627-home mixed-use plan proposed for Buffalo Township a clear sign of accelerating growth

A Lancaster-based firm wants to transform a slice of farmland in Buffalo Township into a town within a town, boasting more than 600 homes and about 20,000 square feet of retail space.

The ambitious plan, proposed near the intersection of routes 28 and 356, reflects a seemingly insatiable appetite for new housing in Buffalo Township, even as some community members express reservations about the breakneck pace of development that’s sweeping west-to-east across Butler County.

“A housing development is the worst thing you could ever do to a farm,” resident Albert Kelly said at a recent supervisors meeting. “There’s too many people already in this township.”

Builder and developer Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, known for subdivisions in central Pennsylvania, presented township officials with sketch drawings of their 120-acre vision.

The sketches are an early step in what’s bound to be a long and, at least among residents, contentious development process.

Charter cleared one key hurdle last year by getting the two parcels changed to a “town center” zoning district, which permits a wide variety of commercial and residential uses.

The plan, called Sparrows, would put 349 single-family homes and 278 town homes on about 70 acres — which is a density more characteristic of a Pittsburgh suburb than a historically rural township.

What could be considered downtown Buffalo Township, however, has seen steady investment in recent years, like a remodeled building in Buffalo Plaza and the Heritage Crossings residential subdivision.

Much of the remaining acreage in Sparrows — mostly wooded areas around the perimeter — would be marked for preservation.

Before running through the details, Laura Curran, manager of neighborhood development for Charter, tried to sell the crowd on her company being more than just another home builder. 

“When you think of development in, like, a traditional sense, a lot of developers come in, they acquire a piece of land, they completely strip it of everything and flatten it out — and it becomes streets and homes and nothing else,” Curran said. “For us, we really want to try to change that and think about what’s been there before and bring that through as we think about what’s to be.”

Multi-phase construction would start with commercial development and end with residential. A main road — likely township owned — would be built across the subdivision from Route 356 to Harbison Road, though Supervisor Gary Risch Sr. said he’d vote against any proposal that routes traffic through Harbison Road.

All other roads within the plan are expected to be privately owned. To help motorists in and out of Sparrows without snarling traffic, a traffic light would be installed where Route 356 meets Silverville Road.

Construction is anticipated to take seven to 10 years.

Property records indicate the two parcels have not yet sold.

Consequences of growth

The projected tax windfall could mean a lot for Buffalo Township and Freeport Area School District officials. Here are the numbers, according to township Solicitor Brian Farrington:

• $216,000 in annual property taxes to the township;

• $4.3 million in annual property taxes to the school district;

• $3.2 million in one-time fees, earned income tax and other revenue to the township.

Between Sparrows and other planned or ongoing subdivisions, like one along Riemer Road that had its zoning change tabled Wednesday, Freeport Area School Board President Gary Risch Jr. is bracing for an additional 1,300 homes in the district.

Freeport Area’s middle and high schools have plenty of empty seats, according to Risch, but the elementary school situation could get complicated.

If all of these housing developments come to fruition, it’s possible that children living in Buffalo Township would have to attend South Buffalo Elementary School, in the district’s Armstrong County portion.

New homes have little bearing on the district’s deliberations about what to do with the high school, according to Risch. The board has been mulling whether a renovation, relocation or partial closure is best for the aging building.

“Our immediate need is that high school. That’s not going to change,” he said. “It really looks like the board is moving toward renovating the high school.”

The anticipated level of development also would be manageable for local water and sewage systems, according to township officials. But there’s no denying, Supervisor Chairman Ron Zampogna noted, that more residents means more stress on police, road crews and other township employees.

“I think the reality is the public services are going to have to grow with the township,” Zampogna said.