Rostraver Township: Development projects approved
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
Rostraver Township Commissioners recently approved two projects — one for a housing development, the other for a new store.
The Willowbrook Planned Residential Development conditional use request was approved on a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Henry Boldyzar Jr. and John Lorenzo voting against it. The conditional use request was made because the developer replaced townhouses in the development plan with duplex units known as carriage homes.
Steven Victor of Victor-Wetzel Associates landscape architects and land planners, explained that the carriage homes provide living on one floor, with extra space for a guest room or other uses on the second floor, while townhouses are multi-floored structures requiring residents to climb stairs.
“We think the market is more for single-floor living, two-unit structures instead of four-unit townhouses,” Victor said.
The developer would also opt to pay a $700 per unit fee, Victor explained, that would go toward township recreational facilities instead of developing recreation areas as part of the development. The land previously set aside for recreation in the PRD will now be counted as part of the required greenspace for the development.
Victor said that like condominiums, all exterior services will be provided by the homeowners association, but each property owner will own their house and land, giving them complete ownership control.
Larry Bowin, who lives across the road from the proposed development, said he has seen more and more greenspace disappear in Rostraver over the past 30 years.
“When we bought our home there was about 50 acres of farm around our home,” Bowin said. “More and more homes are being built now. A lot more traffic is utilizing that area. The problem is, traffic speed has not been changed.
“I’m concerned about developers coming in and gobbling up greenspace every time it becomes available.”
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