Letters to The Editor

The following Letters to the Editor appeared in the June 1, 2024 edition of the Park News, pgs. 26 to 27 in response to township supervisors granting a preliminary approval to Sleepy Hollow Development in opposition to the Planning Commission's vote to "NOT Recommend."

Thanks to the Opposition

Let's give a Thank You to the concerned residents of South Park that did what they could to stop the Sleepy Hollow Development.

The Planning Commission listened to the concerns of the citizens and voted "Not to Recommend" the development, but the Supervisors disregarded the wisdom of the Planning Commission's "No" vote and the wishes of the residents, and voted to approve the preliminary plans to develop the property.

Township, County, State, and Federal Code Enforcement employees, and hired consultants must be proactive and not reactive, and, I repeat, they must be proactive and not reactive in making sure the developer follows the codes and ordinances of the Township, Allegheny County, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and other Federal Agencies to protect the safety, health, and welfare of residents on Sleepy Hollow Road and all residents that will be affected by the consequences of the development during and after construction of the 108 single dwelling houses in the Majestic Woods plan proposed for Sleepy Hollow.

Dave Buchewicz
South Park Resident

Majestic Woods Safety Concerns Ignored by the Township Supervisors and Engineers

Dear Editor,  

I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding the recent Sleepy Hollow development approval process in our township from both technical and safety standpoint. Having attended the two Planning Commission meetings and the Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, it became glaringly evident that the engineering representatives from Township Engineers and the developer's technical team exhibited alarming levels of incompetence.  

1. Incorrect Road-Width Requirements: Throughout two Planning Commission meetings, the basic township requirements for road-width were consistently incorrect and defended by the Township engineer. It took until the third meeting after providing documents by the township residents of the written documents to finally get the correct number. Such fundamental errors cast serious doubt on the reliability of any technical aspects related to public safety. This lack of knowledge and inability to read written township requirements is the basis of further incompetence.   

2. Inadequate Geotechnical Analysis: The geotechnical report relied on a rule-of-thumb values to determine the depth of grouting old underground mine voids, despite the presence of gas lines and other utilities that exist and will be placed along the Sleepy Hollow Road. Township Engineers did not flag this as an issue. Geotech professional use formulas to precisely calculate lateral support requirement to prevent potential subsidence based on the void height (dimensions) and the strata above. A precise calculation should be employed to determine to what depth requires grouting. This negligence is unacceptable for professionals' claiming expertise.  

3. Additional Geotech concerns are within the cut and fill process with 100% grades being placed against existing downhill horse farms and homes. South Park Township does not have any readily evident requirement on out slope placement. Even so, the township engineer should have recommended, and the BOS require that this out slope be placed in lifts of 4 ft. or less, compacted in sequence to the desired height. Based upon rudimentary maps produced by the developer it appears the out slope of this fill to be 75 ft in height. The slope shown is recommended to be covered with Geotextile material to facilitate seeding. Geotextile will not prevent substantial flow during severe rain events from flowing into neighboring properties! No storm water culverts at the base of these fills are shown on the developers mapping.   

4. Overlooked Environmental Hazards: The geotechnical report clearly specified the need to remove pyrite, soft materials, and minor coal seam horizons prior to the placement of home foundations. However, no report was provided to show the process in which potential subsurface or storm water would be captured and treated to prevent stream contamination. This critical information was downplayed by the Township engineer during the meetings.  

5. Flawed Traffic Study: The traffic engineering firm seemingly provided a rubber stamped for the developers, and this rubber stamp process was never questioned by the BOS or the Township engineer. When asked about including equestrians in their study, they ambiguously stated they did if equestrians were present during their study (so that is essentially a 'no'). They also asserted the turning radius onto a narrow bridge was adequate without presenting any calculations. I challenge the BOS to test this with a school bus (sourcing from Stewart and Berryman and onto Stoltz) to see if it can make the turn without crossing the center line or backing for a second swing, which is a serious safety hazard. Take your best bus driver and try that turn!   

