Jun 9, 2013 2 min read

McMURRAY – The attempt to complete a comprehensive plan in Peters Township is moving along, with completion expected by the late summer, said Ed Zuk, planning director, while discussing the progress with township council during a meeting last week. Council is expected to receive the plan for review in August.

Every 10 years, the state mandates each municipality must formulate a new comprehensive plan to establish where the township expects to be in the next decade.

With a third of the township undeveloped, Peters Township has been involved in developing a comprehensive plan for about 12 months, hiring an outside firm, holding meetings with township officials, businesses and residents, and conducting a three-day seminar in January.

According to Zuk, the township has developed seven guiding principles as a result of the meetings. Currently, the steering committee is “fine tuning” a vision.

The committee is looking at a mix of single- and multi-family housing plans to diversify housing and to save farms and woodlands from future development.

“This continues to be a work in progress,” Zuk told council.

Activities centers are being planned for several locations in the township, including the McDowell Lane area near Canonsburg Lake and a Town Center near the McMurray Town Center. Any of the activity centers would be separate from residential developments.

“We’re making progress,” said Zuk, who is a member of the steering committee. “The first step is to get the plan to council and to adopt (it) in late summer.”

No decision was made on a suggestion by Councilman Robert Lewis, who is council’s representative on the steering committee, to televise the committee’s meetings.