Department of Community Development | Hayley Welsh, Community Planner
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
Residential Development:
During 2018, the Municipality of Murrysville continued to be a contributor
to the growth of the western portions of Westmoreland County. The
population of the community is now over 22,000 residents. The Municipality
issued 42 building permits for new single-family homes and mixed assembly,
business, institutional, and mercantile uses during 2018. Residential growth
in Murrysville over the past two years has primarily come from younger adults
(25 to 34 years old) and older generations (65+ years old). These values
reflect the desirability of Murrysville as a Pittsburgh suburb in which to both
settle down to raise a family and settle down to enjoy the older retirement
years, despite overall statistical trends displaying both of these generations
emigrating to urban cores.
Commercial Development:
In 2018, Murrysville continued to attract new commercial developments
and ventures, especially along the Route 22 corridor, along
Old William Penn Highway, and in established shopping
centers within the community. Twelve new business
occupancy permits were issued in 2018. The Blue
Spruce Shoppes and Maple Commons continue
to attract both casual and high-end businesses,
while small professional offices continue to
take up residence along the quaint yet bustling
Old William Penn Highway corridor and larger
retailers continue to be drawn to the visibility factor
of opening business along Route 22. The continual
uptick in business development within the community
has not only consistently provided both residents and passersby
with an array of consumer choices, but has steadily established Murrysville’s
status as an ever-growing suburban hub. As always, stringent development
codes have secured the high-quality functioning and aesthetics of these new
storefronts and developments. Potential for infill development, promising
greenfield development potential, and storefront availability in new retail
developments have given both developers and regional business managers
the great opportunity to expand their businesses and cater to the amenities
needs of Murrysville residents.
Recent Commercial Development Projects:
Creative Bus Sales Muthappan Building GetGo
New to Murrysville in 2018
Tender Care
Pediatric Dentistry
BeBalanced TOONA Supply
Hygge State Farm Scooni’s
First Watch
Alwright Co.
Contemporary Concepts Too
Trans Tailor Shop Fit for Boxing
Planning Projects:
Traffic Impact Study, Capital Projects Plan, and Traffic Feasibility
Study
Implementation of the Traffic Impact Fee Plan and Capital Improvement
Plan began in 2016 with the development of a Transportation Capital
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Improvements Plan and Traffic Impact Fees that are assessed to developers to
assist in its implementation. In 2016, as well, the recommendations of this Plan
were incorporated into the five-year Municipal Capital Improvements Plan, with
a selected major project being the construction of a new bridge from Logan
Ferry Road to Sardis Road. In 2017, proposals were solicited from engineering
and transportation firms to complete a feasibility study for this project. In
2018, the Municipality contracted the Markosky Engineering Group, Inc. and
Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. to conduct the study. Over the course of 2018,
representatives from both firms worked in partnership to devise multiple
traffic alternatives for this congested area within the community. As these
firms were developing their traffic alternatives, they routinely met with and
corresponded frequently with municipal staff, the Planning Commission, and
the Traffic Impact Fee Committee to discuss their data and subsequent findings.
By the end of 2018, the firms settled on seven final alternatives for potential
reconstruction of the Sardis Road, Logan Ferry Road, and Franklintowne
Court intersections. In 2019, it is expected that the Municipality will review
and discuss these alternatives to plan for future reconstruction of this area of
Murrysville.
Small Cell Development Regulation
The Municipality is currently seeking to introduce, negotiate, and pass an
ordinance that will regulate small cell development in the community. For
context, the telecom industry is seeking legislation that would streamline the
approval process for placing multiple small cell towers along public rights-of-
way in anticipation of the upcoming 5G wireless network. While it is indeed a
beneficial practice to provide residents with improved wireless access within
their local communities, local government oversight on these towers, called DAS
(distributed antenna systems), needs to be enhanced through local regulation.
DAS are the antennas that go on telephone poles and look like “coffee cans.” It
has been recently determined that DAS cell providers are no longer permitted
to be classified as “common carrier” utilities, and therefore no longer qualify
as a public utility. This could affect how the Municipality decides to treat and
propose a regulatory ordinance for them as they would no longer have the
zoning protections of a public utility and would affect the telecom industry’s
right to use of the rights-of-way.
Hence, goals for regulation and ordinance creation in Murrysville would
encompass the following themes: (1) regulating the location of DAS by
discovering the balance between feasibility of collocation and new pole
construction; (2) setting forth a regulated municipal fee schedule, including the
implementation of access fees, license fees, and construction fees for placement
of DAS in rights-of way; (3) setting physical regulations of DAS systems,
including pole height, rights-of-way interference, design qualities, siting,
construction, installation, and maintenance; and (4) protecting municipal legal
liability against accident fault in rights-of-way.
Aging in Place in Murrysville
The Municipality is currently seeking to draft, introduce, and negotiate an
ordinance that will ultimately develop a specialized overlay zoning district that
will aid in the aging in place of the continuously-increasing older population
of Murrysville. In urban and community planning, aging in place refers to
local planning policy shifts that not only help to establish unique zoning