Rezoning efforts in Hazelwood face new delays amid threats of legal action and concerns of insufficient notice granted to the railroad and other business interests.  

Allegheny Valley Railroad and CSX — the latter of which owns most of the roughly 233 acres covered by the proposed rezoning —  joined other industry players in persuading Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission to delay a vote on changing Hazelwood’s riverfront zoning for a second time. 

Allegheny Valley Railroad, headquartered in Oakmont, is a federally regulated shortline railroad operating about 92 acres of the Glenwood railyard within the proposed rezoned area.

The new zoning plan would, among other changes, prohibit heavy industrial uses in the zone. 

“When you deal with railroads, I have concerns,” said Commissioner Steve Mazza. “If you go after railroads, they’ll go after you and it will be a big mess. I believe in clean air, water and the riverfront is one of our greatest assets. But we have to worry about jobs. We can’t continually zone our way out of jobs.”

Development interests, railroad rights

As Hazelwood gains interest amid planned developments for housing, robotics and academic research, City Councilor Barb Warwick introduced the bill earlier this year to change zoning along the Monongahela River from a River-General Industrial subdistrict to River-Industrial Mixed Use. 

The zoning change would open up the riverfront to a broader range of uses including residential, retail and educational while limiting more industrial uses. The current zoning district is “more permissive of heavy industrial uses” like car washing companies, construction-related activities and other intensive operations, according to a city planning official.

The bill was referred by council to the commission on July 9. The commission declined to vote at a Sept. 23 hearing, following pressure from railroads. Returning on Tuesday, commissioners punted once again, noting several threats of legal action made during Tuesday’s meeting by those same interests. 

Under the proposal, existing businesses would continue to operate, but any new enterprises, construction or building alterations would have to get special zoning approval if they fall outside the new zoning allowances.

Rezoning efforts started after Warwick said she began receiving calls from residents concerned about plans by Republic Services to include a garbage transfer station at its recycling plant. The plant applied for a transfer station permit earlier this year, and Warwick said the issue raised her awareness of the “long-term environmental damage to the community.”

The company is responsible for processing all of the city’s residential recycling trash along with  much of the commercial recycling trash, according to Frank Chimera, the company’s business development leader.

Warwick said Tuesday the current zoning is not good for nearby residents.

“This is a residential area and the Hazelwood Green is also nearby,” Warwick said, noting plans for new housing developments in the area. “I like to say this is the future of development in the city of Pittsburgh.”

Legal review and threats

Bill Sittig, an attorney representing CSX, told the commissioners, “We have yet to find one person in the community with issues with rail activities. It’s very unusual in my experience. It’s unprecedented.”

If the rezoning takes effect, “this may be the subject of future litigation,” he added. “We don’t want to do that but we think this is extremely right zoning.”

Brendan O’Donnell, an attorney representing Allegheny Valley Railroad, also raised the possibility of seeking alternative legal means to resist the proposal. He also said the issue might run afoul of federal preemption, which occurs when a federal law displaces, or preempts, local laws.

The commissioners did not set a date for reconsidering the proposal, to give all parties sufficient notification of the intended rezoning and for the city to consult with the law department. 

“That’s very important when it comes to dealing with railroads and whether there’s a federal preemption with surface transportation laws,” said Commissioner Phillip Wu. “With all these things hanging, it would be good for there to be more dialogue and the Department of City Planning to consult the legal department.”

Eric Jankiewicz is PublicSource’s economic development reporter and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org or on Twitter @ericjankiewicz.

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Planning Commission delays Hazelwood zoning change again as railroads threaten legal action

