CRANBERRY TWP — Supervisors heard public comment on the Meeder project proposed between Route 19 and Rochester Road and are expected to vote on the first phase of the development at their next meeting in October.

Officials and residents met at the Clubhouse at the Cranberry Highlands Golf Course for the township bimonthly meeting and laid out the details of the plan.

The plan is for a multiuse facility proposed for a 57.30-acre plot off Route 19, on the former Meeder farm. The property is situated between Route 19 and Rochester, Ogle View and Unionville roads.

Officials laid out recent changes to that plan, including additional parking and modifications to a planned pool and office building.

The development includes 71 single family homes, 260 single family townhomes of various designs, 276 apartment units in two buildings and 28 additional units in second-floor apartments. Those apartments will be above retail spaces.

The project addresses increases in traffic in four steps, including turning Rochester Road into a four-lane highway from Route 19 to Graham School Road. The plan would share an entrance with the municipal building.

Following that presentation, the board took questions, most of which included recommendations and requests for improvements.

Township resident Tim Casey asked about foot traffic and whether the growing roads would make the development too insular, with little access to its amenities from those that live outside its lots. He asked the township to look into adding crosswalks “over roads or under roads.”

Secondly, Casey asked what was being done to encourage and enable local businesses to rent property in the plan.

Township official said Charter Homes and Neighborhoods, the developer, had plans to address that.

Representatives from the developer said they are reaching out to local business owners in the hopes that commercial space in the plans would be rented by local businesses as they found that to be more sustainable and conducive to a neighborhoods success.

Resident Mike Hoover raised questions about the amount of parking, traffic flow within the plan and the effect the project would have on schools.

“Oooos” emanated from the crowd when a tall, mustached man rose to speak and identified himself as Lorin Meeder, of the historic Meeder family whose longtime family property was that in question.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the board for their consideration tonight,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of development in Cranberry Township. This is one of the hardest I’ve seen come through.”

He also thanked the developer for working with the family to come to an arrangement that the family felt comfortable with in selling the property.

Meeder’s family had lived on that land since the 1860s, he said, and he’s glad that houses would be built on it to carry on “the legacy of the Meeder homestead.”

With no further questions, the board voted to close the hearing.

Supervisors plan to consider approval for Phase 1 of the plan at the Oct. 11 meeting.