SHARON Commission turns down zoning-change request

The plan involved putting a couple of billboards along U.S. Route 62.
SHARON, Pa. -- If Roy Atkinson wants to have property he owns on Thomas Avenue to be rezoned from institutional to commercial, he'll have to persuade city council to do it.
Atkinson, of Hermitage, got no support from the Sharon Planning Commission for his plan which voted not to recommend the zoning change during a hearing Tuesday.
Atkinson, who owns three acres at 943 Thomas Ave., already has a business there -- Main Street Motors -- and said he wanted the zoning change so he could erect a couple of advertising billboards.
Secured variance
Frank Smeraglia, city code enforcement officer, said Atkinson did secure a zoning variance last year that would have allowed him to place the signs, but the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation refused to issue highway sign permits for his billboards because the area was still zoned institutional.
Atkinson took his problem to city council in August, asking that the land be rezoned commercial, and council voted to send it to both the city and Mercer County Regional planning commissions for review and recommendations.
John Outrakis, chairman of Sharon Planning Commission, said the regional planning group had advised against changing the area to commercial and the city planning commission did the same.
This wouldn't be a good thing for the neighborhood, Outrakis said, noting there are a number of houses near the dealership in a small residential area on the east side of U.S. Route 62 just east of the Ohio border.
There are a lot of children living there and the commission felt the zoning shouldn't be changed to commercial because of traffic and safety reasons, he said.
The planning commission recommendations now go back to city council, which must decide.