CRANBERRY TWP — Township supervisors will consider a conditional use application for the Summerwind Residential Development on Dec. 12 after a public hearing Thursday, Nov. 21.

The development, which calls for the construction of 66 townhouse units on about 6.7 acres along Freedom Road and Laporte Drive, has drawn sharp criticism from residents each time it has shown up on a meeting agenda.

After a public hearing on Oct. 30, township staff reviewed the comments made by the half dozen residents who would be directly affected by the development’s existence.

Privacy concerns have been a consistent point for several residents. After some deliberation with the staff, the developer of the project agreed to put up a barrier that would quell the issue in some ways.

“Privacy was a large one (concern) that we heard about as well,” said township Planning and Development Services director Ron Henshaw during the hearing. “The developer has agreed to install a 6-foot high privacy fence along the entire inner perimeter of the site adjacent to the existing homes that would aid in privacy concerns from the existing neighbors.”

In addition, some residents had brought up potential noise concerns, but Henshaw explained that grading and infrastructure for the development of the site would be limited to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Those dates and times are standard for every development.

Township staff also determined that any trees planted along the grassy perimeter of the development near the entry and exit points would not have any real hindrance on traffic flow in the area.

Despite the explanations, another half a dozen residents urged township supervisors and staff to take a harder look at what the development would mean for their properties moving forward. A few residents also stressed that supervisors should deny the conditional use application for the way the plan is currently laid out.

Supervisors unanimously voted to close the public hearing on the development. The conditional use application will now be up for consideration at the upcoming Dec. 12 meeting.