Latrobe zoning review moves forward, creek erosion project on hold

Latrobe is moving ahead with a comprehensive review of the city’s zoning ordinance but will have to wait until next year to repair erosion along Loyalhanna Creek.

City council this week finalized an agreement with Scenic Pittsburgh to serve as a consultant in the zoning review, at no cost to the town. City Manager Michael Gray said a grant from the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, through the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program, will cover the consulting fee of $29,000.

Scenic Pittsburgh will work with a local committee, including Councilmen Jim Kelley and Ralph Jenko, as it combs through the 2006 zoning ordinance. The panel will look for areas that need to be updated or have conflicting language.

“The review is probably going to start in about two weeks,” Gray said. “We’ll meet every couple of weeks.”

The process is expected to take quite some time, with no specific target date for completion.

“We want to make sure we take our time and cover everything,” Gray said.

If any changes to city zoning regulations are proposed, a public hearing would be required before council could take action.

Lack of money prompted Latrobe to delay until next year planned repair of an eroding creek embankment, near the point where Unity Run flows into the Loyalhanna.

Crews discovered rip rap in that location was crumbling into the water, following a heavy rainstorm that caused flash flooding in June 2018. It’s part of a federal flood protection area the city monitors under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Latrobe received a $57,000 grant from Pennsylvania’s Small Water and Sewer Program. But, Gray said, the Army Corps won’t partner on the project unless the city is able to cover the entire expected cost of about $135,000.

The city has a year to spend the grant, so Gray recommended waiting until next year to independently bid the contract. If additional funding isn’t available from another source, he said, the city will need to consider including the needed $78,000 in its 2021 budget.

The flood protection area is subject to an inspection every two years, Gray said, noting, “we just had an inspection done this year.”

Trick-or-treating on, parade off

Latrobe set authorized hours for children to trick-or-treat in the city, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Because of the need to avoid large gatherings during the covid-19 pandemic, officials ruled out the traditional Halloween parade that is sponsored by the local Lions club.

“If individuals are practicing social distancing and following (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, I think this can be safely done,” Gray said of trick-or-treat rounds.

“Most of the time, they already have masks on,” Mayor Rosie Wolford pointed out.

The city also will forgo a treat distribution normally conducted by Latrobe firefighters at the end of the parade route. Fire Chief John Brasile said the department still plans to patrol streets during the trick-or-treat period, as it has in the past.