Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 8:54PM |  41°
MENU
Advertisement
A car pulls into the former jail annex site on Ross Street between Third and Fourth Avenues on Wednesday. For more than two years, the county has been operating the lot without a valid permit from the city.
1
MORE

Parking violation? Allegheny County has been operating lot without permit

Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette

Parking violation? Allegheny County has been operating lot without permit

For the past 2 1/2 years, Allegheny County has been operating a parking lot without a valid permit at the site of the former jail annex, a prime development spot that has been vacant for more than a decade.

The temporary permission granted by the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment for the property at Fourth Avenue and Ross Street expired Sept, 15, 2013. Now the county will be forced to plead its case again if it wants to continue to park cars there.

As parking lots go, it’s a relatively important one — used by county departments, row offices, county council members and staffers, and the county motor pool. And it’s not the first time the county has run into trouble trying to park cars there, triggering complaints a few years ago when it started using the lot without the needed approvals.

Advertisement

The site in question is supposed to eventually hold a hotel. Allegheny County sold the real estate to Kratsa Properties in 2007. The Harmar developer proposed building a six-story hotel there, after an earlier proposal by former county Executive Jim Roddey to erect an eight-story office building went nowhere.

The property where Saks Fifth Avenue was located will be redeveloped for a mixed-use project that will include a parking garage, retail space and eventually apartments.
Mark Belko
Hotel could be part of project at former Saks site in Downtown Pittsburgh

No construction has started. In the meantime, the county has continued to park dozens of vehicles each weekday at the lot, currently paying the developer $7,995 a month for the right.


(Click image for larger version)

Based on a review of city records, there is no evidence that the county sought to extend the variance beyond its expiration in September 2013. Commercial parking is not a permitted use in the Golden Triangle zoning district Downtown.

In an emailed statement, Steve Pilarski, deputy county manager, blamed the lapse in getting the needed variances on paperwork and oversight issues within both the city and the county bureaucracies.

Advertisement

The county, he said, had submitted a final site plan as well as a landscaping and screening plan to the city’s zoning administrator in August 2013.

“It’s our understanding that there was a paperwork issue there and it was not responded to by the [city planning] office. While there was follow-up from the county’s law department, there were staff changes in the planning office and this fell off of our radar once some time had elapsed,” Mr. Pilarski stated.

He added that the county has restarted conversations with the city planning department about rectifying the situation and expects to resubmit the site and landscaping and screening plans.

Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto, said the county will receive a notice of violation but won’t be fined or penalized.

Artist rendering of North Shore garage
Mark Belko
North Shore garage construction could mess with commuters, Pittsburgh sports fans

Nor will it be forced to shut down the lot. It will, however, have to go back before the zoning board for a variance, Mr. McNulty said.

He said the city bears some responsibility for the snafu because the county “did submit paperwork the city lost at the end of the last administration.” Mr. Peduto took office in January 2014.

“The violation is a result of a clerical error that was brought to our attention. Both parties are now doing what is necessary” to bring the lot into compliance, added Katie O’Malley, a spokeswoman for Mr. Peduto.

The county could have owed a considerable amount if a fine had been imposed. In cases where a person or entity is convicted of a violation of the zoning code, the fine could be up to $1,000 a day or no more than 30 days in jail.

But William Sittig, a local attorney who specializes in zoning matters, noted that it’s common for the city to notify people or entities of a violation and to provide 30 days to correct it before taking any other action.

“That would be the process I would expect for any of my clients,” he said.

This is not the first time there has been an issue with parking at the former jail annex lot.

When the county started parking vehicles there in 2012, it didn’t bother obtaining a variance first, prompting complaints from some city employees. Then, as now, the city took a cooperative stance, allowing the county to use the space while seeking a variance.

The county began moving cars to the space after closing down a garage at the end of Fourth Avenue because of its dilapidated condition. It later demolished the structure.

Kratsa paid $1.55 million to buy the jail annex lot from the county in 2007. At the time, it unveiled a plan to build a 156-room, six-story hotel on the site. It also proposed an underground parking garage with 100 spaces.

Construction never started, and it is not clear what plans, if any, the developer still has for the real estate. Kratsa officials did not return phone calls.

The county currently is leasing the space month to month.

Before Kratsa bought the real estate, Mr. Roddey proposed building a $55 million county office building there. His successor, Dan Onorato, scrapped that plan and instead marketed the property for sale.

The 274-cell jail annex, constructed in the former Jones Law Building at a cost of $11.8 million, opened in 1986 to ease crowding at the old county jail. It closed in 1995 when the current jail opened on Second Avenue. It was demolished in 2003.

Mark Belko: 412-263-1262 or mbelko@post-gazette.com.

First Published: April 28, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Arthur J. Rooney II looks on prior to the NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia.
1
sports
Jason Mackey: Art Rooney II's reasoning for keeping Mike Tomlin as Steelers coach feels misguided
Kansas City Royals' Adam Frazier waits to take batting practice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Houston.
2
sports
Adam Frazier returns to Pirates on 1-year, major league deal
Tensions in Charleroi, PA, intensified after President-elect Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance made controversial remarks about the town's Haitian community, alleging that they were financially draining local resources.
3
news
Fear and anxiety ripple through Western Pa. communities amid immigration crackdown
Van Jefferson #11 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with Calvin Austin III #19 after making a catch for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland.
4
sports
Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat transcript: 01.28.25
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields is greeted by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers at the Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in the North Shore. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 20-10.
5
sports
Gerry Dulac: Steelers want a streamlined QB style, so who fits the bill?
A car pulls into the former jail annex site on Ross Street between Third and Fourth Avenues on Wednesday. For more than two years, the county has been operating the lot without a valid permit from the city.  (Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette)
Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST business
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story