Editorial: Churchill's future is in Amazon's hands

It has taken about a year for Churchill council to make a decision about the future of the former George Westinghouse Research Park.

It also took a public hearing that stretched to 14 days and a total of 55 hours of testimony, as passionate locals raised their voices about the proposal to put an Amazon distribution and logistics facility in their backyard.

On Tuesday, the council voted 5-2 to permit the project.

The big pro for the proposal was obvious. It boils down to money. Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the country — with a founder and majority owner who is the second-richest person in the world. Amazon writes paychecks for about a million people in the United States and more than 10,000 in Pennsylvania alone.

That is a lot for an area that has seen its tax millage balloon since Westinghouse departed the park. Today, homeowners are carrying double the burden they were 20 years ago.

“Churchill Borough needs commercial tax revenue,” Councilman Kevin Collins said.

For the residents who have protested, however, the cons are just as obvious. Churchill is a residential area and Amazon is big business. Big, busy, round-the-clock business that could change the character of the area.

“It defies logic that our residential infrastructure, roads and service systems could support this industrial use,” resident Steve Frank said.

Good point. The office-centric use of a business park is not the same as the truck-heavy traffic of a distribution center for one of the biggest retailers in the world. The revenue generated by reinvigorating the Westinghouse space will definitely come at a cost.

Council had a tough job to do, balancing the fiscal responsibility of improving the tax base with mitigating the impact on the community. The length of time it took is evidence that they gave the issue due consideration.

The effort of the residents shows they were willing to do the hard work to keep the flavor of their community, as is the fact they are still not giving up. The grassroots Churchill Future group is doubling down with a GoFundMe campaign and retaining a lawyer.

But with council’s approval coming after the planning commission and with vocal support from Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, it seems that the next move is Amazon’s. That means how things proceed is up to the company.

It can choose to be a good neighbor — finding ways to minimize its detriments and maximize the benefits — and win over the people with all that money in the municipal coffers, or it can bulldoze its way forward without caring about community concerns.

It’s clear that council is hoping for the best.