Fourth Cranberry Conversations seminar looks at housing and land use
CRANBERRY TWP — Housing in Cranberry has been growing for decades, according to Pete Lombardi, a partner at czb LLC, a Maine-based planning and community development consulting firm.
“Cranberry is one of the largest suburbs of Pittsburgh right now and it's also the fastest growing of the city,” he said at the fourth Cranberry Conversations session, which took place at the township municipal center’s council chambers on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
According to state data, the growth stands in stark contrast to ongoing and projected decline in Allegheny County and the surrounding seven counties which make up the Greater Pittsburgh region, including Butler County, he said.
Population growth has led to a need to address housing and land use within the township, Lombardi said.
That need was the central theme of Tuesday’s workshop, which continued Cranberry Conversations.
The township is collaborating with czb LLC to plan updates for its comprehensive plan, including to address those issues.
Lombardi presented existing data about growth in Cranberry and the greater Pittsburgh region and shared statistics and projections about the township’s demographics and housing.
For instance, he noted that the ratio of children to senior citizens has dramatically narrowed over time in the township. The number of children once exceeded that of seniors by a wide margin.
“A lot of colleges right now are panicking because they know that they're going to experience an enrollment cliff in the coming years,” he said. “That's important to think about, especially for a community that values the role that schools have played.”
A bigger percentage of young adult residents — aged from 25 to 34 — are choosing to rent over buying houses, even among those who have the resources to make a purchase, he said.
After the presentation, attendees were instructed to split into smaller groups for group discussions facilitated by a township official or a firm representative.
The discussions centered on two hypothetical projects: a senior housing development and a new, large-scale housing development. The purpose of the data gathering exercise, Lombardi said, was to gauge resident opinion on ventures of that sort.
The results of a survey conducted by czb during a previous session were disclosed Tuesday. The survey, designed to collect feedback about community priorities and values, was subsequently posted on the township’s website.
Respondents pinpointed “neighborly, progressive and farsighted” as current community values and “neighborly, sustainable and inclusive” as values they want to see going forward, Lombardi said.
He added four responses led in the portion of the survey covering needs of residents that should be met in the future: traffic volumes and congestion, neighborhood services and amenities, third spaces, and parks and trails.
While the township cannot tackle every one of the issues listed right away, Lombardi said the results of the survey will help the township plan ahead.
“Prioritization is a really important part of that process,” he said.
Additionally, respondents named Graham Park as their favorite place in the township.
Tuesday’s session was the fourth in a series of seven planned workshops. Three previous sessions took place in June, July and August.
The first two sessions focused on key issues identified by township officials: park projects in development and ongoing challenges with emergency medical services.
The fifth session, initially scheduled for Oct. 6, has been postponed to Nov. 10 and will focus on transportation issues, according to Kyle Beidler, assistant township manager. A sixth session in December will focus on quality of life issues, he added.
The Cranberry Conversations series aims to help the township update its comprehensive plan, Dan Santoro, township manager, said.
