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Planners review proposed General Business overlay that would expand commercial zone and add design, traffic and slope standards
Summary
Murrysville planning staff presented draft amendments to the General Business overlay (text and two map options) that would add subdistricts, raise density allowances in parts of the corridor, require traffic studies for large projects, and create design standards for height, glazing, slopes and landscaping; staff will collect comments and bring feedback to council in September.
Planning staff presented an eight-page draft text amendment and two map options to modify Murrysville’s General Business overlay at the Aug. 13 meeting, asking the commission for policy-level feedback before taking the proposal to council.
AJ (staff) said the main choice facing the commission is the map boundary: one option expands the overlay out to a logical road boundary and would add about 80 acres; the other keeps a smaller footprint. The amendment introduces subdistricts (color-coded on the maps) so that land uses and development requirements vary by location. AJ said some parts of the corridor would allow higher densities — in one example, 16 dwelling units per acre in a portion of the 22 corridor — to help make development financially viable there.
The draft would also add procedural and technical triggers. AJ said any project 20 acres or larger or any building with 150,000 square feet of gross floor area would be required to meet the overlay’s larger-project rules addressing access, peripheral roads, traffic impact, queuing and truck circulation. The draft also contemplates requiring a traffic-impact study at pre-development and again 2 and 5 years after development to assess changing travel patterns; AJ said the solicitor should advise whether the post-construction re-checks can be embedded in a developer’s agreement.
Design and site standards in the draft include a maximum overlay height of 65 feet (with additional setbacks allowing greater height on larger parcels), a 40% glazing requirement on façades facing public rights of way, and new slope-handling provisions. For slopes steeper than 3:1, the draft offers wall-based solutions with limits (tiers and a 15-foot height per tier) and required landscaping at the base to soften visual impacts. Commissioners discussed local examples (Giant Eagle, Kohl’s) and emphasized avoiding plain, utilitarian block walls where possible.
AJ also outlined landscape standards that differentiate parking-area screening, perimeter buffering and loading-area screening and recommended larger parking medians and pedestrian connections to reduce heat-island effects. The draft includes additional definitions and updates to reflect contemporary uses (for example, modern R&D definitions), and staff asked commissioners to read the text, send comments to Jim and AJ by the end of the month, and then expect a briefing to council (staff noted council’s first September meeting is Sept. 4).
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about slopes, wall heights, buyer protections and long-term maintenance of landscape features. The commission did not vote on the draft; staff will compile written comments for a likely presentation to council in September.
