Rezoning Request at Perry Highway and Rochester Road Moves to Board of Commissioners

An ordinance that would change the zoning on 1.78 acres at the corner of Perry Highway and Rochester Road from a residential district to a low-impact commercial district was introduced to the Ross Township Board of Commissioners Monday.

No action was taken, and no public comments were made regarding the ordinance. A July 25 public hearing was set. In the meantime, Allegheny County planners are reviewing the ordinance.

The corner lot at 628 Perry Highway and 10 Rochester Road has been abandoned for at least three years, according to the rezoning request that Orion Development filed May 5 with the Ross Township Planning Department. Orion is a real estate development and construction company based in Weirton, WV.

The company wants the township to rezone the property from an R-1 residential district to a C-3 commercial district, the most restrictive commercial option.

Two structures on the property that were used for a doctor’s office and residence would be torn down and replaced with a building that would house a tenant retail store, according to the application. It estimates a project completion date of October 2012.

Ken Hrabar, a principal of the firm, has declined to disclose the company's plans for the property or the type of store that might be built, but he told the Planning Commission at its May 26 meeting that the use would be “clean, highly convenient and low-impact.

According to the company’s website, Orion Development’s primary projects involve construction of retail pharmacies such as , Eckerd, and CVS.

The nine-member planning board voted, 3-4, against the rezoning request after several residents of the nearby Wellington Woods plan testified against its approval.