Not delivered as the video cable was defective, so no video or microphone
I am Murray Bilby, 2424 Churchill Road
I put a 40-page letter to all residents on a web site called ChurchillFuture.com. Give it a read.
We cannot be shocked by the monstrous size of the Hillwood project when Hillwood was essentially given carte blanche to come up with their proposal. Developers do what all developers do, maximize the use of the terrain.
Yes, it far exceeded anything anyone that I have spoken to ever imagined and apparently far exceeded what the borough planning and local committees expected.
Developers work within the rules to maximize their return on investment. But in this case, there were no rules.
You as the planning commission should be working with the developers, discussing options early in the concept stage so that what is eventually developed is something valuable to both the developer, so they make money, and to the residents of Churchill borough, who must live with the consequences.
You cannot give carte blanch to a developer and still be shocked by what is proposed.
A project the size of the entire Monroeville Mall, and 2 or 3 times higher, is not appropriate for this property. Period.
It is time to set the rules so that any given developer can actually be creative and still not destroy Churchill’s quality of life.
A distribution center of this type was never, ever, considered as appropriate for the location. Just because the property has a C 1 classification, does not allow any kind of business to be developed. The height and density for a city location, as on Grant Street, is not appropriate for the Westinghouse R&D location, in the middle of a single-family residential community. That is why we have local zoning regulations.
And no one anticipated that a company would decide to pave over the entire C 1 area, including areas created by fill and retaining walls, or that they would essentially level the entire top of the hill destroying more than 30 acres of watershed, and 1000 mature trees.
There is no way, what so ever, that the current Hillwood proposal can be tweaked or modified to something acceptable.
It must be rejected immediately. The planning commission must establish rules for development that are appropriate to this local community and the location of the property.
I have heard that Hillwood is subtly threatening that if they are not given the go-ahead for their proposal, that they will go to court and bankrupt the borough. That is how it was has been relayed to me, so I do not if it is true or not. But even implied threats do not bode well for an acceptable working relationship into the future, especially will all the negatives associated with this project.
At a minimum, and immediately, Eliminate the unnecessary 120 height. And limit construction to the existing paved areas. We must save the watershed and tree canopy.
The current Hillwood proposal totally destroys the area for which it was Zoned C 1 originally just for the Westinghouse complex. The Hillwood monstrosity cannot be accepted in any form.
The planning commission, other committees, and citizens should think carefully about the constraints provided to a developer. Zoning has rules for specific reasons. Planning considers how it will affect the whole community in the future. This project will destroy the uniqueness that is Churchill.