Eighteen months after Cranberry’s long-range comprehensive plan was adopted, the one remaining piece of its land use component was finally adopted by the Township’s Board of Supervisors at its October 7 meeting. The zoning overlay proposal, which affects the westernmost portion of the roadway in Cranberry, tries to balance the interests of property owners whose parcels abut the heavily traveled roadway against those of the homeowners in adjacent Autumn Hill. Traffic along Freedom Road, which has grown steadily for more than two decades, has transformed the character of that corridor and the properties which front it. But zoning changes to allow more non-residential development along Freedom Road would impact neighboring residential properties. The revised proposal, which was adopted unanimously, reduces maximum heights, extends the buffering, and eliminates any minimum level of commercial development required in the affected area. The text of that ordinance is linked below.
In a separate action, the Board authorized a Federal Aid Earmark Reimbursement Agreement to use the funds previously authorized by Congress for the construction of improvements to the portion of Freedom Road between the Commonwealth Drive and Bucks Road.