This is the intersection where democracy and development meet.

This is the corner of Virginia Avenue and Maple Terrace on Mt. Washington, a property that for more than three decades has been an unassuming vacant lot. That's about to change, however, and residents will have a significant say in the site's future.

For the past month, people have voiced their preference for what should be built there by going online at http://www.project15211.com/ (the number refers to the property's ZIP code). When the poll concludes, the ballots will be counted and public input will be heavily factored into a final decision on what will arise on the land.

Real estate magnate Donald Trump probably doesn't operate this way. But Trump never met the Pirain family, which recently purchased the empty lot and owns Cestone's Pizza catty-cornered across Virginia Avenue from it.

"My dad and I came up with the idea of just letting the people choose," Carmen Pirain said. "He thought about putting a sign up on the property, I thought of the Web site and the e-mail voting."

Longtime Mt. Washington residents might remember the site as a Food-A-Rama, which burned to the ground around the same time hippies were burning flags back in the '60s. In true Zen-like fashion, the property has been best known since then not for what it contains but for what it does not.

The Pirains plan to change that by 2005. They just are uncertain what to build. To date, no votes have been cast for a methadone clinic, halfway house, pistol range, slaughterhouse, massage parlor or toxic chemical storage facility. The nearly 1,000 people who have visited the Web site prefer more wholesome uses for the property.

The top choice thus far is for a skating rink, though Pirain doesn't believe he can get the necessary zoning approvals for one. So the winning choice likely will be one of the other suggested uses: a coffee shop, deli, bagel shop, bakery or gym.

The poll closes at the end of the year. Pirain said some people are so anxious to voice their preference they can't wait to first log on to their computers. "Almost every time I stand outside (Cestone's), I have people beeping their horns and yelling `taco shop!' or something," he said.

Talk about getting out the vote. With the building by ballot idea, these pizzeria proprietors appear to have sliced directly into their community's consciousness.

Eric Heyl is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer. He can be reached at eheyl@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7857.