by Eric Jankiewicz, Pittsburgh's Public Source
October 7, 2025

<h1>Planning Commission delays Hazelwood zoning change again as railroads threaten legal action</h1> <p class="byline">by Eric Jankiewicz, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />October 7, 2025</p> <p>Rezoning efforts in Hazelwood face new delays amid threats of legal action and concerns of insufficient notice granted to the railroad and other business interests.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Allegheny Valley Railroad and CSX — the latter of which owns most of the roughly 233 acres covered by the proposed rezoning —&nbsp; joined other industry players in persuading Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission to delay a vote <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-planning-commission-delays-hazelwood-riverfront-zoning-changes/">on changing Hazelwood’s riverfront zoning</a> for a second time.&nbsp;</p> <p>Allegheny Valley Railroad, headquartered in Oakmont, is a federally regulated shortline railroad operating about 92 acres of the Glenwood railyard within the proposed rezoned area.</p> <p>The new zoning plan would, among other changes, prohibit heavy industrial uses in the zone.&nbsp;</p> <p>“When you deal with railroads, I have concerns,” said Commissioner Steve Mazza. “If you go after railroads, they’ll go after you and it will be a big mess. I believe in clean air, water and the riverfront is one of our greatest assets. But we have to worry about jobs. We can't continually zone our way out of jobs.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-development-interests-railroad-rights">Development interests, railroad rights</h2> <p>As Hazelwood gains interest amid planned developments for housing, robotics and academic research, City Councilor Barb Warwick introduced the bill earlier this year to change zoning along the Monongahela River from a River-General Industrial subdistrict to River-Industrial Mixed Use.&nbsp;</p> <p>The zoning change would open up the riverfront to a broader range of uses including residential, retail and educational while limiting more industrial uses. The current zoning district is “more permissive of heavy industrial uses” like car washing companies, construction-related activities and other intensive operations, according to a city planning official.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AJ_HazelwoodRepublic-Jankiewicz-4.jpg" alt="A brick industrial building with a Republic Services sign stands in front of a tree, with train tracks and forested hills in the background." class="wp-image-1323203" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Republic Services building on Sept. 11, 2025. Republic Services wants to expand its waste services to include trash. (Photo by Alex Jurkuta/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)</figcaption></figure> <p>The bill was <a href="https://pittsburgh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7450275&amp;GUID=B7828059-9C4A-40F9-9BD3-B3B25031EAA8&amp;Options=ID%7CText%7C&amp;Search=2025-1993">referred by council</a> to the commission on July 9. The commission declined to vote at a Sept. 23 hearing, following pressure from railroads. Returning on Tuesday, commissioners punted once again, noting several threats of legal action made during Tuesday’s meeting by those same interests.&nbsp;</p> <p>Under the proposal, existing businesses would continue to operate, but any new enterprises, construction or building alterations would have to get special zoning approval if they fall outside the new zoning allowances.</p> <p>Rezoning efforts started after Warwick said she began receiving calls from residents concerned about plans by Republic Services to include a garbage transfer station at its recycling plant. The <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/hazelwood-rezoning-waste-garbage-transfer-station/">plant applied for a transfer station permit</a> earlier this year, and Warwick said the issue raised her awareness of the “long-term environmental damage to the community.”</p> <p>The company is responsible for processing all of the city’s residential recycling trash along with  much of the commercial recycling trash, according to Frank Chimera, the company’s business development leader.</p> <p>Warwick said Tuesday the current zoning is not good for nearby residents.</p> <p>“This is a residential area and the Hazelwood Green is also nearby,” Warwick said, noting plans for new housing developments in the area. “I like to say this is the future of development in the city of Pittsburgh.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-legal-review-and-threats">Legal review and threats</h2> <p>Bill Sittig, an attorney representing CSX, told the commissioners, “We have yet to find one person in the community with issues with rail activities. It’s very unusual in my experience. It’s unprecedented.”</p> <p>If the rezoning takes effect, “this may be the subject of future litigation,” he added. “We don't want to do that but we think this is extremely right zoning.”</p> <p>Brendan O’Donnell, an attorney representing Allegheny Valley Railroad, also raised the possibility of seeking alternative legal means to resist the proposal. He also said the issue might run afoul of federal preemption, which occurs when a federal law displaces, or preempts, local laws.</p> <p>The commissioners did not set a date for reconsidering the proposal, to give all parties sufficient notification of the intended rezoning and for the city to consult with the law department. </p> <p>“That’s very important when it comes to dealing with railroads and whether there’s a federal preemption with surface transportation laws,” said Commissioner Phillip Wu. “With all these things hanging, it would be good for there to be more dialogue and the Department of City Planning to consult the legal department.”</p> <p><em>Eric Jankiewicz is PublicSource’s economic development reporter and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org or on Twitter</em><a href="https://x.com/EricJankiewicz"><em> @ericjankiewicz</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/hazelwood-riverfront-rezoning-delayed/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1324544&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/hazelwood-riverfront-rezoning-delayed/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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