Farrell council gave tentative approval Monday to the redevelopment of Steel City Terrace, Farrell, the latest answer in what is proving to be a long series of requests from each side.

Steel City Housing Partnership and Mercer County Housing Authority asked that Steel City and the area around it be designated a traditional neighborhood development.

The designation would create an overlay zone, freeing developers from having to ask for a series of variances. The overlay zone would cover parts of single-family, multi-family residential and light industrial zones.

Developers plan to tear down the existing 100 public units in Steel City and replace them with 74 public housing units, 45 apartments renting at closer to the market rate, and 26 homes that will be sold.

Some of the construction will be done in the surrounding neighborhood.

The first phase, to tear down the existing Steel City units and build 53 rental units and 11 for-sale homes, is scheduled to begin in early July, said developer Ralph A. Falbo.

A final plan will go before the Mercer County and Farrell planning commissions before council takes up the issue again.

Outside of the zoning designation, Community Homebuyers Inc. Monday asked council to waive its liens on 10 lots.

CHI is a non-profit arm of the authority, and has been buying properties at tax sale for development under the construction phase that reaches into the neighborhood.

Frank Gargiulo, housing and community planner for the authority, would not say how much in liens council is being asked to waive.

The state is being asked to waive child support liens, and mortgage providers will be asked to waive their liens, Gargiulo said.

The city has a couple of requests of its own. The city has asked developers to pay for daily inspection of the alley paving and installation of sanitary sewer lines.

Developers also are being asked to pay the costs of newspaper legal notices for meetings and other announcements related to Steel City.

"We've expended over $4,000 on that already," City Manager LaVon Saternow. "We've depleted our budget for this year."

Falbo said he's willing to pay for the legal notices, and agreed to go along with an inspection schedule set by the inspectors.