Sewickley Zoning Board to Render Decision on Former Country Inn Property

The Sewickley Zoning Hearing Board is expected to make a final decision at 7:30 p.m. tonight on the old Sewickley Country Inn property at 801 Ohio River Boulevard in regards to a spot zoning challenge.

The zoning board heard a second round of testimony at last month's meeting after a commonwealth judge ordered a zoning appeal filed by Lawyer Michael Lyons of Sewickley to be heard by the board.  

Lyons, Clifford Krey and Hugh McMaster of Sewickley presented arguments against having the property zoned as a mixed-use district. 

"This was special legislation—there were provisions in this ordinance that solely benefited this property owner, and actually worked to the detriment of other properties in this borough," McMaster said. 

After the hotel closed in 2009, MCM Ventures developer Cody Mueller submitted plans to demolish the inn and construct new offices along Route 65 and townhouses along Thorn Street. 

Lyons and Krey filed appeals in court after the zoning board approved the variances. Council in 2010 amended the zoning ordinance to create the Ohio River Mixed Use district, opening up the nearly 4-acre property to residential and office space development. The mixed-use district was challenged as spot zoning.

Borough Solicitor Richard Tucker and MCM Ventures attorney Thomas Ayoob presented their arguments through testimony from Nancy Watts, code enforcement officer and borough Manager Kevin Flannery.

Testimony from Watts and Flannery characterized the inn property and its zoning designations over the years as "unique."

Watts testified that the property's use as a hotel and motor lodge dated back to the 1800s, and that there were various other accessory uses through the years too, including a restaurant, ballroom, barbershop, swimming pool club and meeting rooms used for training railroad workers, flight attendants and others.

Flannery said he worked in 1970 at what was then the Holiday Inn in 1970. The site was one of the "premier places" in the region, he said, with the River Room bar and restaurant being "one of the top dining places in the area." 

Demolition crews began razing the property in January.

Lyons asked Flannery why the country inn property was rezoned mixed use and the Sewickley Manor property and others going north were not.

"Council only made the motion for that property," Flannery said.

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