Politics & Government

Leetsdale Residents Raise Property Concerns at School Board Meeting

School board members invite residents to return next week to view plans and continue the discussion.

is concerned his property value will depreciate if the school district purchases three residential properties in his neighborhood to construct a drop-off area for students. 

“I would be interested in working with the school district or the police department to do what it takes for something other than that plan,” he said.

The Fords were among a group of  and council members who attended the  meeting Tuesday night at  looking to address issues concerning the district’s plans to alleviate traffic problems at the . 

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Quaker Valley  at 704 Beaver St., but school officials told the residents there are further plans to obtain two additional properties between Village Drive and the high school.

Resident Joe McGurk, also Leetsdale council president, said many of the homes have co-existed with the school since 1928 and said the borough needs those properties for the tax base. He asked if there is a need, with other options he believes could alleviate the problem, including a curb cut in front of the school or a bus drop off behind the school off Route 65.

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Superintendent Joseph Clapper said a drop-off area would give vehicles coming from and , the most dangerous side of the road, an avenue to turn and let students off without ever having to go to the back of the school.

Addressing some of the suggestions raised, Clapper said a curb cut in front of the school wouldn’t work for cars coming from the Sewickley direction, and the use of Route 65 to drop off students behind the school would be a safety hazard for parents pulling off the busy boulevard. 

“What bothers me the most is it seems to me like the school is prepared to cater to people with this new project to give them an area off the road where they can drop off their children, supposedly safely,” McGurk said.

Solving the Problem

Board president Jack Norris explained that school officials have been working for years with the borough trying to figure out ways to solve with the problem and satisfy the borough’s traffic concerns. He said the district has worked with the trying to come up with solutions, including allowing parking in front of the school during sporting events.

“We can’t have a situation where buses and cars and students are being dispersed next to each other; that we just can’t do,” Norris said.

School director Gianni Floro said part of the problem is some parents refuse to put their children on a bus.

“We don’t have to provide the buses,” Floro said. “We provide the buses because it’s a great service to the community.”

Norris said the best solution they’ve come up with involves moving students into a driveway where they can be dropped off and at the same time providing additional parking for the school district and a separate area for buses to keep students and buses separated.

“Unfortunately, it does affect houses, and we don’t see anyway not to,” Norris said.

While one property is under agreement, Norris said the district would need two other houses, the third of which would be used for a “substantial buffer,” the sole purpose for the third house.

Ford suggested having the school resource officer ticket vehicles that stop or park in front of the school. He said the resource officer has jurisdiction to enforce the traffic signs outside the school, but school officials said they would have to check into that.

Ford said he foresees new problems will arise with the new turnoff area, with parents taking shortcuts into the shopping center, opening residents up to additional traffic behind their homes. His wife, Sandy Ford, said the plan is ultimately going to affect their entire neighborhood.

Resident Amy Arnold, who lives in the house closest to the school, agreed.

"We are people just like all of you. Are you just going to give your house to someone and say, 'Here, tear my house down?'...You're looking at a good solution, but you're not looking at people. You're looking at it for your benefit, but what about us? We're people," Arnold said.

Eminent Domain

Arnold said she believes they would get more for their four lots -– two of which are commercial -- than the district is offering if they had a chance to put their home on the market. She asked if the district would work with her as a property owner. 

Norris said the district approached Arnold very straightforward, and she indicated a willingness to sell for a certain undisclosed price the district isn’t prepared to pay.

“We don’t currently agree on that price,” Norris said.

Norris said if the sides aren’t able to reach an agreement on a price, both would have to get involved with appraisers who would go through a mechanism to find a fair-market value for the property, he said.

“We also have the right by eminent domain to take the property,” Norris said.

“And that’s where you are all headed,” Arnold interrupted.

“If the district can’t reach an agreement and is not able to reach an agreement on price, then that’s a process we go through, and there are appraisers and other people who get involved between the both of us to value the property and make sure you are compensated properly,” he said.

Ford and other residents raised concerns about the possibility that the district could decide in the future to acquire all remaining six homes in the neighborhood, but Norris said the stretch of land isn't suitable to put a building.

'A Complicated Issue' 

School director Danielle Burnette said the board is essentially looking at the three properties to broaden its options. She said one of the properties recently became available, and the district believed it was best to obtain the land now.  

School director David Pusateri called it “a complicated issue.” He said something will have to be done in the next five to 10 years to renovate the aging high school building.

At one point, the district looked at putting the high school in Bell Acres, but the land wasn’t suitable for construction. He said there aren’t many other build-ready sites in the district. The high school has been in Leetsdale since the 1920s, but the use is different today, he said, adding that there aren’t a lot of options.

“My point is that we’re landlocked,” Pusateri said.

Board members invited residents to come back to next Tuesday’s meeting so they can review the architectural designs and provide more feedback.  


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