Penn Township, along with engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, has posted a draft version of its 2024 comprehensive plan proposal on its website for public review and comment.

This will mark the township’s first solo comprehensive plan update since 2008. The current proposal is a joint plan with the City of Butler, Butler Township, Summit Township and East Butler.

The process of updating the plan began in July 2023 when the township and HRG held a kickoff meeting.

A comprehensive plan is a broad outline for the goals of a municipality. Pennsylvania law recommends municipalities update their comprehensive plan every 10 years.

The draft plan takes into account results from two public online surveys conducted September through November 2023 and January through February 2024 — which together attracted a total of 298 responses.

The tone of survey responses was clear, with the vast majority expressing a desire to preserve the township’s rural character.

When asked why they chose to live in Penn Township, 170 respondents said “to enjoy the rural landscape and atmosphere.” When asked what they enjoy most about living in Penn Township, the most frequent responses were the township’s rural, small-town atmosphere, peace and quiet, and low crime.

In addition, more than 200 respondents have lived in Penn Township for more than 20 years, and 292 out of 298 were over the age of 30, with 116 of them over age 65.

Aside from online surveys, members of the public gave input at a “Picnic at the Park” community outreach event in September 2023.

In addition to the online version of the draft comprehensive plan, paper copies are available at the township building on Airport Road. Penn Township is allowing residents to leave comments on the draft comprehensive plan via a SurveyMonkey form.