Crawford Street, Canonsburg, at issue in third round
A dispute between Canonsburg Borough and a contractor who plans to develop property in North Strabane Township known as Greenwood Village is in court again.
At the heart of the dispute is Canonsburg’s Crawford Street and its access to the proposed Greenwood Village L.P., a 233-unit development in neighboring North Strabane Township.
Zokaites Contracting Inc., of which Frank R. Zokaites is president, is also a general partner in Greenwood Village.
About eight to 15 feet of Crawford Street is gravel, but Zokaites Inc. claims it and the property’s previous owner accessed a 62-acre tract from Crawford Street for the past 70 years.
Last year, Zokaites submitted plans for improvement of Crawford Street to Canonsburg Borough Council.
In December, council unanimously approved the plan to use Crawford Street as emergency access to Greenwood Village.
Neighboring North Strabane Township “flatly rejected” a Crawford Street connection to Greenwood Village that would be used only for emergency vehicles, according to the developer.
Zokaites hired David E. Wooster and Associates to prepare a traffic impact study to show the impact of traffic from an improved Crawford Street on the rest of Canonsburg. Wooster deemed its impact as “negligible.”
In March, Zokaites submitted a new application and complete plans to the borough to improve Crawford Street. Solicitor Joseph Dalfonso accepted the information on behalf of the borough, but the novel coronavirus pandemic and ensuing restrictions on gatherings hindered council’s ability to act, according to Zokaites.
The developer hoped borough council would be able to consider his proposal in May, but there was no action that month or in June or July.
When Zokaites inquired about the information he brought to the borough, he was told by its engineer that council had made its position known when it approved emergency access last December.
In the most recent court case, Zokaites takes the position that Canonsburg council failed to act on his most recent request in May through July, and enough time has lapsed that it should be deemed approved.
“There is no legitimate reason to delay the plan,” according to the documents Zokaites filed with Washington County Court late last month.
Reached last week for comment, Dalfonso said borough council granted approval on Zokaites using Crawford Street as an emergency exit.
“(Zokaites) hasn’t complied with the borough’s conditional approval of emergency vehicle access only,” he said, adding that the court would hear the case anew.
When the borough placed concrete barriers at the edge of the improved part of Crawford Street in June 2018, it caused Zokaites Inc. to go to court the first time, claiming $5 million in damages.
Judge Michael Lucas, in dismissing what Zokaites called Canonsburg’s equivalent to a declaration of taking, noted in a Sept. 18 opinion the borough was not a party to the agreement, Greenwood had never submitted a plan for Canonsburg to consider and no public hearings were conducted.
In discussing the issue at an October council meeting last year, it came to light residents complained of large construction vehicles traveling on Crawford Street and continuing on a dirt alley to the development site. A councilman said Crawford Street was not designed to handle that type of traffic.
Zokaites then submitted plans and engineers’ drawings to borough council for improving the gravel part of Crawford Street, and council voted last December.
Zokaites then took legal action in January of this year before the court calendar was interrupted by the pandemic.