CRANBERRY TWP - Hearkening to a time when houses were in neighborhoods with sidewalks and big front porches may be in this municipality's future.

"The idea to create walkable neighborhoods is important to us," said Rob Robinson, an architect hired by the developer of a 250-acre site bordered by Powell Road and Graham Park, which would become the township's third municipal park.

The housing site and Graham Park are two of the three elements of a larger community development plan known as the Brush Creek Smart Growth Plan.

The third part is development of a town center across from the Cranberry Township Municipal Center.

The three elements fill about 1,000 acres in the heart of the township.

About 40 township residents got their first taste of innovative housing design for the site Wednesday during a public forum to discuss options for the Brush Creek plan.

The study area includes a number of high-profile township locations, including the municipal center, the Route 19 Community Park, Haine School and the Cranberry Highlands Golf Course, as well as several residential neighborhoods crossed by Brush Creek.

This was also the first meeting of the steering committee of the Brush Creek plan.

The committee's task is to help set goals for the planning study area.

Robinson, representing Urban Design Associates, said the vision for the site is a redesign of neighborhoods based on America's pre-World War II era, small-town neighborhoods.

Over the years, township officials said, much of the appeal and civic culture from that era have been lost on new residential development projects through zoning ordinances that do not encourage interaction among neighbors.

This project is designed to "roll back the clock" and mix together homes of different style and types, Robinson said.

"Homes here are located near all this commercial and retail development - yet, people have to get into their car and drive three miles to get a stick of gum," said Robinson.

The goal of the traditional neighborhood community is to make it walkable, where people can stroll to small neighborhood parks and onto the neighboring Graham Park, as well as to local shops.

Urban Design Associates, hired by township developer Larry Dorsch to create a plan, presented its ideas to township residents who were urged to give their ideas to the architects before they begin to finalize the designs.

Robinson said he envisions developing a housing pattern book for the community that would adopt the architectural features of some of the older homes in Cranberry, Zelienople and Harmony in Butler County and Sewickley in Allegheny County.

The development would be based on traditional hometown feel with narrow, grid streets and street parking. Most homes would have front porches and garages tucked in the back and include both single- and multi-story residences.

Housing examples being envisioned

would revert to some of the early Victorian housing types and smaller, homestead-type housing that were built during the early settlement of southern Butler County.

A three-dimensional design will be developed to plot out the future community that will be built by a variety of builders based on historic housing types, the public comments and township staff suggestions.

The new traditional neighborhood residential development came about as a result of a township visit and tour of the Kentlands development in Gaithersburg, Md. last year.

The Kentlands featured several different housing types intertwined, from single-family homes to townhomes combined with neighborhood shops such as convenience stores and offices.

Township officials have envisioned the same type of development in the township, something that does not exist in any current developments.

Township residents will have another chance to comment on the proposed development as the Brush Creek plan's steering committee has set a second public forum for May 25.