Is EZ Auto Sales Coming to McNeilly Road?

The Baldwin Township Board of Commissioners held a hearing on Tuesday night pertaining to conditional use and land use applications filed on behalf of EZ Auto Sales to run a motor vehicle sales agency at 514 McNeilly Road.

No decision was reached on the matter that night. The board closed the hearing and reserved the right to review the exhibits and render a decision at its regular meetings on Dec. 19 and/or Jan. 3 or 30.

Township solicitor Tom McDermott explained that the applications were filed by Vincent LoCastro as agent and site developer for EZ Auto Sales. EZ Auto Sales is a used motor vehicle business selling cars and small trucks. It is the sublessee of 514 McNeilly, a property held in a lease between the property owner and a revocable trust.

The hearing on the conditional use application, McDermott said, was to determine if the applicant could engage in the proposed activity at the particular location. The hearing on the land use application, he said, was to determine, if zoning was approved, how the applicant could go about engaging in said activity.

LoCastro submitted a revised site plan for the property development, which he said was revised according to specifications provided at a zoning commission meeting held the previous week. The revision was dated Dec. 6—the same day as the hearing—and was presented to the board and township management only a few minutes prior to the start of the hearing.

LoCastro did a walk-through of his site plan, highlighting the following points pertinent to the land use application:

The site would accommodate 34 parking spots, 29 of which would be vehicle display spaces. One space would be a handicapped-accessible customer parking space, and four spots would be regular customer parking. There would also be room for six temporary display spaces.

According to LoCastro, the site is currently a paved-concrete slab, which he proposes to amend with a brand-new lined asphalt surface marked with permanent paint. He also proposes to install a permanent curb across the front of the lot and a 24-foot driveway where parking will be prohibited.

As per utilities, LoCastro proposes to install two additional storm sewers, run new water and sanitary sewer lines, and make permanent the electric, phone and Internet lines already in place on the site.

The modular building proposed for the site would conform to and be elevated two feet off of the ground, LoCastro said.

LoCastro’s site plan also included the installation of three lights. Illuminated signage was also discussed, though township engineer Glenn Jonnet said that that would have to be taken care of in a separate application.

LoCastro said that any lighting would project light forward onto McNeilly rather than back onto the “extreme hill” behind the lot, thus limiting light interference into nearby residential properties.

In response to LoCastro’s walk-through, Jonnet said that there were a few things that still needed to be addressed in the plan. He pointed to the plan’s storm water calculations, noting that the volume was a little low under the township’s regulations.

Jonnet also said that a photometric drawing was required to make sure that lighting didn’t encroach on residential properties.

Furthermore, the plan did not address side-yard requirements and the use or plugging of existing sewage lines, Jonnet said.

The board asked LoCastro about the proposed office space on the lot. LoCastro said that the office would be a modular unit smaller than 24 feet by 60 feet.

McDermott told the board that LoCastro would have to file a separate application for a building and occupancy permit, which could only be filed after all of the physical improvements to the site were completed.

After the physical characteristics and improvements to the site were discussed, McDermott asked LoCastro to describe his intended mode of delivery of vehicles to the site, honing in on whether large trucks and tows would frequent the site to deliver multiple vehicles at one time.

LoCastro said that EZ Auto Sales will not have large truck deliveries to the site but rather to another site in Bethel Park, where the vehicles are analyzed to determine whether they are scrap or saleable. Only single-tow deliveries would be made to and from the site as needed.

McDermott next asked LoCastro about the condition of proposed vehicles on the lot, seeking clarification that EZ Auto Sales was not in the business of vehicle repair.

LoCastro said that the vehicles would all be in ready-to-sell condition, with current registration, inspection and detailing.

McDermott asked LoCastro whether he would be adverse to a conditional use approval with conditions specifying that only single-tow deliveries were permitted and that cars had to be in ready-to-sell condition on the lot.

LoCastro said that he would not be opposed to such stipulations.

That point marked the close of testimony on the applications. McDermott advised the board that it had 45 days to make a decision on the conditional use application and 90 days to decide on the land use application.

The township’s municipal planning code, McDermott said, does allow motor vehicle sales as a conditional use. In reviewing the application, he furthered that the board may consider myriad factors, such as public health and safety, environmental issues, noise, illumination, glare, traffic, water supply, and any other factors germane to the proposed commercial activity.

LoCastro asked the board if they would make a decision that night.

McDermott said, “A decision will not be made this evening.”

The board and engineer only received the site plans that same day, he explained, and would need time to review the plan, exhibits and testimony.

Though the hearing closed on this matter, the applications were brought up again at the board’s regular meeting.

Following discussion of the applicant’s time concerns and Jonnet’s request for plan revisions, McDermott said that he and Jonnet would work on their conditional use recommendation for review by the board at its Dec. 19 meeting.

Jonnet said that he would draft a letter to LoCastro describing all of the needed revisions to the site plan. The board will review the site plan revisions and rule on the land use application at its Jan. 3 or Jan. 30 meeting provided that all revisions are made and received by that time.

Check back with the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch later on Wednesday for more odds and ends from Tuesday night’s board meeting.

What do you think about EZ Auto Sales’ plans to move into the township? Tell us in the comments section below.

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