Hazelwood riverfront rezoning conversation continues: Companies seek trust, residents seek relief | The Homepage

The Republic Services recycling facility in Hazelwood, seen from Dyke Street in January, 2023. Homepage file photo by Juliet Martinez

By Ziggy Edwards and Ray Gerard for Junction Coalition

Pittsburgh’s City Planning Commission voted on 4-2 Nov. 18 to approve rezoning land along Hazelwood’s riverfront. But first, the two dissenting commissioners expressed concerns.

Commissioner Steve Mazza worried the railroads would follow through on threats to sue over the rezoning. Chair LaShawn Burton-Falk said she felt uncomfortable moving forward. She could not be sure there was peace between the industrial facilities and nearby residents.

A rail yard, a recycling facility and a salt depot currently sit on Hazelwood’s riverfront. Since the new zoning designation would not remove them, it would not solve residents’ problems.

“If there’s acute trauma perceived and that acute trauma will not disappear, then what?” Ms. Burton-Falk remarked.

The legislation introduced by District 5 Councilor Barb Warwick will now move to City Council.

Ms. Warwick agreed that building trust is part of the work to be done. She has been in discussions between community groups and facility representatives. She took a tour of Republic Services’ plant. But, she emphasized, “Trust doesn’t protect this community from future harm.”

Life next to heavy industry

Smelly garbage. Rats the size of cats. Dust and lighting so intense that the windows must stay closed even at the height of summer. Loud noise and exhaust from trucks at 4:30 a.m.

More than a dozen Hazelwoodians attended the Nov. 18 Planning Commission meeting. They spoke about these conditions in the neighborhood’s Scotch Bottom section. It lies between the railroad tracks and the Monongahela River.

Scotch Bottom residents said owners of the industrial properties made matters worse by ignoring them.

Catherine Phillips had to seek out a rail yard manager because an employee took to parking his truck by the fence in front of her house. He often left it idling all night. She said she and her neighbors were not told about the salt depot or the recycling plant before those businesses moved in.

“Now they want to bring more trash in,” Ms. Phillips added. She was referring to a pending permit that would allow the recycling plant to also handle waste. “For people who live closer than me, this is a disgrace. This is telling us that we are not worth anything.”

“People need jobs, but you’ve got to have respect for the neighbors,” said her neighbor Bernie Moon. “You took Langhorn Street. Langhorn Street is 400 feet long. There was trees all the way down it. Four years ago, the railroad came in and tore them all down. And what did they do to block the noise? Put a fence up. That’s it. Nobody gets a permit; nobody lets anybody know what they’re doing. They just do what they want to do.”

Tiffany Taulton also lives in Hazelwood. She helped start an air quality monitoring network there when she worked for Hazelwood Initiative Inc. She said on Dec. 10 that she used to walk along Langhorn Street. It was a shady, lower-traffic alternative to Second Avenue. Since the trees were removed, she no longer takes that route.

Ms. Taulton said the environmental organization Local Governments for Sustainability (also known as ICLEI USA) has identified that location as a high-risk area for extreme heat and flooding.

Valerie Testa also lives in Hazelwood. She manages community gardens for Hazelwood Initiative Inc., including one in Scotch Bottom.

“People say, ‘If you don’t like it, move.’ That’s not reality,” she said on Dec. 3. “We shouldn’t have to buy our way into a healthy environment.”

“We don’t tend to [get involved in] legislation, but quite a few residents were interested in air quality,” said Lauren Coursey, Hazelwood Initiative Inc.’s director of sustainability and engagement, on Dec. 9.

She has been hearing from residents about health problems that may come from the heavy industry near their homes.

Improving air quality is listed as a top priority in the Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan adopted in 2019.

The permit that started it all

Republic Services took over the recycling plant at 50 Vespucius St. last February. According to the plant’s general manager, Lori Kolczynski, the permit to handle waste was one of many they set out to transfer from the previous owner. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection granted the permit in 2023.

On Nov. 18, Ms. Warwick said the previous owner never informed residents about adding a waste transfer station. Neighbors only found out about the permit when Republic Services applied to have it transferred. But this was not because of outreach by Republic Services. Calls from concerned residents prompted Ms. Warwick to look into the issue. Then she proposed the rezoning legislation.

City rezoning and state permitting processes are separate. The outcome of Republic Services’ permit application may be decided before Ms. Warwick’s legislation is voted on. The state Department of Environmental Protection website lists the waste transfer station permit as pending technical review since June 23, 2025. The target date for a decision is Jan. 14.

Ms. Kolczynski said Republic Services has no immediate plans to add the waste transfer station if it gets the permit. So far, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company has focused on cleanup. In her presentation to the planning commission, Ms. Kolczynski acknowledged numerous neighborhood complaints about the plant under its previous owners.

“Nothing will be brought into this facility without community input and making sure you guys are comfortable with the way that things are being operated,” she said.

Ms. Kolczynski joined the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative and said she has been attending meetings.

Open invitations

During a Dec. 11 phone call, Ms. Kolczynski shared details of work Republic Services has done on the plant.

“Cleaning up the interior allowed us to move more material that was being stored outside into the building,” she said.

They enclosed the facility’s glass crusher so less noise escapes. And they boosted rodent control by setting out and maintaining traps more often. She added that because the facility is so close to the river, “It’s going to be an ongoing fight.”

Another improvement was installing doors on two sides of the building. This cut down on wind that blows material and odors off the property.

“I strongly feel this facility doesn’t smell,” Ms. Kolczynski said. The most frustrating part of the Nov. 18 meeting for her was that residents didn’t seem to notice a difference. She invited people to visit the recycling plant and said they had given a lot of tours.

“We want a chance to show who Republic is,” Ms. Kolczynski said of the company’s commitment to fixing what she called “past indiscretions” by previous owners. “We’re asking for the time and opportunity to prove that it’s more than words.”

Ms. Coursey said she recently toured the plant with Hazelwood Initiative Inc. and Ms. Warwick.

“They have enclosed a lot of what used to be wide open. It is a lot cleaner,” Ms. Coursey said. “But in my opinion, that doesn’t change the trucks and the material itself and the noise. I’m not saying anything crazy; that’s just the truth. Heavy industry is not good for a residential neighborhood, especially so close to homes.”

“We can rezone and also talk,” Ms. Coursey added. “We can do both, we will do both. Hazelwood Initiative is always open to talk. Anyone is invited to our community meetings.”

What about Ms. Burton-Falk’s remarks about the need for dialogue between community members and property owners?

“I’m exploring what recourse the city has to remedy complaints about noise, light and rodents,” Ms. Warwick said on Dec. 11. “Once I understand that, I am ready to sit down with the property owners to discuss a community benefits agreement to remedy the damage caused to the neighbors.”

Public can weigh in again

Before City Council discusses and votes on the rezoning legislation, they must hold a public hearing. As of this writing, no date has been set for that hearing. According to Ms. Warwick’s office, it could take place in mid to late January. Keep an eye on upcoming City Council meetings at pittsburghpa.gov/City-Government/City-Council/Clerks-Office/Council-Meeting-Schedule.

Junction Coalition is a grassroots organization comprising residents of Four Mile Run and surrounding communities.

Hazelwood Initiative Inc. is the publisher of The Homepage.