Murrysville Council OKs comp plan
After a two-year process of writing, revising, taking public input and re-revising, Murrysville council has adopted the road map that will guide municipal officials for the next decade.
Officials last week unanimously approved an update to the municipality's comprehensive plan, which according to its language, is a “10-year vision (that) outlines the Municipality's intentions and desires for the coming decade regarding its future physical character and all of the requirements to make that happen.”
Before approval, the most scrutinized section of the plan was the section outlining the use of natural energy resources in the municipality. As had been requested by council members last month, the section was revised to avoid using the word “reasonable” out of concern that it could be interpreted to mean that the intention was to be “reasonable” from the perspective of outside companies, not municipal residents.
That change satisfied council members, but resident Eleanor Sharp said she thought the “Energy Resources” section “still did not include adequate language regarding the protection of citizens.”
“The overall tone seems to convey an approval of unconventional hydraulic fracturing for Murrysville,” said Sharp, adding that use of the word “standards” should be clarified to mean “ ‘enforceable regulations and requirements' and not ‘goals.' ”
Before they approved the plan, council agreed to one last change — to replace a reference to the state's “Municipal Planning Code” with “Pennsylvania law.” Councilman Josh Lorenz, a lawyer, said the change “would cover what is and what may be” as far as state law is concerned.
Resident Shirley Turnage, who worked on the previous comprehensive plan update and also was part of the group that worked on the current update, said she had hoped it would include more language about agricultural preservation.
“You're looking at the Marcellus shale impacts and providing things like trails — why not also look into the preservation of agricultural land and encouraging the growth of local produce people want to buy?” she asked.
Currently, owners of only three Murrysville farms have applied to the Westmoreland County Agricultural Land Preservation office for a full agricultural easement.
Owners of several farms in the municipality, however, have applied for designation as “agricultural security areas,” according to Betty Reefer, director for the county's preservation program.
“That's established at the township level,” Reefer said. “They haven't given up any rights with regard to what they can do with their land, but they've gained additional rights against things like condemnation, and they've made their land eligible for an agricultural conservation easement.”
The easement process is competitive, and, Reefer said, preservation officials look at a number of factors including features that would make the property attractive to another potential farm buyer.
“We also look at proximity to other farms, with the idea that neighboring farms help support one another,” Reefer said.
The full text of the adopted comprehensive plan is available at Murrysville.com.
Patrick Varine is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.
