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Issues
Murrysville is facing a difficult
cross-roads. We currently have a very developer-friendly council
that is attempting to allow the same urban sprawl as Monroeville. We are also facing a severe budget shortfall. As such, Murrysville
needs to be guided by residents in order to develop thoughtful and
carefully crafted ordinances to ensure we retain our current "rural
like" atmosphere. We also need Council members that understand how
to develop and control a budget so that we live within our means. Absent our electing like-minded individuals, we will end up looking like
Monroeville while still having out of control spending. ~ By
CPRM-PAC supported council candidate
David R. Perry.
Commercial development within
Murrysville is one of the most high-profile issues before our community
today since the recent expansion of Route 22. The residents of
Murrysville understand the need for "some" form of commercial development
for convenience and to help contribute to tax revenue. Unfortunately,
the actions of our current Council
over the past several years has compromised our zoning laws and the
Comprehensive
Plan in order to fulfill self-serving needs by over commercializing
our community.
In the past several years, the current
Murrysville Council has voted in favor of some very controversial
issues. They have already modified or waived numerable ordinances to
allow some of these projects to be undertaken. In the Nov 3 General
Election, two developer incumbents are seeking re-election to the
Murrysville Council and must be voted off to save our community.
- In the
upcoming election, residents will
have to choose if they want to live in "Monroeville East" or
Murrysville. Murrysville residents need to understand that
without strict zoning controls along the Route 22 area it will look
just like Monroeville and every other "strip" portion of a town that
has a major road running through. From Route 22, the expansion
will go to Old Wm. Penn Hwy and gradually creep to the south side of
Route 22 as well into areas abutting Old Wm. Penn Hwy. If that
scenario is NOT what residents want to see in the next 5 to 10 years
then they have to make their voice heard now, not later.
Please vote in the May 19th election.
- The "General
Business Overlay" - A backdoor re-zoning effort by
Council in order for the
Murrysville Municipality to gain larger tracks of commercial
property down the Route 22 corridor. According to an email from
Chris Rearick, who was head of Planning & Zoning, the General
Business Overlay added
347 "new" acres of land
with the underlying zoning of residential in hopes of
gaining larger tax revenues by attracting large-scale commercial
developers to our area. This was a betrayal of the residents living
around this area since a great part of this land was zoned
residential. The comprehensive plan setup to guide coherent
development and growth in our community are being all but ignored by
the current developers on council.
- "Market Place on Twenty Two"
- Council granted Manor Development Group
II pre-approval for a large scale shopping center on Route 22 near
Berlin Farm Road within the newly zoned "General Business
Overlay". The developer's proposal includes a grocery store,
home improvement store, hotel, and several other shops, restaurants
and office buildings. The development will have 550,000 square feet
of retail and office space, and is larger than the current retail commercial space which already exists in Murrysville!
- "Murrysville Medical Commons,
LP" - Approval for conditional use to construct a 22,000+
square footage medical building on a parcel that is located between
Evergreen Court and Beverly Drive in the mixed use district along
Old Wm. Penn Hwy. Zoning within the mixed use district was set up to
allow structures not in excess of 5,000 square-feet, however,
council did approve this structure by their "bizarre interpretation"
of the zoning laws. This will no doubt open a can of worms by
allowing other developers to construct similar structures in the mixed use
district by setting this precedence.
- Over
Commercialize for Tax Revenue - If retail development is going
to lower our taxes then why does Monroeville have 35% higher taxes than
Murrysville? The two council developer
incumbents seeking re-election have voted for over-commercializing
our community in order to address
our tax shortfall. We need to live within our means while still
providing our residents with a high level of service. We feel
short-term fixes by these self-serving council members will have a
negative economic impact on our community in the long-run.
Update: One of the opposition
incumbents posted this question: "Can you please provide the
calculation supporting your statement that Monroeville has 35%
higher taxes than Murrysville as stated on your issues page?".
The figure was calculated by the combination of Monroeville's School
Tax, Property Tax, Wage Tax, and other Municipal Taxes.
- "Banner
Parklet" - MECDC Executive Director, John C. Cardwell, said the
corporation is looking to structure a deal with a developer for a
project that utilizes the parklet and the adjacent Blue Spruce Motel
property, which is unoccupied and which the MECDC does not own or
control. Incumbent Kearns voted against this measure, which they say
represents a handout to developers. Banner Parklet, which is the
land parcel adjacent to the McDonald's restaurant on Route 22 is
currently owned by the Murrysville Municipality.
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