ALLEGHENY COUNTY EXECUTIVE RICH FITZGERALD REFUSES TO MEET WITH CHURCHILL RESIDENTS
Churchill Future www.churchillfuture.com
Contacts: Cathy Bordner cathy.bordner@gmail.com (573) 690-1919
Sandy Fox sm2fox@yahoo.com (412) 770-5602
Churchill, PA, September 20, 2021-- County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has made no secret of his support for an Amazon mega-distribution center, also referred to as a “fulfillment center” or warehouse, in Churchill, a 2.2 square mile residential community of 3000 people ten miles east of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County. He has touted the proposal as being in a “wonderful, wonderful location,” and a win for the eastern suburbs, bringing jobs and tax revenue, in a County Council meeting on 6/8/21 (see 25 minute mark of video recording here http://allegheny.granicus.com/player/clip/808?view_id=4&redirect=true In May 2021 Fitzgerald sent a letter of support to the developer for the project, which is posted on the Churchill Borough website along with an identical letter from State Senator Jay Costa, albeit each on their own letterhead, signed accordingly, with Senator Costa’s letter dated a month later (https://ecode360.com/documents/CH1558/public/613123550.pdf
The problem is the overwhelming majority of residents of this community are vehemently opposed to this proposed development. And Mr. Fitzgerald refuses to meet with them.
The applicant for the conditional use permit to build the Amazon warehouse is Hillwood Development of Dallas, Texas, also known as Churchill Creek Project LLC. The proposed site is the former Westinghouse Research and Technology Park, a bucolic 133 acre hilly property, with approximately 100 acres of greenspace and wetlands, home to wildlife and a possible endangered species, which is intersected by the historic Raystown Path--a Native American trail. The mid-century buildings and campus have been deemed eligible by the PA State Historic Preservation Office for the National Register of Historic Places (https://files.dep.state.pa.us/RegionalResources/SWRO/SWROPortalFiles/Churchill_Project/PAD020040%20NPDES%20Permit%20Application/SHPO%20notification%20ltr.pdf ). The interior of at least one of the buildings has been repurposed and is being used as a film studio (https://www.filmatchurchill.com/ .
According to Dr. Elizabeth Casman, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and a Churchill resident opposed to the project, “The Hillwood proposal would demolish the buildings, grind them up to use as fill to create 24 new acres of flat impervious area to hold a giant 3 million square foot warehouse, destroy 1400 mature trees that now stabilize the landslide-prone slopes on the property, and create an artificial plateau held up with retaining walls that are taller than 70 feet at some points.” Dr. Casman has described the plan as tantamount to creating a “leaky landfill.”
By April 2021 more residents were learning of the proposal before Council, and its potential to devastate the environment, health, safety, and well-being of this community and children attending its schools. Over 400 homes are within 1000 feet of the property line and two schools--Woodland Hills Jr/Sr HS and Pace School--are directly across the street from the site and a truck and employee vehicle entrance/exit. A large proportion of students attending WHHS are from EPA designated Environmental Justice Communities --including Braddock, Rankin, and Turtle Creek-- and thus are already exposed to dangerous levels of air pollutants at home.
A grassroots group calling itself Churchill Future (CF) was formed in the spring to push back on the plan. Committees were set up within CF, including one to research the proposal and the reports generated by the developer’s consultants. Residents have expressed anger and concerns regarding environmental degradation, pollution, flooding, traffic, vehicular and pedestrian safety, and the impact on health and well-being from diesel emissions, noise, and vibrations generated by at least 700-800 diesel-powered tractor trailer trucks traveling on area roadways, idling on and off-site, and entering and exiting the facility 24/7, 365 days/year.
Amazon’s claim of “good jobs” at their warehouses, echoed by Fitzgerald, has been repeatedly refuted by numerous investigative reports, including in the NY TIMES, which has exposed Amazon’s history of anti-union worker intimidation (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html ), “hire-to-fire” tactics, inhumane management practices, racial disparities in promotions and firing, and 150% annual turnover rate
(https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/15/us/amazon-workers.html ), and REVEAL, that documented Amazon’s poor worker safety record at their warehouses (https://revealnews.org/article/how-amazon-hid-its-safety-crisis/ ). Moreover, Amazon’s investment in automation and robots will replace many humans at these facilities, so warehouse jobs are likely to be temporary (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-automation-exclusive/exclusive-amazon-rolls-out-machines-that-pack-orders-and-replace-jobs-idUSKCN1SJ0X1
Regarding Fitzgerald’s reference to tax revenue, Churchill is not experiencing a deficit and the Woodland Hills School District is slated to receive nearly 19 million from the Federal “CARES Act”
(https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2021/02/26/coronavirus-stimulus-relief-bill-House-reopening-schools-in-person-learning-pennsylvania-funds/stories/202102230141 that will erase it’s annual deficit for years to come, while alternative environmentally- and labor-friendly development options are vetted by the community.
At a June 2, 2021 Churchill Borough Planning Commission meeting, there were 35 residents giving public comments, 34 of whom expressed opposition to the plan. Hundreds of yard signs opposed to an Amazon warehouse or “any” distribution center line many streets in Churchill, with no signs in favor.
Sandy Fox, Co-Chair of the CF Government, Agencies, and Allies Committee, called Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s office on September 13th, after several weeks of no response to her email regarding residents’ concerns and a request for a zoom meeting between CF and the County Executive. Fox left a message for Sonya Dietz, Mr. Fitzgerald’s executive secretary, and received an email response September 17th from Ms. Dietz, stating “I am unable to accommodate your meeting request with the Executive at this time due to timing constraints and the view that the Amazon warehouse, and your opposition to it, is more of a localized/municipality issue.”
Reaction was swift from Churchill Future members. Cathy Bordner, Chair of CF, wrote “It’s confusing to see a letter of support for the Churchill Amazon project from Rich Fitzgerald, and then to hear he views ‘...the Amazon warehouse, and your opposition to it, is more of a localized/municipality issue.’ If he really believed that, he would not have written a letter of support...And, by the way, his letter was word for word exactly the same as Senator Jay Costa’s. So who really wrote that letter?...The County Executive should be willing to hear the concerns of the residents of Churchill…” Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote “If the proposed Amazon warehouse is a local Churchill issue then Mr. Fitzgerald should recall his letter of support that he sent to Hillwood…”
Glenn Waters, who has lived in Churchill for 30 years, responded “It boggles the heart, mind, and soul how the Chief Allegheny County elected official, Rich Fitzgerald, has turned his back on the people of Churchill by refusing to meet with concerned members of the electorate on the dangers to the health and welfare of residents, particularly school children... This proposal and the associated impact--proven toxic diesel truck emissions, intolerable noise, harmful environmental effects and a 24/7/365 operation--will mark the end of the dreams for Churchill residents of having a peaceful, diverse, residential community. While on the other hand he praises, supports, and advocates... for the anti-union, anti-worker, anti-environment, and corporate bad citizen Amazon. Shameful.”
Currently, the Borough is about to enter the Public Comments phase of the Public Hearing for this proposal. The Hearing, which began July 19, 2021, has been conducted via zoom over nine evenings thus far and continues Monday evening September 20th, from 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm. The Hearing is available for viewing by members of the public and the media and can be accessed by going to the Churchill Borough website homepage (http://www.churchillborough.com/ Videos of the Hearing are also posted on the website.
Churchill Borough Council has 45 days from the end of the Public Hearing to vote to approve or deny the conditional use permit.