Southeastern Butler County faces more growth as more development occurs along Routes 228 and 356.

While some growth, including a few residential plans, has been stalled by a bad economy, sewage service in this area continues to expand with the possibility of water service doing the same later.

Paul Cornetti, manager of the Saxonburg Area Authority, said any major development typically has at least water or sewer already available on that property.

Buffalo Township

Buffalo Township, where development has been spurred with open land still available along Routes 356 and 228, will have more opportunity for growth.

The Municipal Authority of Buffalo Township is extending sewage service down Ekastown Road.

Township Supervisor John Haven, board chairman and authority board member, said the expanded service area will encourage development.

A 17-acre site off Ekastown may be developed as a second industrial park.

A business park already is proposed at the intersection of Routes 356 and 28.

The municipal authority also plans to expand its sewage treatment plant off Monroe Road.

While the authority's sewage system now has room for the planned addition of Winfield Township, future needs would be addressed with a larger sewage treatment plant.

"When and if it happens, we're ready for it," Haven said about broadening the service area.

He said that tactic is better than reacting to development after it occurs.

The authority also anticipates future needs for its water system, so a new water treatment plant will be built in Freeport.

Haven said the $7.4 million project will be funded mainly by loans. A small portion, $480,000 will come from federal stimulus money.

The authority's overall expansion is being planned in conjunction with the township.

"We're going hand in hand," Haven said. "We look forward together."

He said a major part of Buffalo's growth will be the business park to be built at the intersections of Routes 356 and 28.

"That will be a step forward for Buffalo Township," he said.

The business park will house a business incubator, which helps new companies survive during their startup periods.

Along with commercial development, there also are recreational projects ahead.

Working with the Butler County Park and Recreation Department and the Audubon Society, the township is developing four acres off Monroe Road.

The Butler-Freeport Community Trail would link to the new park.

Three of the last four miles of the trail from Summit to Butler also will be done this year.

The final mile cannot be done until the arsenic found last year in Butler is remediated.

While commercial development is the focus in Buffalo, residential development also is on the horizon.

An 84-unit housing plan is planned for a site near St. Paul's Lutheran Church along Sarver Road.

Haven said hindrances to growth would be bad economic conditions or not expanding water and sewage service.

In Clinton Township, commercial development is poised to occur along Route 228."What develops there remains to be seen," said Mary Zacherl, board chairwoman.The township's new zoning ordinance, which was enacted last year, designates small business development to occur along Route 228 and residential development to go north of the highway."It allows development to match the tone of what we want for the township: rural progress," Zacherl said.While Route 228 is ripe for development, the Victory Road Business Park has a limited amount of elbow room."It's not going to be industrial growth," Zacherl said about the majority of future development.Although the park has only 40 acres of undeveloped land left, some expansion is slated to occur there this year.BeamOne, a San Diego manufacturer of medical devices, will operate a sterilization business adjacent to the MEDRAD building.Initially employing 16 people, BeamOne will serve clients such as MEDRAD.But new development won't be restricted to commercial uses. Zacherl said Spring Valley Park will move forward this year."We expect that to bloom this year," she said. "It (the first section) will be open for use this year, and we'll be starting the trails."Zacherl hopes new development will continue to bring opportunities for infrastructure improvements.For the industrial park, the Route 228 and Victory Road intersection was upgraded."It was an improvement we needed for years," Zacherl said.Zacherl said development leads to infrastructure improvements and vice versa."It's a circle," she said.Zacherl sees an improved national economy as a way to promote development in the township.But in addition to a bad economy, she said another hindrance to development in the township would be a proposal that doesn't follow Clinton's zoning ordinance.Zacherl said one of the biggest roadblocks is state regulations such as the Uniform Construction Code, which continues to be updated.One pending change is a requirement for all new residential units built in 2011 and after to have sprinkler systems.Cornetti estimated the cost for such an installation to be $10,000 a home.He said that could be cost-prohibitive to a developer planning to build 100 units.

