CRANBERRY TWP — Township supervisors will resume consideration Thursday of a zoning ordinance amendment after it garnered significant resident attention at the Jan. 28 meeting.

The proposed missing middle housing, or MMH, zoning overlay district is designed to attract young professionals and families to Cranberry, township officials say. But some residents see it a different way.

Deborah Cooper said she's been following the proposed amendment since it was in the planning advisory commission, and said she doesn't believe the amendment is likely to meet its goal. With housing prices where they are, she proffered, young people will probably be priced out even of homes built in the overlay.

“I'm a senior citizen and I realize houses have increased since I bought a starter home, but I can't imagine a young person right out of college can afford to buy a $350,000 dwelling,” Cooper added.

The MMH district would be applicable in parcels of at least 25 acres, and would add additional housing options to developers' arsenals, including triplexes and quadruplexes — although apartment buildings and commercial zoning are not provided for in the proposal.

Roughly 25 properties in Cranberry meet that 25-acre criterion.

Kyle Beidler, manager of strategic planning and economic development in Cranberry, said at the Jan. 28 meeting the changes are aimed to attract younger residents who may be uninterested in single-family dwellings, which comprise about 86% of homes in Cranberry and the surrounding area.

“With that shift in demos, we also see a shift in housing demand,” Beidler said. “Historically (among) Baby Boomers, about 71% were interested in single-family homes. Today, 39% of Millenials are interested in single-family homes.”

The proposal, Beidler added, would be helpful not just for younger families but also for empty nesters looking to downsize.

He framed the amendment as a way of reaching two goals in the township's comprehensive plan — having housing diversity and diversified land use, which he said leads to a balanced tax base — but also as a way to correct the township's historical inability to attract younger residents.

“We haven't been very successful at backfilling this age group of 20- to 34-year-olds, young professionals,” Beidler said.

Some residents, however, don't see it that way.

Lindsay Murray started a change.org petition captioned “Stop the Missing Middle Housing Overlay re-zoning in Cranberry T(ownship),” which as of Saturday had garnered more than 345 signatures. Murray said she and her husband spoke with friends and neighbors who, after learning about the proposal, grew opposed to the changes.

One signatory to the petition, who identified as Rebecca Prible, agreed with Cooper's reasoning that the MMH would not create more affordable housing, as townhouses in the area sell for several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Another facet for opposition to the proposal is a potential for increased population density. Murray said one reason she wanted the board to table the proposal is because she wants the board to educate residents as to why potentially increasing population density in 25 parcels sized at least 25 acres each.

Cooper said the density would have a negative impact on the schools, which she argued are not equipped for a large influx of residents into a more dense area, as well as traffic.