Boos rain down in the township building this Monday at 10:40 PM as the South Park Board of Supervisors unanimously votes to approve the preliminary plans for a 108-house development on a 64-acre property adjacent to the historic county park of South Park located on Sleepy Hollow Road.
Following months of opposition during the Planning Commission meeting of March, the Planning Commission meeting of April, and now the Board of Supervisors meeting in May, the publicly elected South Park Supervisors voted to approve the plans to move forward to a final design review which then gets sent back to the Planning Commission for approval once more.
This decision has come with much scrutiny from the residents of South Park. 17 residents stood in front of the board this Monday to express their concerns ranging from stormwater flooding their properties, to mine subsidence affecting the health and safety of local children, to the access of horse farms to the local park for riding.
Tim Foster and his wife Diane Foster, founders of "Friends of the South Park Buffalo" lead the charge with first-hand accounts of their issues with negligent storm-water management, noise disturbance, and surface activity causing major subsidence issues.
Jason Sobek, another prominent voice in the fight against the development proposal continued the discussion by providing an official Allegheny County Conservation District notice of violation for the developer. The developer, Frank Zokaites has been sited on several occasions as failing to meet environmental requirements while the developments have been under construction. Mr. Sobek states' "The Allegheny Land Trust is interested in purchasing the property if this current proposal gets rejected".
As a witness to much of this process, it was shocking when the board finalized the vote. I was under the impression that there was no way they could approve. With so many concerns being brought forward and very few answers to put minds at ease, it seemed like the board's mind was made up far before that meeting even started.
During this meeting, residents of South Park spent 2 hours and 20 minutes expressing their concerns and asking questions of the developer. Some points made were purely emotional and held very little ground, but I would say that 90% were very factual and well-documented issues that would be impossible to negate. The most notable of which is the developer's history of negligence. Not just word-of-mouth negligence, no this is court-proven. The developer has been sued for millions of dollars, and once he has been sued, he declares bankruptcy on his shell company and moves on to the next venture without paying a dime to the victims of his actions. People have lost houses, have had their property damaged, and have lost pets due to this developer's malpractice.
Now all of this is bad most certainly, but I would say the most shocking part of this whole story is the reaction of the Board of Supervisors. Edward T. Snee, Chairman, Brian M. Lucot, Vice-Chairman, and Lawrence D. Vogel not only approved the preliminary development plan, but they had ZERO questions or concerns throughout the entire process. How could the residents of South Park show such great fear and bring forth hours worth of issues, and the elected officials have nothing? Again the only word I have is shocking.
I think you guys understand the point I'm trying to make here. It seems their decision was made long before those doors closed in that meeting room. If this is the case, I do not know how they could sleep that night, or any night the rest of the week. It has to weigh heavily on them knowing that they let down the whole of South Park. More than 13,000 people expressed their disapproval, but all it took was 3 people to approve.
The only thing left for us at South Park is to continue the push. To show this board that democracy is still very much alive. They may not find issues with their actions, but we all know that sooner or later they will have to answer for their decision that day. It will be in the form of votes. Votes against them for casting our opinions to the side.
It's very discouraging but life must go on and we as South Park residents must continue to move forward and pack the meeting room every time a decision needs to be made. We all have a voice, and it is far more powerful than any of us realize.
I would like to thank everyone who showed up for that meeting. Please do not lose hope. Continue to show up and make your voice heard. The fight has only just begun for this property.
Keep It Wild,
Tyler P. Smith
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