Aug 11, 2014 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County Court reversed a decision by the Waynesburg Zoning Hearing Board and granted two Waynesburg businessmen conditional approval to establish a used car lot at the corner of High and Richhill streets.

Richard and Ross Kalsey sought variances from the zoning board to use the vacant property for a used car lot.

The property is zoned B-1, and a used car lot is a permitted use in that zone. However, it was determined a variance would be needed because of the dimensions of the lot.

Following zoning board hearings in October and November, the zoning board denied the Kalseys’ application for a variance. The Kalseys then appealed the decision to the court.

The zoning board expressed concerns the proposed use would create additional congestion at a busy intersection and result in a hazard by inviting passing motorists to view the cars in the lot.

Though the Kalseys argued unique physical conditions of the property prohibited them from developing it in conformity with the zoning ordinance, the zoning board said other uses could be made of the property without the need for a variance.

In an interim findings and order issued Friday, Judge Farley Toothman reversed the zoning board’s decision and granted the Kalseys conditional approval to operate an auto sales lot on the property, subject to conditions to be determined by the court.

Further hearings will be scheduled to define those conditions, the court said.

Toothman noted B-1 business districts “are by nature, congested and busy areas.” He also stated zoning ordinances “are to be liberally construed to allow the broadest possible use of land.”

Toothman agreed with the Kalseys the property could not be developed in strict conformity with the zoning ordinance given its unique physical conditions, including the lot’s shape and size, and that this “unnecessary hardship” was not created by the Kalseys.

Waynesburg Borough Council approved a lot split for the previous owner that created the irregular, nonconforming lot, different from the lot that was in existence at the time the zoning ordinance was adopted, Toothman said.

Toothman said reasonable conditions can be imposed to allow the property owner to use the property for the proposed use that will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood, a business district, nor impair the use of adjacent properties.

A variance can be considered that will have a minimal impact on surrounding properties “and on the health, safety and general welfare of the community,” he said.

Toothman cited a number of factors that should be considered that will allow the Kalseys to use the lot for the proposed use while representing the “least modifications possible” to the zoning ordinance.

The factors include a dimensional variance, setback variance, maximum lot coverage variance, coupled with restriction on the number of cars for sale on the lot at any given time; ingress and egress, parking, lighting, signage and impact to adjoining properties owned by the Kalseys.

The order states the Kalseys cannot use the property for auto sales until a final order is issued by the court.