Lancaster Township took one of many steps toward its future Monday night as it continues to work on its comprehensive plan. It’s an important part of what Lancaster will become — how much of it will change, and how much it will stay the same.

What is a comprehensive plan? Simply put, it’s, well, everything. It means how much land is developed for future housing. It means the density of that housing — four houses per acre? Seven houses per acre?

It also means where the parks go, and what goes in those parks. Walking trails? Skateboards? It means where the shopping plazas go — or maybe no shopping plazas at all.

All of this is a delicate balancing act. As the Oct. 5 edition of the Butler Eagle pointed out, most people in the area don’t want Lancaster Township to follow the path taken by its neighbor down the road, Cranberry Township. And yet, growth in Cranberry is already pushing growth in Lancaster Township.

And that’s not the only balancing act. Most people in the area are older, but the growth will bring in young families. They have their own wants, their own needs. How to accommodate them in the future?

Which is why the comprehensive plan is so important. The Monday open house called on residents to jot down and post their ideas describing what they want, and the people at the event had some colorful responses. Colorful both in terms of the paper people wrote on, and in terms of the words people chose.

“Various housing but no more than two stories high!” wrote one resident. “We already have two parks. That’s enough,” said another.

These are only some of the ideas that came out of the Monday session. The next question is, what do residents want? The leaders of Lancaster Township promised to collect more input from the community over the next few months. The idea is to have the comprehensive plan in place by spring 2023, and that plan would cover development over the next 10 years.

One idea mentioned at the Monday meeting was setting up a survey for residents to fill out. The Butler Eagle will continue to report on this and other developments.

As a resident, make sure you know what’s at stake. Development can alter the rural charm of the area, but lack of development can mean residents leave town every time they want a pizza, and the money they spend will never come in to Lancaster Township. That’s why the area needs, as one resident put it on Monday, “restaurants, grocery, shopping.”

It’s a delicate balance, but the residents are offered the opportunity to guide their township’s future.

— LZ