40 Ft. Bus Turning Radius (.pdf download) 

6. Responsibility for Infrastructure Upgrades: Who is responsible for widening the bridge (or culvert) and upgrading the road to the new development? Millions of $$$'s should not fall onto the township residents to benefit this developer. The developer should bear these costs entirely and this MUST be a requirement of the Township should this project be allowed in spite of all its issues.   

Finally, I as a long-term resident express my disillusionment with the BOS's approach to community input. Their pretense of allowing resident feedback was an insult, limiting discussions to three minutes under the guise of inclusivity. It was evident their decision was pre-determined, as shown by their swift approval within 60 seconds of the final list. The township engineer and BOS support the developers' technical experts to monitor the site. This is like the Fox guarding the Hen House!!  

In my opinion, the evident engineering inadequacies and significant safety concerns should have halted this approval. Furthermore, all infrastructure upgrades and maintenance should be the developer's responsibility and sidewalks should be required as children and horses will be using these pathways. The long-standing equestrian right-of-way to access the county park must be recognized, as it has been in use by equestrians for nearly a century.  

We expect our elected officials to competently represent the residents who placed them in trust of our Township. Should there be ANY conflicts of interest by the BOS, elected officials, their hired engineers, lawyers and other they should be recused in providing ANY opinions or voting on this matter.   

Ted Sobek
South Park Resident

Disappointed in Supervisors

Every day on our local and national news, all we hear about is preserving green space and keeping our air clean and stop destroying the ozone.  Over the last several months there have been zoning board meetings pertaining to the new residential building plan for over 100 homes at the end of Sleepy Hollow Road.  Several hundred residents have attended these meetings and voiced their opinion against this venture not the least of which is its close proximity to South Park and the Buffalo and wildlife preserve, the increase in traffic, and taking more green space away.  I thought in my heart that when we elected Mr. Lucot and Mr. Vogel to the Board of Supervisors, things would be different and they would really be for the residents of our township.  I guess I was wrong as this project seems to be going ahead.  I guess in the end money talks and BS still walks.

Don Weis
South Park

Not Happy with the Majestic Woods Decision

After attending every South Park Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meeting for at least the last six months- what I witnessed on Monday, May 13th at the Supervisors meeting was extremely disappointing, unprofessional, and completely distant and out of touch with the people who elected them to represent the residents of South Park.  The supervisors, Ed Snee, Brian Lucot, and Lawrence Vogel, certainly appeared to look at their constituents with a weighty air of superiority and could be heard on the meeting video uttering "I've heard enough," and "Do we have to listen to any more of this?" after the first few resident speakers.  The old adage that "ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES" was never so true.

After two long Planning Commission meetings during which that board gave every person an uninterrupted chance to be heard, suddenly the supervisors attempted to restrict everyone to 3 minutes.  What were they afraid of?  The Planning Commission may have also entered their meetings leaning to the side of recommending this proposed Sleepy Hollow development, but apparently by listening and asking questions throughout the process of their meetings, clearly their mind had changed.  Hearing the concerns and questions from the residents and then asking for answers to those and their own questions, the commissioners began to realize that clear answers never seemed to come from the developer's support staff.  And oh by the way, these meetings, our elected officials, and South Park Township are of no interest to developer Frank Zokaites--he has never bothered to show up for any!  Why would these meetings ever proceed without him?  Bring him in, swear him in, and let's hear him answer some questions.  And better yet, let's create a thorough record of his answers and promises that I'm quite sure we'll need in the future when problems surface.

As an example of exactly what we're working with, perhaps the best answer we heard during the Planning Commission meetings, was from the support staff team leader Michael Wetzel (Victor-Wetzel Associates) who regaled us with stories of horses and dogs running down his residential street apparently engaged in a fox hunt.  This was in response to a question asking how the area horses, who have used Sleepy Hollow Road for the past 100 years or so, to access the trails in the county park, would navigate the narrow road that would soon be filled with cars, trucks, school buses, delivery vehicles and emergency vehicles.  That sums up how serious this developer's support staff took our questions and concerns.  After pressing the support staff for answers, and hearing responses like this, the Planning Commission ultimately recommended unanimously to NOT recommend this development to the supervisors.

