Ross commissioners have turned down a controversial proposal that would have cleared the way for 11 townhouse units to be built at the township's boundary with Pittsburgh.

The 4-4 tie vote Tuesday meant the request from Trek Development Group and HEARTH to construct "affordable housing" was rejected.

Jerry Drozynski, president of HEARTH's board, said the decision likely would be appealed to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Commissioners Peter Ferraro, Daniel Kinross, Grace Stanko and Grant Montgomery voted against the request to subdivide five acres on Rodenbaugh Avenue into seven lots for the project to be called HEARTH at Benet Woods.

Commissioners Daniel DeMarco, David Mikec, Chris Eyster and board President Lana Mazur voted for the plan.

Commissioner Gerald O'Brien, in whose ward the project would have been located, was absent. He could not be reached yesterday at his home or office.

The Ross planning commission earlier voted 4-3 to recommend that the commissioners approve the plan.

The commissioners' vote followed almost six months of sometimes acrimonious community debate. Tuesday's meeting drew more than 100 people, and more than two dozen spoke to the board.

Neighbors' objections appeared to center on fears about having renters in the neighborhood, increasing storm-water problems and jeopardizing winter safety on the narrow street.

"You'll have nothing but problems down there," warned Ron Mays, of Montville Street. "You'll get prostitution and drug dens."

Both Mr. Drozynski and John Ginocchi, Trek's director of development, emphasized that the project was not public or low-income housing. Tenants would undergo criminal background and credit checks, according to Raymond Baum, a lawyer for the developers.

"This type of housing would have been a blessing for me," said Cindy Roeser, of Kinvara Court. "I'm an alumna of HEARTH, and I'm nobody to be afraid of."

The proposal called for 11 townhouses in six buildings on land zoned R-2, which allows multifamily units. While HEARTH provides temporary housing and counseling for homeless women and their children, the Rodenbaugh Avenue project would have been open to anyone who met its moderate income guidelines.

Rents would have been $600 to $900 per month for tenants with annual incomes ranging from $21,000 to $37,000, depending on family size, according to Mr. Ginocchi.

The below-market rents could be charged because the $2.1 million project would have been built with the aid of about $200,000 in federal tax credits.

Mr. Drozynski estimated that as many as 11,000 working families in the North Hills would qualify to live in the units based on their incomes.

Trek and HEARTH have an option to buy the land from the Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh. Now tax-exempt property, the land would return to the tax rolls if the townhouses were built, Mr. Drozynski said. In addition, the tenants would pay federal, state and municipal income taxes, he said.

Joseph Falcona, who lives on Rodenbaugh, and Pam Hurt, of Roseland Avenue, told commissioners that the ground in the area could not absorb any additional water. Excess runoff freezes in the winter and turns neighborhood streets into skating rinks, Mrs. Hurt said.

Trek had agreed to widen Rodenbaugh to 26 feet and to provide new storm sewers and underground detention tanks to collect and slowly release run-off from the site, Mr. Ginocchi said. In accordance with new Allegheny County storm water regulations, less water would be released after the project is completed than at present, he said.

Sites in West View or Pittsburgh's North Side would be more suited to the project, said Sandy Verbish, of Morefield Street. They would have sidewalks, making them safer for children, and no existing storm water problems.

Rodenbaugh Avenue is the site of a group home, and HEARTH provides 15 apartments nearby for women with children, neighbor Loretta Jelinek said. "Eleven more units would be saturating the neighborhood," she said.

Half a dozen houses in what had been a stable neighborhood were up for sale, said Denise Hamman, of Montville Street.

HEARTH has operated Benedictine Place for many years on the Benedictine Sisters' Ross campus.

"Fifteen years ago, Benedictine Place faced these same kind of objections," Mr. Baum said. "But there haven't been police problems there."

"People in Ross should be proud to help their neighbors," said Mary MacPherson, of Wallingford Drive, who has volunteered at HEARTH. "The tenants wouldn't be transients or bad element ... they are sisters and brothers who don't have the highest-paying jobs."

Doug Kreps, a former HEARTH board member, said, "HEARTH has had great success in getting women back on their feet. They will use the same due diligence in running this community."

"I'd like to be your neighbor," said HEARTH resident Nan Pozniak. She has completed an associate degree in chemistry while living at Benedictine Place and now works for PPG Industries. When it comes time to leave her temporary housing, the proposed Trek-HEARTH project would have allowed her to stay in the area.