Jane and Sam Menchyk, of Butler Township, walk their dogs Owen, Mona, and Ogie on a trail at Preston Park on Wednesday in Butler Township. Several dozen residents attended the township’s board of commissioners meeting Wednesday to protest possible development at the park. "This park being here was a big part," Jane said of their decision to move back to the area after 15 years in Pittsburgh. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle 7/6/22

BUTLER TWP — Several dozen residents attended Wednesday’s township board of commissioners meeting to articulate their disdain for the potential development of a parking lot near Preston Park.

The crowd, which filled every seat in the meeting room and spilled into the hallway, attended the meeting despite the only agenda item being the introduction of a services ordinance. No proposal or item related to Preston Park or any development was set for review by the board.

Before beginning the public comment session, township solicitor Rebecca Black said commissioners have not had any business related to any development brought before them, although soil testing did take place at a parcel near the park that is owned by the township.

She said if the township was going to develop the park, or any space within township borders, a land development application would have to be submitted, approved by the township planning commission and then the commissioners.

“Nothing is currently before this board,” Black said. “This potential parking is proposed as a theoretical use of the property at some unknown point in the future. This is nothing that has been definitively discussed or established."

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