This story was updated at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28 to reflect that the zoning ordinance tightened, not eased, the usual restrictions on building density and lot size.

ZELIENOPLE — A project whose fate has sparked debate for more than two years has received a go-ahead.

Borough council voted unanimously to approve a new zoning ordinance for the nonprofit Glade Run Lutheran Service's residential site Monday night. Proponents for Village Neighborhood, a development of about 400 housing units on 250 acres, have sought special approval for the borough to tighten its usual restrictions on building density and lot size.

Some contention had initially embroiled the project, with opponents to development voicing heated concerns about environmental impact and population expansion, as well as a sense of estrangement from the decision-making process. After several months of complex deliberation between Glade Run's leaders, council members and residents, the borough appears to have reached an agreement most parties find fair.

"What you have in front of you, counsel, is the culmination of about a year's worth of work," said borough manager Don Pepe as he introduced the ordinance for a vote.

"The Planning Commission has done its duty. The group, the committee that was put together to bring this ordinance together, which includes a citizens group, the ownership of the property, and the developing entity, all came together to be able to bring this ordinance to you.”

Amanda Toal, who represented Zelienople-Harmony Sportman's Club at an open council hearing earlier this month, still had some concerns about “runoff,“ or pollution getting into the water.

“Our lakes could be diluted by runoff, greatly endangering a valuable recreational asset,” Toal said. “We would greatly appreciate having stricter guarantees out of the ordinance to protect our club and the wildlife that inhabits it.”

Councilman Jason Sarver, who oversees code enforcement and zoning in the borough, said the citizens group Residents In the Know initially had projected up to 1,500 housing units in Village Neighborhood.

The zoning ordinance limits the number of units significantly.

Now, the new estimate is roughly 400 housing units, signaling a more contained effort and a compromise.

Word of Village Neighborhood’s development triggered some alarm in 2021, when critics of the smaller but more densely built Jeremiah Village confronted the plan. They said the Village Neighborhood was much larger than Jeremiah Village, also owned by Glade Run, and many felt developers were at risk of stacking too many townhouses on top of one another.

After the motion passed Monday night, borough councillor Andrew J. Matthew III acknowledged the long road the community had traveled to pass the ordinance.

"I just want to thank everybody for the due diligence of months and months of work on that," he said.