Moon Township Comprehensive Plan
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Moon Township Comprehensive Plan January 2015 Supervisors’ Review Draft Moon Township Comprehensive Plan Table of Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Foundations...................................................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Vision .............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 4: Elements .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 5: Actions............................................................................................................................................................. 97 Chapter 6: Trends ............................................................................................................................................................ 117 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................................... 137 List of Maps Moon Township Regional Map ......................................................................................................................................... viii Comprehensive Plan Map ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Comprehensive Plan Map ................................................................................................................................................... 33 Future Land Use Plan ......................................................................................................................................................... 45 Transportation and Amenities Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Allegheny County Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map.......................................................................................... 115 Transportation Network Map ............................................................................................................................................ 125 Physical Development Constraints Map ............................................................................................................................ 126 Civic Amenities and Community Facilities Map ............................................................................................................... 131 List of Charts and Tables Action and Implementation Table .................................................................................................................... 105 Moon Township Selected Revenues, 1998-2008 .............................................................................................. 121 Moon Township Selected Expenditures, 1998-2008 ......................................................................................... 122 Moon Area School District Total Student Enrollment – Actual and Projected, 2010 ......................................... 135 Table of Contents I i This page is intentionally left blank. Table of Contents I ii Moon Township Comprehensive Plan Acknowledgements The strength of this plan lies in the hands of those who have shaped it. Countless residents have played a part in the process. Those who were formally involved include the following: Board of Supervisors Planning Commission Jim Vitale, Chairman Allan Bross, Chairman Andrew M. Gribben, Vice Chairman Nancy Mills, Vice Chairman Marvin Eicher Craig Swen John Hertzer Zelik Ratchkauskas Joe Wise Shannon Debes Frank Sinatra (former) Mario Panucci (former) Scott Melton (former) Joseph D’Andrea (former) The Comprehensive Plan Committee Allan T. Bross, Planning Commission James Koepfinger, Executive Director, Eric Buncher, Allegheny County Airport Authority, Moon Community Access Television Manager Planning Services Dennis Lombardo, Lombardo Industries, Inc. Jeanne Creese, former Township Manager Scott L. Melton, Planning Commission Sam DiCicco, Jr., DiCicco Development Nancy Mills, Planning Commission Sam DiCicco, Sr., DiCicco Development Malcolm Petroccia, Moon Township Engineer Lora Dombrowski, Environmental Rachael Richter, Consulting Planner, Advisory Council/Historic Michael Baker International Architectural Review Board John Riley, Moon Township Municipal Authority Representative, Community Tammy Stiffler, Moon Parks Advisory Board Development Coordinator/Code John M. Urban, Realtor Administrator Deborah Walker, Moon Township Marty Galosi, Robert Morris University Municipal Authority Sally Haas, Pittsburgh Airport Allan E. Wampler, Synergy – Developer Chamber of Commerce (deceased) Caitlin Wampler, Synergy – Developer Maria Joseph, Library Director Thomas Weaver, Moon Transportation Authority Bill Joyce, Robert Morris University John Whitmire, Township Resident Rebecca Kiernan, Moon Township Cindy Zurchin, Moon Area School District Sustainability Coordinator A number of the Comprehensive Plan Committee stakeholders are key partners in maintaining and enhancing Moon Township’s vibrancy. Together with government, businesses, community groups and residents, they have laid a framework for the plan’s success. They are key allies in making Moon Township a great place to live, work, learn and play. Acknowledgements I iii This Plan Was Prepared With Assistance From Phase 2: Final plan recommendations, final mapping, report preparation and adoption process Environmental Planning & Design, LLC 100 Ross Street, 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-261-6000 T&B Planning 3801 Carson Avenue Murrysville, PA 15668 Phase 1: Background analysis, community outreach and initial plan recommendations Olsen and Associates, LLC 126 S. Main Street Butler, PA 16001 LR Kimball 437 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Acknowledgements I iv Moon Township Comprehensive Plan Resolution Adopting Plan Resolution I v Resolution I vi Moon Township Comprehensive Plan Foreword What is a Comprehensive Plan? A comprehensive plan is a living guide of goals that shapes the direction of the community’s preservation and development activities and establishes community development oriented policies. The plan defines and documents vision and aspirations and outlines a roadmap to assist the community in making decisions about its future. The vision outlined in the plan can prompt examination of regulatory guidelines to ensure compliance with stated goals and actions within the plan. A comprehensive plan is broad in scope, examining the existing physical, social and economic characteristics, but it seeks to apply this knowledge to the future. It speaks to various issues in general terms, but it also makes specific recommendations. The comprehensive plan is, in part, a factual report that examines how the past has led to the present, as well as a report that can be used to chart the path into the future. Factors such as a growing population, changing demographics, and the ever-increasing influence of global economics all complicate planning for the future while making it all the more necessary. Regardless of where a community is or how successful it has been in the past, change is an inevitable factor in the life-cycle of any municipality. In short, the foundation is constantly shifting. Moon Township has experienced decades of success: from high quality housing to excellent recreational amenities and desirable corporate employment centers. However, as the community moves forward, resident and business needs, desires and preferences are evolving along with demographic shifts and regional factors such as the growth of the oil and gas industry. For example, people increasingly desire better connectivity through their neighborhoods and to schools, parks and shopping via amenities such as sidewalks, trails and bike paths/lanes. Most people also want the jobs, tax revenues and civic amenities that growth and development can provide. They do not want to strain municipal budgets, exacerbate traffic or lose quality open space. To address these desires, the Moon Township Comprehensive Plan carefully balances future land use patterns, public costs, municipal revenues, natural resource protection, civic amenities, traffic improvements and community character in relation to one another. The integration of these resources is based on a thorough understanding of the community’s capacity to support future development and exhaustive analysis of demographic, socio-economic and physical factors. The components of this plan are interconnected by a symbiotic relationship; each individual component deals with an assortment of quality of life issues and establishes a set of policies to guide the protection and use of those resources. When viewed collectively, the components form an