Buffalo development moves ahead
BUFFALO TWP — A new housing development moved another step forward on Wednesday as township supervisors approved, with conditions, the final site plan for a 32-home residential development on the south side of Sunset Drive.
The Pine Ridge PRD by Twin Oaks Development will feature 32 single family homes on the south side of Sunset Drive in between exits 16 and 17. The area is a hilltop, and currently the area is occupied by fields and woods.
The housing plan will span 22.9 acres of land, and the 32 homes will be managed by a homeowner’s association.
The various requirements that need to be met before the development can begin construction are administrative in nature. They consist of a pair of fees that need to be paid, obtaining a grading permit, and obtaining permission from the municipal authority for the use of sewage and water. The developers also need to enter into a developer’s agreement, which will include the fees, with the township.
BUFFALO TWP — A new housing development moved another step forward on Wednesday as township supervisors approved, with conditions, the final site plan for a 32-home residential development on the south side of Sunset Drive.
The Pine Ridge PRD by Twin Oaks Development will feature 32 single family homes on the south side of Sunset Drive in between exits 16 and 17. The area is a hilltop, and currently the area is occupied by fields and woods.
The housing plan will span 22.9 acres of land, and the 32 homes will be managed by a homeowner’s association.
The various requirements that need to be met before the development can begin construction are administrative in nature. They consist of a pair of fees that need to be paid, obtaining a grading permit, and obtaining permission from the municipal authority for the use of sewage and water. The developers also need to enter into a developer’s agreement, which will include the fees, with the township.
“It has been approved with the contingencies stated during the meeting,” board of supervisors chairman Ron Zampogna III said. “Once they’ve satisfied banks and engineering and the manager’s concerns and solicitors concerns, then they’ll move forward with permitting.”
Additionally, the board approved two public hearings. One will be held at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, for a proposed zoning ordinance and zoning map revision to add “town center development district” as a zoning classification in the area of the Route 28 and Route 356 intersection. The planning commission recently recommended the change.
Another hearing will follow at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, related to a conditional use application for a dog grooming shop at 169 Hepler Road. The request is to open a dog grooming shop on the lower level of the building. There would be no employees, no outdoor dog runs or outdoor kennels, and no overnight boarding. Dogs would be dropped off and picked up by the end of day.
The board also listened to a presentation from Bankson Engineers on the Butler-Freeport Community Trail Stream Bank Stabilization Project. The project would include the placement of riprap (large stones) along the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, removal of a gravel bar in Little Buffalo Creek, and resurfacing approximately 0.5 mile of trail.
According to the presentation, the current flow of the stream has eroded away the steam bed and bank which has led to a safety hazard and a possible failure of the trail surface. The project is intended to fix that issue in four different locations along the edge of Little Buffalo Creek and make that section of the trail safer.
The cost of the project will be funded by the Federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside, which was awarded to Buffalo Township for the project. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will help administer the project.
The Butler-Freeport Community Trail also will host an International Rett Syndrome Strollathon on Sept. 9, as approved by the board on Wednesday. The event, named the Pittsburgh Strollathon, will see people donate and walk a portion of the trail pushing strollers to help find a cure for Rett syndrome.
More information about the event can be found on the organization’s website, rettsyndrome.org.
