Several Ellwood Property and Business Owners Oppose Proposed Zoning Ordinance

“Over the years, your business district has sprawled and lost purpose,” Mark Pelusio of Town Center Associates said at the beginning of a public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance for the Ellwood City Borough.

In brief, the proposed zoning would divide Ellwood’s core business district into four sub-districts with the intention of creating a pedestrian dominated area on Lawrence Avenue from Fourth to Eight Street consisting primarily of retail and dining establishments.

Council worked on the new zoning with the aid of Town Center Associates [TCA], a consulting agency based in Beaver, and an urban development company, Environmental Planning and Design, based in Pittsburgh.

According to Borough Manager Bob Villella, the borough is paying TCA $26,000 for a two-year contract. The borough paid EPU $3,500 for the preparation of the ordinance and the hearing.

About 30 visitors attended Monday’s hearing and about a dozen spoke, almost all opposed to the ordinance.

All members of council attended the meeting minus David DeCaria, who was unable to attend. However, DeCaria, also an Ellwood business owner,  previously stated he strongly supported the new zoning. Two members of council, Judi Dici and Michelle Lamenza, said they were not yet decided. Other council members didn’t directly comment.

Although many businesses would be in violation of the new zoning if passed, council president Connie MacDonald said that no current business owner or resident would have to change. In addition, businesses may be sold to a new owner for the same intended purpose using grandfathered property laws.

To illustrate the purpose of the ordinance, EPU planner Andrew Schwartz asked visitors if they would be okay if a used car dealership opened up on the east end of Lawrence Avenue. The visitors who responded were completely fine with this hypothetical.

“That’s completely counter to what the borough is trying to do,” Schwartz said.

TCA/EPU Opinions:

Consultant Mark Pelusio began the meeting by introducing the fundamental strategy of the revision. He said that Ellwood’s current downtown is too large with many different types of businesses throughout. For example, the Fourth and Lawrence intersection has a coffee shop, a library and an auto repair store.

The purpose of the zoning is to reinforce the character of each of the four new districts and try to get as many pedestrians downtown.

“To me, the worst thing to think is that any business is better than no business,” Jack Manning, of TCA, said.

Cons:

• Real estate agent Joe Carofino was opposed to government taking away personal property rights and instead advised council to work on incentives for new businesses such as tax breaks. “Incentives over restrictions,” Carofino said.
• Michael Perry, a lawyer, pointed out that council had already gone against TCA’s advice by tearing down buildings. DeCaria had previously spoken against council’s decisions to demolish buildings and cited TCA’s advice. According to Perry, the Seventh and Eighth Street area is the best part of Ellwood City, as the only current empty lot is DiBello’s former gas station. “Do you want what’s between Seventh and Eighth Street to look like what’s between Fifth and Sixth?” he said.
• Stephanie Muntean, a real estate agent for Steff and Jeff at RE/MAX Select Realty, believed the restrictions would hurt the ability to sell property. She added that since a large portion of Ellwood’s population are senior citizens, a foot-traffic downtown isn’t practical, and the requirement to have offices on the second floor adds additional expenses of elevators. “People don’t like restrictions,” Muntean said.
• At least three other property or business owners voiced opposition, expressing concerns about their ability to sell their property if the zoning is passed.

Pros:

• Dan Franus, owner of an architectural firm, said that designers like communities with strong zoning. “People aren’t going to walk eight or nine blocks, and they like similar businesses in similar areas,” Franus said. He said that in retrospect, he would have placed his business on the second floor of his building and rented the first to a retail establishment.
• Ray Santillo, director of the Chamber of Commerce, said he didn’t know if the zoning would work or not, but praised council for having the courage to try something new. “Let’s give our leaders a chance,” he said.