Court backs ruling
against auto-parts biz

The Upper Holmesburg Civic Association has won for a second time over an Atlanta company that wants to establish an auto salvage yard in the neighborhood.
Earlier this month, Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court upheld an earlier decision by the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to deny Pull-A-Part a use certificate for 8501 Hegerman St.
"This is very good news," said Stan Cywinski, president of the UHCA. "They’ve lost two rounds now and they’ve spent a lot of money and they’ve got to think hard about whether they want to take it another round."
Pull-A-Part could potentially appeal to a higher court, most likely Commonwealth Court, Cywinski believes. Pull-A-Part has 30 days from the latest ruling to appeal further.
The latest court ruling, which was issued on Nov. 12 or 13, according to the civic leader, refused to overturn the neighborhood group’s hard-fought win at the zoning board.
Dozens of area residents filled the zoning board hearing room on two occasions in late 2006 to testify against the proposed salvage yard. They cited fears of environmental contamination and excessive traffic as their main problems with the plan.
Pull-A-Part hoped to convert a 20-acre trucking warehouse into the do-it-yourself used auto parts supply business. Under the company’s business format, customers personally remove desired parts from the assembled wrecks and pay discount prices compared to those at conventional used parts facilities.
The company’s plan called for a rotating stock of about 2,000 vehicles, with about 50 coming and going each day. The company claimed it could run a clean and environmentally safe facility, but neighbors remained skeptical.
In January, the zoning board denied Pull-A-Part the necessary certificate. In February, the company appealed the decision, believing that it had demonstrated to the board that its proposal complied with all city zoning regulations.
According to Cywinski, residents did not attend the latest court proceedings because the civic group’s attorney, Linda Carpenter, used evidence and testimony from the zoning hearing to argue against the appeal.
In the Nov. 6 general election, Carpenter won a seat on Common Pleas Court.
The civic association would like to see the Hegerman Street site turned into a "green" energy facility with a field of solar panels supplying current to a nearby power plant. No formal plans for such a facility have been made public. ••