Highland Country Club Developer Promises Court Fight over Ross Rejection of Housing Plan

A divided Ross Township  Board of Commissioners voted Monday night  to reject tentative approval for 167 townhomes and 134 single-family homes on the former site of the Highland Country Club. 

The 5-4 vote against the planned residential community was greeted by applause and cheers from the more than 100 people in the audience, many of whom spoke against the proposal prior to the vote.

Commissioners Dan DeMarco, Peter Ferraro, David Mikec and John Sponcer voted in favor. Chris Eyster, Lana Mazur, Jerry O'Brien, Grace Stanko and commission Chairman Grant Montgomery voted against.

Click here to read what some of the commissioners had to say about their vote.

Attorney Jonathan Kamin, who represents the developer, Limerick Land Partners, said he would appeal to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

"There’s no question in my mind that we met each and every condition of the ordinance," he said. "I think they made a political decision that’s short-sighted on behalf of the township.”

When the proposal first came before the Ross Township Planning commission on Nov. 29, many in the crowd of 150-200 people voiced their opposition, saying they feared an increase in traffic on already busy Highland Avenue and Gass Road.

Since both are state roads, any decisions about installing traffic lights or turning lanes to alleviate congestion would be up to PennDOT, but Kamin said PennDOT would be unwilling to make changes based on projected traffic from a housing development which has not yet been built, much less approved.

Instead, the developer offered to pay a traffic mitigation fee of $1,000 per single family home and $500 per townhouse until PennDOT decided what should be done.

Now, that offer is off the table.

“What we offered them tonight was a number of conditions that were above and beyond what was required under the ordinance," he said. "They have turned that down and we’ll go get approval of this plan as of right. And there’ll be no traffic mitigation fee, and none of these other conditions that they have imposed because for us to go out of our way to meet all of these conditions and then be treated like this is completely inappropriate.”

Commission Chairman Grant Montgomery said it's all a matter of opinion and perception.

"They believe they met the standard and moving forward that way is going to be proper for them," he said. "As a board, we decided not moving forward was the right decision. As information becomes available and things change, decisions may change.”

Do you agree with the commissioners’ vote against the Heartland homes plan for Highland Country Club? Tell us in the comments box below.

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