Peters Twp. meetings to address Town Center
MCMURRAY – Southpointe Town Center in Cecil Township has come together pretty much as its planners envisioned: a 21st-century take on the traditional American main street.
“You see the buildings up close to the street, sidewalks, and most of the parking is hidden in the rear,” Ed Zuk, planning director in neighboring Peters Township, explained. “That’s very similar to the types of areas we’re trying to create.”
Peters is proposing a series of new zoning districts with the goal of future development resulting in more aesthetically coordinated, pedestrian-friendly environments. One area specifically targeted is to the north of the intersection of East McMurray and Valley Brook roads, where schools, stores, offices, banks and the township’s municipal complex already are in place.
“We have the beginnings of a true downtown,” Zuk said, “and that’s the direction that the McMurray Town Center zoning district is moving: creating a walkable central business district in the community, with a mix of office, retail and residential.”
The new district is the subject of a public stakeholder-focus group meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 25 in council chambers at the municipal building. The following day, at the same time and place, another meeting will address the proposal for a Mixed-Use Activity Zoning District that covers several discrete locales within the township, most notably the Route 19-Waterdam Road area.
Some key elements of each of the districts:
• McMurray Town Center allows for buildings up to four stories tall and requires sidewalks to be built along the streets, connecting all building entrances. Parking areas on abutting nonresidential lots must be interconnected, and access should be from secondary streets, when possible.
• Mixed-Use Activity Center is to include compatible residential, commercial and office space opportunities, providing services for surrounding neighborhoods. Along with the Waterdam area, other proposed locations are Hidden Valley Road, behind the new Eat’n Park; East McMurray Road to the west of Peters Township High School; another area off East McMurray, near its intersection with Bebout Road; and about six acres off Bebout near Valley Brook Road.
“In these new zoning districts, the rules force the buildings to be up closer to the road,” Zuk said. “Parking is not dominating the streetscape. It’s a little bit different feel than the commercial areas that have developed in suburban areas.”
The proposed changes stem from the township’s current comprehensive plan, which states as its “guiding principles” such elements as increasing transportation choice and walkability, building township character and identity, and emphasizing housing choice and diversity.
Zuk assured that the township will continue to address facets of particular interest to residents, including providing adequately for sanitary sewers and vehicular traffic.
“With this type of development, they’re concerned about demands on the infrastructure,” he said. “We’re not forgetting about it. All that will be in the plan.”
In the meantime, he and other township officials have a sense of optimism.
“If we can put this zoning in place and developers are willing to come in here and use this zoning,” Zuk said, “people in this community are excited about the potential that this can create.”