Sep 10, 2015 By Terry Kish 3 min read

In a continuance of a public hearing for a CVS store at the corner of Ft. Couch and Washington roads, plans for a three-tier retaining wall were reviewed with the Upper St. Clair commissioners during the board’s Sept. 8 regular meeting.

Shawn Gallagher, a lawyer for the project, said that during the June hearing on the project, the board expressed concerns about a proposed reinforced slope retaining wall.

Donald Hultberg of The EADS Group, the consulting engineers for the CVS Group, explained a new plan to deal with the slope at the rear of the property by building a three-tier retaining wall. The three tiers would be 10 feet apart, and would range in height up to 10 feet.

A landscaping plan, developed with input from Upper St. Clair’s forester, calls for the removal of dead trees in the area and replacing them with a mix of trees. Hultberg said that after the retaining wall is constructed and prior to landscaping, they will meet again with the forester to determine proper tree placement. In addition to trees, perennial flowers will be planted, with fescue grass planted at the bottom of the wall.

Commissioner Mark Christie questioned who would maintain the area to keep it aesthetically pleasing. Hultberg said USC’s forester indicated that the recommended vegetation was low maintenance. Hultberg said that CVS would provide maintenance for the area when needed.

Hultberg said the rest of the site plan and building layout for the project would remain the same as previously presented. Plans include demolishing the current 14,600 square-foot structure, which houses several businesses, including Einstein Bros Bagels and Boston Market. The new 13,225 square-foot CVS, which includes a drive-through, would be set back further on the property, but ingress and egress would remain the same.

In addition to the retaining wall, CVS representatives requested permission to receive deliveries once a week between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. to avoid traffic congestion. The current CVS store across the street receives deliveries in this manner, and township manager Matthew Serakowski said he was unaware of any complaints about this at the current location.

Commissioner Daniel Paoly questioned whether CVS was continuing to request round the clock operation now that the Walgreen store across the street had cut its hours. CVS representatives said they had not heard about the change.

Wayne Herrod, a resident of Long Drive, said that while he had concerns about the project, he thought anything would be better than what was currently there. Herrod encouraged the commissioners to deny CVS’ request for receiving between 1 and 3 a.m., and to deny 24-hour operations.

The board voted to continue the hearing on Oct. 5.

During a public hearing for conditional use approval for a distributed antenna system at 127 McMurray Road, the board heard from Extenet Systems representatives. A proposed 35-foot pole would replace the current 26-foot pole, with Verizon installing the pole and Extenet installing the equipment.

The board also voted to continue this public hearing on Oct. 5.

In other business, the board voted to rename the old recreation center at 1770 McLaughlin Run Road the McLaughlin Run Activity Center, or MAC.