Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/02/1999

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January 25, 1999 -- Page 3 he stored inoperable vehicles on it. The warnings gave Adams 10 days to comply with the ordinance. When Adams didn't, the city cited him. The court found Adams expanded the use of.his property to a nonconform- ing use. It fined him $400, but he still didn't correct the violations. · Photos of Adams' lots showed shrubbery growing through abandoned ve- hicles, numerous trash dumpsters filled with industrial debris and refuse, and weeds and grass grown too high. A compliance officer said he had seen trash, car parts, batteries, plastic bags, bathtubs, paint cont~ainers, and other miscella- neous debris strewn about. The vehicles and dumpsters weren't allowed in a C-3 area. About two years later, the court found Adams guilty of expanding a non- conforming -use on one lot, failing to maintain his other property, and storing abandoned autos on and failing to maintain a third lot. Adams appealed. He argued his parcels were improperly zoned and that his neighbors used their land f6r ':I[ght-industrial" purposes. DECISION: Affirmed. Adams violated the zoning"ordinance. The vehicles and dumpsters.weren't permitted in a C-3 area, and only fully conforming auto businesses were allowed to store junk or abandoned autos for more than 30 days. The ordinance didn't allow grass and weeds taller than 10 inches, the accu- mulation of refuse in an unsightly manner, stagnant pools of water that at- tracted insects, the dumping of waste without a permit, and the overgrowth of vegetation to impede public rights-of-way ail of which were present on Adams' properties. see also: Lever v. State, 971 S.W. 2d 762 (1998). see also: City of Harrison v. Wilson, 453 S. W. 2d 730 (1970). Utilities -- Natural gas producer wants to build'compressor as 'public service facility' Citation: Hernley Family Trust v. Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, No. 1133 C.D. 1998 (1998) Lomak Operating Company wanted to build a natural gas compressor in Fayette County, Pa. A group of neighbors opposed the plan. Lomak was a publicly owned company that operated many natural gas wells in the area. The compressor site would allow it to pressurize gas for interstate transportation through a nearby pipeline. Lomak only produced the gas; it didn't sell gas to the public, so the state public utility commission didn't regulate it. The pressurization process heated the gas, so then machinery had to cool it. The compressor itself produced significant exhaust noise, but the neighbors objected more strongly to the cooling unit's sound. The compressor site would