Murrysville residents fought another skirmish last week in their ongoing war to keep developers and building projects out of the community.

They continue to butt heads with a municipal council that has tried several times in recent years to formulate plans for commercial development that its constituents will accept.

Citizens packed the council meeting room June 4 for a public hearing on the General Business District Overlay plan. If approved, it would allow some properties zoned residential near major thoroughfares to be used for certain kinds of commercial development.

Dozens railed at council for presenting a plan they said would destroy the quiet, residential character of the community.

Longtime resident Rick Farabaugh stood before council and accused it of favoring developers over citizens.

"It sounds to me like you folks are trying to make it easier for developers, which I'm dead set against," he said.

Mr. Farabaugh was loud and enthusiastic in his criticism of council, and provoked a strong reaction from President Nancy Kacin when he accused her of having a conflict of interest in development matters.

Mrs. Kacin is married to A. Richard Kacin, president and founder of the Kacin Companies, a construction and development firm based in Murrysville.

She told Mr. Farabaugh, "That's enough," and was visibly frustrated by the tone of his remarks.

"When you roll your eyes, you remind me of Hillary Clinton, and that's not a good thing," said Mr. Farabaugh as he took his seat. The crowd cheered and applauded his quip.

The Overlay plan is designed to "encourage centralized commercial and mixed-use development," according to a presentation delivered at the meeting by the municipality's director of community development, Chris Rearick.

"The Overlay means property owners have more choices for developing their land," he said during the presentation.

In addition to revising the zoning regulations, the Overlay plan also includes stiffer, more uniform standards for architecture, construction and occupancy. It also makes provisions for open space and buffer zones between business and residential areas.

Murrysville Chief Administrator John M. Barrett said the Overlay is a flexible plan that is "consistent with our comprehensive plan and the county's comprehensive plan."

A group known as the Citizens for the Preservation of Rural Murrysville spoke through attorney Michael E. DeMatt, who they have retained at their shared expense to represent their interests before council.

Mr. DeMatt presented to council a petition with 800 signatures of Murrysville residents who oppose the Overlay plan and called on council members to respect the wishes of the citizens who elected them.

"The concern of CPRM is that [Murrysville] will become another Monroeville," said Mr. DeMatt, invoking a comparison to a neighboring municipality that opponents of the Overlay plan say represents excessive, poorly planned commercial development.

"The question then becomes: Whose interests are being served here? Our position is that it is the developers'," said Mr. DeMatt, who works for the Greensburg law firm of Berk, Whitehead, Kerr & Turin.

In addition to Mrs. Kacin, Mr. DeMatt singled out Vice President Lawrence Nicolette and accused him of having conflicts of interest in matters related to business development.

Mr. Nicolette, a certified public accountant, took over as chief financial officer at the Kacin Companies on June 2.

Mr. Nicolette said he does not have a conflict of interest in the case of the Overlay plan.

"I have high moral integrity," he said. "If a contract came up directly with Kacin, I would abstain."

Before joining Kacin, Mr. Nicolette worked for the Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority.

He described his new job as "a move up" and said that accepting a position like the one at Kacin is "just what you do in this line of work."

Not everyone at the hearing was there to criticize.

Two residents praised the Overlay plan and credited council for its move to bring shopping and other amenities closer to their homes.

After the hearing, during the council's regular business meeting, all but two of the seven council members -- including Mrs. Kacin and Mr. Nicolette -- voted to formally advertise the Overlay plan in preparation for a final vote to adopt it.

The plan could come up for approval as early as Wednesday.

Council members Dennis Pavlik and Joan Kearns voted against advertising the Overlay.

In an interview, Mr. Pavlik said, "There's nothing in that Overlay that we couldn't do without passing separate ordinances. It basically takes all the residential property next to the business district and" allows it to become business.

Mr. Pavlik said the provisions in the Overlay ordinance that establish standards for architectural design and open space are fine, but they shouldn't be tied up with a zoning change.

Some residents involved with the CPRM said they believe they will have legal recourse if council approves changes to the zoning regulations, as outlined in the Overlay.

But Mr. DeMatt said in an interview he's not sure what courses of action would be available to the group.

He did say that conflicts of interest on council could jeopardize its ability to vote on the matter.

"We do have some concerns that there might be some conflicts of interest on the council itself that would invalidate the decision if it went to a vote," he said. "If there is a conflict, I don't see how a vote could be valid."

Council also voted last week to transfer a small piece of business property known as the Banner Parklet to the Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corporation.

The municipality will hold a mortgage on the property on Route 22 at McCutchen's Lane, which the MECDC will pay off when it sells the property. It also will split the remaining proceeds from the sale with the municipality.

If the MECDC does not sell the property in six years, however, the property and the debt would revert back to the municipality.

MECDC Executive Director John C. Cardwell said the corporation is looking to structure a deal with a developer for a project that utilizes the parklet and the adjacent Blue Spruce Motel property, which is unoccupied and which the MECDC does not own or control.

He said the project would be in line with Murrysville's Streetscape plan and would ideally feature mixed use and pedestrian-friendly development.

Mr. Pavlik and Mrs. Kearns also voted against this measure, which they say represents a handout to developers.

At the meeting, Mrs. Kearns stressed the fact that the property was granted to the municipality by the previous owner to be employed for "the public's use."

Mrs. Kearns said that, to her, transferring the property to a group that will sell it to a private developer does not fulfill this requirement.

She and Mr. Pavlik also believe the municipality could reap a profit more quickly and easily if it endeavored to sell the property itself.

Mrs. Kacin abstained from this vote because her husband is also the president of the MECDC.

Mr. Pavlik said in an interview that he understands why Murrysville residents often claim that developers, rather than citizens, are influencing the council's decisions.

"[Council hasn't] seen a development proposal that we didn't like," he said. "I'm very concerned that they seem to have much more of an ear with the council."