CRANBERRY TWP — A group of 13 property owners on Freedom Road have appealed a decision of the township’s zoning hearing board dismissal of its challenge to the township’s Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) corridor on the Freedom Road overlay zoning district.

Those residents believe the restrictions in the overlay zoning treats them differently and includes unreasonable requirements that aren’t included in other TND zoning districts.

Their appeal was filed Oct. 4 in Butler County Court. A hearing date has yet to be set.

Attorney David Nichols, who represents the property owners, has requested the court to reverse the zoning board decision and rule the TND Corridor Zoning on Freedom Road invalid or to send the issue back to the zoning board for additional evidence and testimony.

The original hearing on the case before the zoning board was April 23, with its dismissal ruling issued Sept. 5.

P. Andrew Diamond, chairman of the zoning board, wrote in the board’s decision that the applicants haven’t offered any testimony or evidence to support their claim that non-residential development is impossible or that similar parties are treated differently.

“It is the conclusion of the board that no testimony or evidence of the impossibility of non-residential development in the TND district was presented by the applicants nor have the applicants carried their heavy burden of establishing similarly situated properties are treated disparately without rational basis,” wrote Diamond.

The aim of TND zoning overlay was to find some relief to property owners along Freedom Road who have been unable to sell their residentially-zoned properties and have had their property values diminish because of the increasing traffic along the state highway while protecting neighboring property owners interests.

This is the second zoning board decision related to zoning disputes along Freedom Road this year that has landed in Butler County civil court.

Freedom Road resident Jim Wood had appealed the denial by the zoning board of his application challenging the residential zoning of his Freedom Road property. That appeal was filed on Jan. 17 by attorney Ernest Simon of Pittsburgh.

Wood’s attorney had requested the court amend the zoning to allow for commercial use similar to the properties across Freedom Road. Those properties include a gas station, dry cleaners and the Freedom Square Plaza.

Butler County Judge Michael S. Yeager found that the board had denied Wood the right to enter certain evidence and erred in not allowing the evidence to be heard. He ordered that additional evidence be heard before the board.

That court-ordered testimony is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Jerry Andree, Cranberry’s manager, said the judge sent the case back for the applicant to present a small area of testimony on the potential costs of the streetscape enhancement ordinance.

Once the testimony is presented to the zoning board, the testimony will be sent back to Judge Yeager as the case is expected to continue in civil court.

Wood owns two lots on Freedom Road.

He operates a business, Wood Electronics, a home electronics retail store, on the Freedom Road property.

Wood’s original appeal document contends the zoning board erred in concluding no reverse spot zoning had occurred on his property and no spot zoning occurred as a result of the TND corridor zoning.

Reverse spot zoning means zoning of a huge area without considering the zoning of a small piece of land in that area.

Spot zoning is the application of zoning to land in a larger zoned area when the rezoning is at odds with overall zoning restrictions.