Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors raise stability and buffer concerns as Redwood presents steep-slope excavation plan
Summary
Redwood Development sought conditional-use approval to excavate steep slopes for a 168-unit, single‑story apartment project off Wilson Road in Murrysville. The applicant and engineer described buffers, wetlands avoidance and preliminary earthwork; the planning commission continued the hearing to allow review of a revised geotechnical report and requested cross‑sections and reforestation details.
Redwood Development presented a conditional-use application (CU 1‑26) on May 12 asking to excavate steep slopes on a 62‑acre parcel off Wilson Road in Murrysville. Richard Batt, representing Redwood, said the Cleveland‑based company develops single‑story ranch apartments intended largely for empty‑nesters and that the proposed project would include private streets, on‑site management and landscaping.
Josh, an engineer with American StructurePoint, told the commission the site contains areas with slopes over 40 percent that the plan seeks to avoid where possible. He said the design keeps most units on ridge tops, maintains wetland and floodplain buffers and proposes at least a 50‑foot undisturbed tree buffer along much of the perimeter. Josh said the team expects to achieve near‑balanced cut‑and‑fill and estimated total earthwork at about 230,000 cubic yards but asked to confirm that figure in final calculations.
Commissioners and residents pressed the applicant on stability, visual changes and proximity to existing homes. Neighbor Bill McMaster said the rear of his property is wooded and asked how regrading would affect elevations and ground stability for adjacent houses. Josh responded that the project’s geotechnical work and slope‑stability analyses were revised recently to reduce steep slopes and increase factors of safety, and that cross‑sections and elevation drawings would be provided in subsequent submittals.
Residents also asked about an existing Sunoco pipeline and a 36‑inch water main crossing the site. The applicant said the pipeline was surveyed, lies within the 50‑foot buffer and will not be disturbed; the water main will remain in place with a 20‑foot easement. Commissioners asked the applicant to coordinate with the Westmoreland County Soil Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and to add a detailed reforestation/landscape plan before conditional‑use approval is considered.
Because the revised geotechnical report arrived late and staff needs time to review the new information, the commission voted to continue the public hearing to allow technical review and to give neighbors another opportunity to review cross‑sections and final landscape/erosion controls. No final decision was made at the May 12 meeting.
