John Trant

CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Plan, the township's road map for the next 25 years of development, recently won a statewide award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Planning Association.

John Trant, chief strategic planning officer, and Ron Henshaw, director of community development, accepted the Daniel Burnham Award at the organization's annual conference in King of Prussia near Philadelphia.

Trant was instrumental in coordinating the Cranberry Plan, which included extensive input from residents and professional consultants.

The Cranberry Plan includes more than 200 recommendations that cover all aspects of the township's growth, including transportation, economic development, housing and environmental practices.

The process, which began in late 2007, ended in April when the supervisors voted to approve it. The plan won the award against an unspecified number of competitors.

Township manager Jerry Andree said intense resident input is what separates the Cranberry Plan from other comprehensive plans. He said more than 50 residents spent months in subcommittees hashing out details of the plan.

"One of the hallmarks was huge citizen involvement," Andree said. "Most times municipalities aren't able to attract much resident involvement."

Andree also said planning association officials were impressed with the level of detail in the plan.

"They were very impressed by the breadth and detailed analysis," he said.