Realtor.

"Professionally, I see home buyers coming to our area to escape busier, more commercialized areas for a quieter, small-town feel," Yarabinetz said. "But I also think they want convenience."

Retaining the quiet nature of the neighborhood was certainly top of mind for a group of residents who attended a February council meeting to object to a request for a soccer complex along Boxcartown Road. In this case, it wasn't a rezoning request that drew criticism, but rather the idea of placing large, lit soccer fields and ultimately more traffic along a one-lane residential road.

"We moved here from Pittsburgh because it's a beautiful, quiet, dark community," School Road South resident Ken Mason told council members. "Nobody bothers us; and this whole proposal is going to bring traffic, garbage on the road. We have a (hard) time getting out of our driveway any time of day."

For Kiersten Maryott of Murrysville, it boiled down to the wording in the zoning ordinance for the property in question, which is zoned rural-residential.

"There's this weird stipulation about outdoor recreation that allowed for something like this athletic complex," she said. "And sure, it's outdoor recreation, but it's also a commercial enterprise. It's going to draw tons of traffic that the road was not designed to handle."

Some residents cited a similar objection regarding municipal plans to develop an outdoor amphitheater at Murrysville Community Park, which is located along another smaller rural route, Wiestertown Road.

"I think they need to consider zoning very carefully," Maryott said. "It's nice to have all of the things we have along Route 22 that generate revenue, with neighborhoods off in the wings. There's always going to be traffic on Route 22. I'd prefer not to have it in my backyard."

'Quaint feel'

Yarabinetz said Murrysville officials have "done a great job over the years in maintaining Murrysville's small-town charm. As a homeowner, I don't necessarily want big-box retailers here."

The ideal situation would be to encourage a wide variety of businesses and emphasize the advantages of shopping locally, Yarabinetz added.

"Oakmont does this very successfully," she said. "I don't think people mind traveling a bit farther to get to big-box retailers if that means keeping the quaint feel of our community."

Korns said one of the town's best zoning features is its mixed-use district, where smaller businesses can be intermingled with residential properties.

"I absolutely love that," she said. "We want neighborhoods where kids can play together, and parents can get to shops and schools easily. We also don't want the commercial area to start to creep where it's infringing on people's ability to enjoy the community."

Proactive approach

Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said working with the consultant, Environmental Planning & Design, is a first step toward a full zoning analysis.

"We have a couple districts within the community that we want to examine more closely and identify whether it's the proper use," he said.

Those include three properties totaling more than 100 acres behind Rick's Sports Bar on Route 22, owned by Excela Health Ventures, as well as a group of properties across Route 22 from the Blue Spruce Shoppes.

"They are essentially the last two large, developable parcels along the Route 22 corridor which are in the business overlay district," Nestico said. "So we are hoping to be a bit proactive by hiring the consultant to examine the viability and options for development at these two locations."

For Korns, examining zoning will also include a hard look at where R-3 — high-density housing — might be an option.

"We definitely have more need for that type of housing," she said. "Not every family wants a big yard, and in addition to senior citizens, we also have young professionals who want to live here but have easy access to Pittsburgh."

Ideally, Korns said, a zoning analysis would look at the big picture.

"I think council is in agreement that we want to restrict commercial development to a robust area where people can go to get gas, get groceries, and which can handle the vast majority of traffic," she said. "And then we can look at other areas to see where we can improve things.

"And you want to be able to use something like the mixed-use district to build in some flexibility."

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .