JACKSON TWP — About 20 residents Tuesday night shared their thoughts on the township’s future while keeping in tact the positive aspects of living in the township.

Township officials had the first of five workshop meetings where they will seek input from residents for a revision of the township comprehensive plan. The first meeting was for people who live on or near Abbey Woods and Briar Hill.

It has been about 15 years since the current plan was adopted.

Participants were asked to write down two positive aspects of living in the township and two negative aspects, whether or not they are issues the township government can address.

The people were then split into two groups that looked at the cards and evaluated each item as a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat.

Positive aspects of the township included living in a peaceful rural setting, having easy access to highways and having a low crime rate.

Negative aspects included poor road conditions and lack of community facilities that would draw young people.

One group found gas drilling in the township to be both an opportunity and a threat for the community.

The poor condition of Zehner School Road was brought up, which township manager Chris Rearick confirmed will be paved this year and will get a traffic signal at its intersection with Route 19.

Jim Voltz, who lives on Cobblestone Court, said the township has natural beauty and is a good place to live.

Development of the Route 19 corridor is inevitable and will be a positive if the township plans for it properly, he said.

“We’re on the cusp of being great. It’s a matter of saying that we want to be world-class instead of rural-class,” he said.

Larry Intihar of Briar Hill Drive hopes the township can create a clear plan for zoning, managing development and bringing in new revenue.

“We need a vision,” he said. “Growth isn’t a dirty word if you have it zoned right and you have a plan in place.”

The public discussion was preceded by a presentation by Rearick who talked about some of the changes the township has had over the past five years and anticipated changes in the future.

From 2000 to 2010, the population only increased by 12 people and only 65 new homes were built, he said.

However, from 2011 to now, the township has seen much more rapid growth.

In 2014 alone, 60 new houses were built in different housing plans. This year township officials anticipate another 80 units, Rearick said.

The township also has seen the creation of about 465 new jobs since 2011. In total, the township has about 2,900 employees working at 180 businesses, not including employees earning less than $12,000 a year.

These trends are expected to continue with projects such as the FedEx distribution center on Tomlinson Drive and continued development at Jackson’s Pointe.

“It certainly is an emerging employment center,” Rearick said.

The township’s staff and planning commission will primarily be working on the plan this year with help from an ad hoc steering committee formed from volunteers.

They will likely hold more public workshops in the fall and hope to have revisions to the plan ready to adopt in 2016, Rearick said.

The next workshop meeting is 7 p.m. April 21 at the township municipal building. It is intended for residents of Jackson Manor and Harmony Highlands.

The plan is used for both long-term and short-term planning for infrastructure and community needs.

“A comprehensive plan at its core is just like a business plan,” Rearick said.