By SALLY BELL
Staff writer
Cranberry Township residents would like to see some big box stores like Target and Kohl’s come into the community along with sit-down restaurants like Longhorn Steakhouse.
“They don’t want fast food. They want restaurants,” said Barrie Brancato, a member of the township’s comprehensive plan steering committee.
Residents’ feedback came Tuesday evening at the township’s second open house at Cranberry Mall.
Attendance at the event was on par with last year’s open house, said Koah Pentz, the township’s coding enforcement and zoning officer.
The township will consider holding the open house again next year if there is enough interest from businesses in the township, Pentz said.
Tuesday’s open house hosted 40 businesses compared to 32 last year.
Along with food and giveaways, the open house was part of an initiative on the township’s part to receive feedback from residents about the potential for an economic development committee in Cranberry.
Citizens spoke out and penned their thoughts on the subject to Post-it Notes affixed to posters at a table hosted by Brancato, Pentz and Bonnie Summers, another steering committee member.
Job creation and attracting young people to the area dominated the minds of people who shared their thoughts with the township, Brancato said. A number of mothers who have children living outside the area said their children want to move back but there are no jobs, she said.
Several older people stopped by the township’s table to discuss their desire to have a senior living facility in Cranberry, Brancato said.
Still more people offered their names as volunteers to the township’s economic development committee, she said.
The creation of an economic development committee in the township is one of the prime recommendations of the comprehensive plan. That plan is currently being reviewed for approval by township supervisors.
Residents’ feedback will be factored in as supervisors review the plan and will be used to move forward with the development of the committee, Brancato said.
“People seemed to really enjoy it,” Pentz said of the open house. “Thanks to everyone for their participation.”
