Forward Township is now just months away from a comprehensive plan on its trajectory for the next decade.

Following a meeting attended by roughly 50 Forward residents to garner input for its 2035 comprehensive plan, Mark Wilson, a township supervisor, said the process is moving as Forward goes forward.

As Wilson anticipated, much of the public input revolved around finding that balance between growth and the township's idyllic feel. Growth, regardless of whether residents want it, is coming as a result of the population in nearby municipalities and Forward's lack of ability to prevent it as a governing body, Wilson said.

What they can do, however, is work to eliminate some of the growing pains Forward may feel should the population boom reach it.

“Everything comes back to the concern of 'How do we preserve some of the rural nature of the township?'” Wilson said. “At the same time, we have to adhere to regulations and legal precedent. You just can't shut the door and say, 'Don't come here.'”

Each of the roughly 50 people who attended had the opportunity to fill out a two-page form, Wilson said, as well as to comment publicly.From the feedback, Wilson garnered three major concerns from the residents: First, as is the case everywhere, were the roads; second, the potential shift to public water and sewage infrastructure; and third, the changing population.The concern over roads had much to do with what was needed and what the township needs to do to achieve those goals.Among other issues, Wilson said, biking and walking “seem to be more and more prevalent” with population growth. So, how does the township plan to accommodate bikers and pedestrians?Additionally, given the township's bucolic history, most residents have well water and septic systems. Yet, nearby municipalities are shifting to wholly public water and sewage infrastructure.Given the thousands of dollars it costs to tap in to such systems, Wilson said residents have some level of anxiety over that potentiality. The solution, then, would be to minimize the impact on residents.“If we are forced to put in public water and sewer, how are we going to finance that to minimize the cost to the general public?” Wilson said.Finally, a third concern is the changing demographics of the township as “a lot more younger people, as well as older people” have moved — and likely will move — to the township.“Obviously, there was the concern about property, in terms of who's going to sell their property and what does the township have in terms of how can the township manage that” within the boundaries of the law, Wilson said.Although residents had concerns about those topics, they didn't reach the level of wanting to wholly prevent newcomers to Forward.“For the most part, what we heard (Wednesday) was that people realize change is coming in terms of the general nature of the township, but they're very hesitant to just open the gates and let just about anything in,” Wilson said. “They're looking for a way to see if we can manage the development, so we can retain some of the rural and pastoral nature of the township.”

Of course, the next move in developing the comprehensive plan is taking into account the feedback heard Wednesday.“It's going to be a very delicate balancing act to try to make sure that everybody's concerns are, if not totally addressed, identified and taken into account,” Wilson said. “People need to realize that we, as the township government, are under rules, regulations and legal precedent. We can't just do what we want; there are a lot of state and federal agencies out there that have a lot more power than we do.”After the resident feedback is incorporated into the comprehensive plan, the township's planning commission will review the document at a public meeting, where residents will have an additional chance for public comment.Should township planners approve it, the board of supervisors would review it at its next meeting, which would also be open to the public and an opportunity for more feedback.The end result?“We're well along in the process now in the journey of getting a comprehensive plan, and, of course, from that plan we'll get more plans and projects,” Wilson said.It seems like a lot of bureaucracy, but Wilson said it's a way of ensuring the township's residents get their voices heard as Forward moves forward.“Everybody figures things are going to happen, but how can we best manage it through ordinances or project planning, so that we can get a vision of what we want in the future, rather than what we wind up with?” Wilson said.