In Freeport, available space for growth is limited, so the goal is revitalizing what's already there.Mayor Jim Swartz cited business owner Curt Murtland as an example of what the borough needs.Murtland is converting an old hotel on Market Street into a restaurant."He did it right," Swartz said. "He gutted it all out and drywalled everything."While there is potential revitalization with the efforts of the Freeport Leechburg Apollo Group, which seeks grant funding to spruce up the three municipalities, Swartz said that alone isn't the answer.He points to a few buildings that have burned down in recent years in the borough, but have yet to be rebuilt."Nobody's going in to put new buildings in those locations," Swartz said.He said the borough's size will hinder development."We don't have room to expand," Swartz said.He said the old-fashioned town has gone by the wayside with the advent of shopping malls made accessible by highways.Swartz said the key to development is for people like Murtland to use what would otherwise be vacant property.

Growth in Jefferson Township will be limited.While there is a housing development, Stoneybrook, under way, the project is stalled.Supervisor Jim Jones, board chairman, said not even a quarter of the total number of planned units are built.Jones said there is little to attract developers without sewage and water service in most of the township.He said that fact could have changed had public sentiment been different regarding a once-proposed sewage line, which would have been installed through the township at no cost to the township.Under a proposal to extend a Saxonburg Area Authority line to Herman, a new main would have brought sewage service to more areas in Jefferson.However, Jefferson residents railed at the prospect."We had the opportunity to get a free sewage line and the people were dead-set against it," Jones said.The opposition was staunch despite Jefferson not requiring buildings located within 150 feet of the proposed line from hooking up unless they had failing disposal systems.Jones said the township will have to pay for a new sewage line if the state Department of Environmental Protection determines it's needed someday.With more water and sewage service, Jones said the township would be appealing to developers because there is no zoning ordinance to limit where businesses and structures can go."The farmers are against zoning," he said. "In southern Butler County, our township is the only one that doesn't have zoning."Jones said current poor economic conditions also hinder new development.

In Saxonburg, John Roebling's Historic Saxonburg Society is spearheading a revitalization of Main Street.The ambitious project includes the installation of old-fashioned street lights and benches along both sides of the street.John Roebling, the German immigrant who invented wire cable and designed the Brooklyn Bridge, founded Saxonburg in 1832.His intent was to re-create the look of a German hamlet.Along Main Street, there are 32 buildings more than 100 years old.A portion of Main Street from Rebecca to Butler streets is on the National Registry of Historic Places.Borough council Vice President Pat Rinebolt said the historical revitalization, which would bring Main Street closer to its late 1800s appearance, will help the borough."If Main Street was spruced up more, it would attract businesses," she said.Rinebolt pointed out the historical society's facade grant program is helping achieve that goal.Drawing on state grant money to pay half the cost, business owners convert their storefronts to match the original appearance.Rinebolt said the economy and, to a lesser extent, this past snowy winter hasn't been kind to local business."I think the economy is hindering our development," she said. Rinebolt cited the recent closure of a restaurant on Main Street that was only two years old.She said the borough needs a more diverse range of businesses to employ younger residents so they don't leave the area.

More opportunity for development in Winfield Township will occur in 2011 after sewage lines are installed in the Cabot, Marwood and Knox Chapel areas.The main line will extend to sections of Cooper, Marwood and Winfield Roads, serving more than 300 residential and commercial properties.Once construction is complete in early 2011, the new sewage system will be linked to the treatment system of the Municipal Authority of Buffalo Township via gravity flow following Little

The more than $6 million project is funded by a state loan and a state grant.Supervisor Flo Allison, board chairwoman, said the introduction of sewage service to Winfield will encourage development."It's good for the township," she said.Allison is not worried about sewage lines bringing a rash of uncontrolled development — a fear some residents have in the southeastern portion of the county."Our zoning ordinance should be able to control it," she said.Other than plans that don't meet township zoning, Allison said she doesn't anticipate any obstacles to development in the future. "I can't see anything," she said.