River Forest plan moves forward By Michael Aubele VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Allegheny Township supervisors on Monday said yes to a 512-unit housing plan in the township's River Forest section but no to a sewage treatment plant for the development. The stipulation was among 13 conditions that supervisors said the developers must meet before getting final approval for the project. Supervisors granted a conditional use and preliminary, conceptual plan approval to River Forest Partners and S&A Homes for their planned residential development (PRD), which would be built on about 450 acres between the Allegheny River and Route 356. "This is a very positive step for us," said Steve Bisbee, manager of engineering-land development for S&A. "We're very excited to work with the township and we're happy with the result tonight." Herman Tomer, River Forest Partners president, said the number of conditions that supervisors placed on the project "is standard for any large development." The developers had proposed constructing a publicly owned sewage treatment plant with a capacity of more than 200,000 gallons on the PRD property. Township codes mandates that sewage facilities serving a PRD must be publicly owned. Supervisors told the developers that they wouldn't accept ownership of any treatment plant built on-site, even if such a plan were approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The proposal to built a treatment plant on-site has met with stiff opposition from residents, who feared the plant would create an odor, cause pollution and produce other health and safety concerns. More than 15 residents have testified that they had concerns about any plan to build the treatment plant on the property. John Framel, a former supervisor who has been an outspoken critic of the developers' proposal, said he was pleased with the conditions on the project, especially the stipulation that would prevent the construction of a sewage treatment plant on the property. "If you're going to develop property in Allegheny Township, you've got to do it right," he said. "I think supervisors did a real good job. "By not allowing the plant to be built on the property is definitely a protection of health, safety, welfare and property values." James Huckestein, co-chairman of the River Forest Concerned Citizens Committee, said that supervisors needed to closely regulate the development because it could have an impact on future developments. "It would set a precedent," he said. Tomer said the developers are hopeful of having the Municipal Sanitary Authority of New Kensington provide sewage service to the PRD and the New Kensington Municipal Authority provide water service. Supervisor Kathy Starr said on Monday that township officials haven't seen detailed proposals from either authority that would indicate they have the capacity to serve such a large development. Tomer said it could be more than three times as expensive to run sewage lines from the PRD to New Kensington than it would be to construct an on-site treatment facility -- about $800,000 for the on-site facility and possibly $3 million for a line to New Kensington's sewage treatment plant. The cost of a line to New Kensington would have to be shared among the township, the developers and anyone who taps into the line, Tomer said. The benefit for the township, he said, would be that the homes in the township's northern end -- as many as 100 homes -- would get public sewage as part of the project. "It would be the ideal situation for everyone," Tomer said. Tomer said the housing project would be done in phases over six to 10 years. The result would be a mix of upscale town houses and single family homes. S&A Homes has tentatively projected town house prices would start at $170,000 and single-family homes at $220,000. Bisbee has said a competitive real-estate market forces developers to limit land development costs. Another S&A official has said the developer and homeowners also must factor in interest rates, which could double the costs. Nevertheless,Tomer said he's hopeful construction can be under way by 2008. "Our projection," he said, "is to have model house available in the spring of 2008." The other conditions supervisors placed on the project address such things as traffic improvements, storm-water management and property easements. Michael Aubele can be reached at maubele@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4673.