It's not a matter that the land owners don't have the right to sell, donate, or develop their land - but we as a township have the right to scrutinize developers who have created problems in our community and many, many other municipalities.  Nor should a developer be able to force us into unnecessary litigation risk due to this narrow township owned road and bridge that is the only way in or out of this 108 house development for cars, trucks, buses and worse yet emergency vehicles.  Most municipalities require at least two exit points onto main roads, for developments over 40 homes.  The township is not protected by sovereign immunity (that's what makes it difficult to sue a governmental agency) when it comes to roads, bridges, and sidewalks.  The township has a specific duty to protect people from known or foreseeable dangers regarding the roads, sidewalks and bridges.  What a litigation nightmare headed our way.  Future litigators will hit the lottery and we'll all be on the hook.  And please let the record show that our supervisors ignored all of these warnings!

Our fight is a long way from over, but instead - it's really just beginning.  We must fight for our Buffalo, and our Sleepy Hollow horses who will be but a memory after this intrusive development that will devastate the land and forever change the look and feel of an area that makes South Park Township unique!

And as we heard from the letter sent to us by Frances Hill whose family won a $6.25 million judgment against developer Frank Zokaites after clearing a 37 acre hillside, failing to install proper soil and water erosion protection that ultimately destroyed the Hill's home and property below.  Just a preview of things to come for Sleepy Hollow??  This included an unheard of $5 million dollar punitive award against this developer when the Allegheny County Jury found him "not only negligent, but outrageously so."  And oh yes, the developer apparently declared bankruptcy for the two shell companies involved and the Hill's haven't seen a dollar from this judgment according to Mrs. Hill's letter.  This is someone we want to sign up to work with??  If you signed a contract with a developer to build your dream house but discovered major prior outrageous issues such as these, would you let them build your house or let them sue you for breach of contract before you have damages?  Would any court have sympathy for such a developer??

Mrs. Hill's letter also revealed that the court heard how the developer and home builders had no regard for rules and regulations regarding work hours and noise.  She detailed how pounding echoed and vibrated through the valley daily early and late.

As we've outlined, it's well documented that THIS is the type of noise and vibrations that will cause stress to the animals and will have life altering impact on the very close by buffalo family and the Sleepy Hollow horses.  The Buffalo are just 560 feet away, most of the horses even closer than that.

Stay strong, diligent, and dedicated everyone!  We must be the voice and battle for our friends who have no voice.  We must fight for them!

Yes, we were all shocked and greatly disappointed that our elected officials, Ed Snee, Brian Lucot, and Lawrence Vogel, who all asked for our support so they could be the voice of and represent the people, sat eerily silent and NEVER asked one question of the developer's support staff!  And worse yet, they sat silent and never forced the developers to actually answer one question as they allowed the developers to provide generalizations until it got to the point that the developers realized they could say anything they wanted and would not be held accountable by the supervisors.

Our newest elected official Lawrence Vogel said literally one word on the record all night.  "Second" as he seconded the motion to give preliminary approval to the developer's support staff!  Pathetic!  And NO discussion before the vote, the supervisors could not have rushed through this process any quicker.  A unanimous vote for preliminary approval!  Never did our elected officials address any of the issues raised by the resident voters - and the issues here are numerous and concerning.

They are elected to be our voice.  Clearly the people were not silent on these critical issues, but those who we elected to represent us sat is silence and did nothing!

The residents and voters of South Park Township deserve better - much better!!

"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody" Thomas Paine

I'm not sure but I think Mr. Paine must have been at last Monday's supervisors meeting!

Stay Strong and United South Park, our Fight is Not Over!!

Tim Foster
South Park Resident