Consideration of a petition by residents of Rosbury Place to improve their private street and change the status to be a public street.
On November 24, 2014, the Commission approved a Private Street Policy. The residents initiated the process by submitting a petition and deposit to pay for engineering costs. The Commission then directed staff to prepare an initial review sufficient to obtain a preliminary cost estimate. The Engineer has prepared preliminary plans and cost estimates, and the Municipal Manager has recommended the maximum level of financial contributions by the Municipality.
Recommended Action: Move to (1) approve the recommendation that the street will qualify as a significant level of public use for a 75% municipal contribution for improvements to the physical cartway of the street, (2) direct the Solicitor and Engineer to prepare formal right-of-way and waiver documents and bid specifications, (3) ask that the property owners abutting the street formally indicate their willingness to pay the contribution, complete the appropriate waivers, convey the right-of-way and other legal acknowledgments contained in the private street policy.
Will residents waiting to have street improvements be bumped behind Rosbury Place? Will Rosbury Place now be at the top of the list? These are questions being asked by Mt. Lebanon residents.
Update May 25, 2015 6:45 PM Photos added
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| Rosbury Place - no signs |
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| Summer Place |
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| Summer Place |
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| Summer Place |
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| Summer Place |
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| Summer Place |
16 comments:
I sincerely hope Rosbury compares the muni estimates to others' from outside the Gateway influenced construction companies. So, dial outside of 412 and 724 for starters..
I bet most people don't even know where this street is located. I am surprised that it qualifies? how many who do not reside there could possibly use this street?
8:58 AM, I didn't know where it was. I looked it up on the municipal website. It is located in Ward 5. Then I went on the Allegheny County website and found that it connects Austin to Parkview. There are eleven houses on that street. I believe it is a cut through.
Elaine
I lived in that neighborhood for 3 years and I never drove on it.
So the newcomers got "jacked" on taxes to pay for funding on a private street with 11 houses, most of the houses have assessments in the $150,000 to $180,000r range. We did that with another street with 13 houses about two years ago. A municipal official lives on that street. Who has the pull on Rosbury?
If Rosbury is a high volume cut through, the street would have data from traffic studies completed by Gateway Engineers, Trans Associates, or David E. Wooster and Associates to demonstrate the extent of the problem. Likewise, they would also likely have a history of presenting concerns and petitions to the traffic board.
I believe Mt. Lebanon put liens against people's homes when sidewalks were going in on N. Meadowcroft. Sidewalks. Will Mt. Lebanon take this action again?
Elaine
What happened to Summer Place? Wasn't that the street that initiated this discussion? Are the streets prioritized on need or just based on first petition submitted?
Of course they will have liens, Elaine!
The portion of Summer Place as depicted in the photos is not considered private according to Mt. Lebanon definition and neither is Rosbury. Summer Place and Rosbury are considered Land Company Streets meaning they are dedicated to public use but not improved to municipal standards and are maintained by the abutting property owners.
I was wondering how Rosbury was receiving the highest amount of municipal contributions. They must get more traffic than I initially thought.
Nick M.
Nick M., if the streets are dedicated to public use, then the deeds should show the private property ends at the public street right of way. If my property line ends before the street pavement begins, I sure as heck am not going to maintain that street. Have the residents on Summer Place and Rosbury reviewed their deeds?
Yes they have, 5:43 AM.
Elaine
Noticed today that a homeowner on this street was posting a more "official" looking sign stating that it was a private street and only Authorized Vehicles were allowed. Any thought on if this is legal or not?
As a person who lives on Austin, it sure was handy to have the ability to drive around the block. This is especially useful since most houses on the streets around it are tandem driveways. We have to shuffle our cars around quite a bit.
I'm not of a legal background, but I think if there are others that feel as I do, we need to start a petition to get this re-heard by the municipality. In the coming weeks/ months I will attempt to get a petition started.
I am sure the residents of this street are upset that they had to pay to get their road re-paved. I think Lebo should maintain the road. Continued public use of the road worsened the poor condition of the street. In fact one of the potholes of the street did considerable damage to one of my cars. At that point the street was unmarked. That being said, in many parts of the country, private roads such as this are maintained by homeowners association fees and open for public use. That might be a better way of dealing with this instead of all the signs that may not be legally binding.
I think if this street is truly private property and the we are not allowed to drive on it, no public funds should be used to plow or maintain sewers. Again, maybe another petition later on. I also think it might be in the public's interest for Lebo to put a tasteful barricade at one end of the street since it is a widely perceived through way.
1:44 PM, are you referring to Summer Place? Two parts of Summer are public, but this section is private. I know that residents from that stretch went to commission meetings for maybe seven months(?) asking for that section to become public. Then this private street policy was enacted and the cost was astronomical with Mt. Lebanon not being responsible for certain things.
Since they pay taxes, residents are entitled to the same services we are, such as getting the road plowed, garbage pick up, etc.
I hope that helps 1:44 PM.
Elaine
Elaine,
In regard to the "Private" section of Summer place, who owns the property? As far as I can tell from the research I have done, this property does not belong to anyone. Who is responsible for previous damage to vehicles due to the potholes? I wonder if Lebo paid any of the recent repaving.
If I am not mistaken, this is indeed public property. Think about it this way, If I live on a street with a sidewalk, I am required to maintain that during the winter. I am not allowed to bar other people from using it. Also, in some cases residents have to pay for sidewalks to be installed. That is part of living in a community like this.
BTW I am really interested in starting a petition.
We live on Parkview and would gladly sign a petition, if that is necessary. Has anyone contacted the municipality regarding the sign? I know that it was placed there by a homeowner on that street and not by anyone official (I watched them place it there Saturday evening). From my research it seems as though it is not law abiding. We are out of town at the moment but plan to call if the sign is still up when we return. I do fell bad for these residents and believe that Mt Lebanon should be covering at least a portion of the upkeep, but the facts are it is a well traveled road especially by those on connecting streets and if the law backs it as I believe it does, should be allowed for public use.
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