Municipal Planner

Ian McMeans

710 Washington Rd.

Pittsburgh, PA 15228-2018

PH: 412-343-3620
Email: imcmeans@mtlebanon.org

Hours

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F

Before any Mt. Lebanon development project larger than the building of a single-family home can begin, the developers must secure approval from the planning office to ensure the project meets the requirements of the applicable ordinances.

The office is in charge of reviewing plans and shepherding developers through the initial stages of the planning process to make sure projects comply with the municipality’s zoning code.

Once plans are submitted, they go before a five-member volunteer planning board which grants preliminary approval and recommends final approval to the Commission. Projects then must receive permits from the building inspector to move forward.

The office typically receives plans for as many as two large scale projects and up to six smaller projects a year. It also oversees the moving of property lines and studies done to determine long-term goals for Mt. Lebanon’s future.

Planning in the Works

Mt. Lebanon municipal staff are working on a parks master plan and a recreation center feasibility study this year. Commissioners approved funding for the study as a part of the 2020 budget, with outside sports organizations also contributing. The municipality’s last parks master plan, which was approved in 2004, has reached the end of its useful life and leaders say it’s time to take an updated look at current recreational offers and assets to create a blueprint for active and passive recreation throughout the community and its 17 parks. The process includes soliciting public input.

Next year, Mt. Lebanon will update its comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan is a guiding document that sets broad goals and objectives for the community, while prioritizing future projects. The Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code recommends a new comprehensive plan every 10 years. Mt. Lebanon’s last plan was approved in 2013—with about 95 percent of those goals and objectives being completed or making progress. The process likely will take 12 to 18 months and will involve significant public input.

Current Residential Projects

2904 Castlegate Avenue

The Community Builders Inc. is constructing a multi-family development with 51 residential units of varying types on the 5.58 acres at McNeilly Road and Castlegate Avenue. The project includes seven residential structures, along with a management office. Plans were submitted and are working their way through the process.

Current Commercial Projects

St. Clair Hospital Dunlap Family Outpatient Center (1000 Bower Hill Road)

An addition to the hospital’s existing facility for an ambulatory care center, operating rooms, outpatient facilities, offices and associated parking. Approvals for the land development plan, lot consolidation plan and conditional use were granted in 2018. The project spans the Mt. Lebanon and Scott Township border, is expected to add 150 jobs and contribute $262.4 million in direct revenue to the region’s economy.

Vibrant Uptown

Construction is set to start in June for the project that will bolster the face of Mt. Lebanon’s Uptown business district, with new sidewalks, streetlights, planters and accessibility improvements.

1701 Cochran Road

Cozza Enterprises received final approval for a land development plan to reuse an existing two-story brick building on the site and construct a new 20,000 square-foot commercial building on the property. Site work and grading began in 2018. The land development plan was approved for a mix of office and retail. The developer is in the process of getting their building permits for the project.

Pending Projects

400 Washington Road

Zamagias Properties received a text amendment to the zoning code to permit townhouses in the R-7 zoning district. No development plans were filed at the time of publication.

Future Projects

Applications have not yet been filed for these projects. They are conceptual in nature:

Pennsylvania Boulevard

Chatham Development owns 0.96 acres of property adjacent to the T tracks, which is zoned as R-3 residential. No plans have been submitted.

397 Old Gilkeson Road

A 1.23-acre parcel, zoned as R-3 residential with potential for apartments or townhouses. No plans have been submitted.

Castle Shannon Boulevard

A single-private owner could develop this 1.38-acre property, zoned R-5 multi-family residential, near the post office on Castle Shannon Boulevard.

Washington Road South Garage

The 0.32-acre site has potential for mixed-used development, as identified in the 2013 Mt. Lebanon Comprehensive Plan.

Mt. Lebanon Station

The municipality owns the air rights above the T tracks on the 3.78-acre parcel which could be used for future development, with approval of the Port Authority of Allegheny County.