Chesterland Residents Start Petition To Overturn Fire Station Zoning

BY JEFF SKINNER

CHESTER TWP - On Monday, August 25, Chester Township trustees voted 2-1 to rezone a specific parcel of property, namely the location of the old Fire House 2 structure, to industrial. Kayleigh Varga, the owner of the property directly next to the fire house lot, is now launching a petition to put the zoning resolution to a community vote, hopefully overturning the initiative. 

TOR has previously reported on the hearings for the rezoning effort which had significant attendance. The structure is currently being used mostly as storage for emergency services equipment. The argument among the majority of the trustees has been that the current model of emergency service response makes the facility obsolete and the drain on tax payers to maintain the facility makes selling it a more fiscally responsible action. However, trustee Craig Richter dissented from the majority opinion, arguing the facility is under utilized currently.

Varga's experience with the issue has led to a different opinion. According to Varga, the resolution has been discussed for several years, but not with her, possibly the most impacted by it. 

“A few years ago somebody was kind of talking about the fire station and selling it and we initially were like ‘what’s going on’ because it’s in multiple separate lots,” Varga said. “Our initial concern was the house in the back is right on our property line. That was our main concern. We called and contacted whoever we could but no one was saying anything, nothing was really happening. The only person who really gave us any information was Craig [Richter].”

According to Varga, once she was made aware of the push to sell the property, she became involved, attending meetings and striving to make her voice heard as someone in opposition to the sale. The original plan included a potential rezoning of the Varga’s property as well, which would have been rezoned for industrial as well had it not been for their intervention. Varga stated she had never been in support of either effort, but somehow township leaders had been under the impression they were. 

“The very first meeting when we found out about this, we did call Craig,” Varga said. “From then on we have been writing letters and attending meetings. The zoning commission went with how we felt when we had the first meeting, because they were notified that Joe Mazzurco said that we voted yes, since then we have been there voicing our opinions.”

Varga was shocked by the revelation, not just of her own property potentially being rezoned, but also of the overall plan to sell the firehouse. According to Varga, the property is still regularly used by firefighters for trainings and houses emergency vehicles and equipment, something her family has watched over the years. Losing the firehouse, she argued, would potentially impact the sense of comfort residents feel from knowing the township has the ability to respond to an issue no matter the location. 

“That sense of comfort, knowing that that’s there in case an emergency happens, they have more vehicles,” Varga said. “The police also sit there and monitor traffic from that area so it’s a sense of security for Chesterland. It was shocking that they heard we were for it when that was not said.”

Though that concern might pale in comparison to the potential community impact from the unknown business that might move in. Varga stated a large concern many have is what type of business might consider buying and whether or not the workforce brought in would be the kind of people you want as neighbors to your children.

“I think it’s going to impact everybody in Chesterland in multiple ways. It’s going to impact us because it's going to be bringing in a whole other population,” Varga said. “If they sell industrial they are going to be bringing in a whole other population that’s going to be working at this facility. We don't even know what it is. I have reached out to contractors who have showed interest in buying the property to see what their motives were,  to try and help ease that piece of mind. The people that zoning said would be great to work there, roofers and plumbers because that's a 7 to 3 job. These roofers and plumbers would not be able to meet that initial price that they threw out of $650,000 and that would be going up for auction. I don't know if the number changed. People move to Chesterland to have a safe residential community for their children. ”

At the heart of the issue is a feeling that Varga has of a disconnect between the township leadership and the desires of the community. Many have voiced their concern the initiative is just 'chasing dollars.' According to Varga, the process has not been transparent enough with community members most impacted or at large.

“They did receive a number from somebody and they liked that number better than residential. This is going to bring in safety concerns, a new industrial company that we don’t know what it might even be,” Varga said. “Part of that fire station was donated and they called the person that donated the property to get permission to make it into one lot but they never said they were going to sell it. They just said that they wanted to get it as one lot.”

There has been greater discussion about potential environmental or community impact of any industrial business in the public hearings from the trustees on how their current zoning laws would protect the community.

Trustee Ken Radtke outlined a plethora of environmental rules and guidelines that would be set in place to prevent any unauthorized or detrimental dumping or dispersal of raw materials or hazardous compounds, smoke discharges or noise issues. However, Varga questions whether those rules may hold long term.

"People are pushing the zoning laws already in place and there could always be a variance, they could make it bigger than what it should be."

Varga has banded together with friends, neighbors and family members to begin circulating a petition that would put a referendum of the zoning resolution on the ballot for residents to vote on, putting the choice to the people.

According to Varga, she would need 15 percent of participating Chesterland voters from the 2022 gubernatorial election to sign the petition, roughly 770 signatures. The group is currently seeking to get 1000. Varga envisions keeping the property away from destruction and potentially revitalizing it in a way that uses it to its full potential.

Under the current plan, if the fire house is demolished and sold off, another structure would need to be constructed to house the emergency services equipment the township currently stores there. Unless the trustees decide to sell that equipment as well. Should that be pursued, Varga questioned the logic of dipping back into the tax coffers to construct a building for the same purpose of one already in use. In addition, Varga added the building should stand as a historical landmark to reflect the time and commitment of Chesterland's volunteer fire fighting forces.

"This building is already made, the foundation is unbreakable and not to mention the historical aspect of members of the community who worked in the building as volunteers," Varga said. "There is an historical aspect, it has been in the community for a long time and there are so many things they could do with it. It is already there, why would we spend tax payer dollars for a new building when there is one already there."

Varga hopes to put the measure to a community vote and let the people decide the next steps. Those wishing to sign the petition or help gather signatures or learn more about the initiative can email Varga at Peopleforchesterland@gmail.com