Dear City Council,
I am writing with regard to the
project slated for Hillsdale Mall, PA 15-024.
While development of the Sears
building into a more modern, aesthetic and sustainable gathering space is an
admirable goal, there are several aspects of the project and application which
concern me.
In particular, at the February 9,
2016 Planning Commission meeting when I raised the matter of why it is
important to employ union labor for the project the applicant’s representative
dismissed my concerns as unfounded in his response. This turns out to be
misleading, at best. There have been multiple labor demonstrations against the
project and no concrete commitment to employ a union general contract.
Given this misguiding
presentation to the Planning Commission, the applicant should be held accountable
to their claims of goodwill towards labor in a written and enforceable
agreement as opposed to word of mouth. By showing this support for union labor
the Council can show support for equitable business practices which do not compromise
workers for the financial benefit of owner/operators.
As for the traffic concerns of
the community group spearheaded by Barsetti family, I am in favor of directing
traffic towards El Camino entrances. In particular, maintaining the 30th
Avenue entrance in face of increased demand should require thorough analysis.
1% seems like an incredibly optimistic projection if in fact, as the applicant
purports, there is high consumer demand for the proposed project. Also, as a movie
theater is planned, one can expect large batches of cars leaving at the same
time which will have a different, and likely more negative, impact than if the
cars were leaving at evenly dispersed intervals. In addition, a movie theater
will have patrons arriving and departing at much later times than the current
retail establishment. These factors should be taken into account of any traffic
study which weighs into the Council’s decision on this matter.
Many thanks for your time and
consideration,
