Public input continues to be sought for O'Hara, Fox Chapel comprehensive plan

People can still weigh in on a joint comprehensive plan between O’Hara and Fox Chapel via survey.

Both communities are in the process of forming a plan that will shape their futures for the next decade.

A survey is open through the end of the month.

It is available online through both the township and borough websites. Hard copies are also available at the respective town offices.

Consultants from Pashek+MTR will then analyze that data in order to come up with preliminary recommendations in January with possible plan adoption by both councils some time in March or April.

Township and borough officials hosted a sneak preview event at O’Hara Township Community Park on Tuesday, Aug. 16 to show folks where things stand so far.

“The really important thing is to get as much information as we can from the public,” O’Hara Councilman George Stewart said. “We’re going to be crunching the numbers and analyzing what people are interested in, along with what the two community’s needs are.”

There have been more than 1,100 responses to the survey since it was launched in June, according to information provided at the park event.

About 54% of respondents were from O’Hara, 42% from Fox Chapel, 3% own a business in one of the towns and nearly 2% of respondents live in neighboring communities.

Some of the questions are multiple choice while others ask the respondent list things such as what they would like to see change in their community, and what things their community does well.

Safety, stormwater management, collaboration with the school district, having a walkable and bikeable community and evaluation of infrastructure needs were the top five responses in that order to a question about important aspects of a community.

Hayley Hellstern of O’Hara was one of the people who filled out the survey prior to the park event.

“I feel like it’s important to be involved, and I wanted to hear some of the preliminary results of the survey,” Hellstern said. “I thought it’s important to get involved so your voice can be heard a little louder.

“I thought (the survey) was thorough. I didn’t really know exactly what they were going to be asking, but it seemed like a lot of their questions provided me with the opportunity to give many of the thoughts that I’d like to see happen in the community.”

Hellstern said having a walkable and bikeable community was important to her, and would like to see something happen with the trail system and connections between parks.

Project manager Jenni Easton of Pashek+MTR said she was encouraged by the participation.

“I think the response rate has been fantastic,” she said. “We have hundreds of pages of written comments. These are all residents who have taken the time to write to us about what they want to see happen in the future. Our committee now has the task of reading every one of these responses and interpret what we’re hearing. This is really strong for this type of plan.”

There will be public hearings and reviews once a draft of the plan has been created and prior to its formal adoption.

“This is a chance to be really intentional about setting priorities for the next 10 years,” Easton said. “It’s a chance to really make sure that policy is coming from the ground up, and you’re basing local decision making on the preferences and the values of people who live here.”

Township Manager Julie Jakubec said O’Hara’s last comprehensive plan was presented about 13 years ago. Cost of the new plan is about $85,000 split between the towns.

“This is not just a little packet of paper,” Jakubec said. “This is an implementable plan, with plans on how to get things accomplished, and will identify projects that we expect to get done in detail. It’s not just, ‘Hey. Build a park.’ It’s going to be way more detailed than that.

“We expect that we will receive some grant funds to pay for the study, itself. I’m very thrilled with the (participation) rate we have, but the more the merrier.”

Pashek+MTR has done comprehensive plans for many communities throughout Western Pennsylvania including Pine, McCandless, Hampton, Marshall Township, Brackenridge, Harrison, Tarentum and are in the process of developing one in Aspinwall.

Jim Pashek, firm founder and former Fox Chapel parks commission chairman, was among those pushing for a new comprehensive plan the past few years. The project kicked off last fall.

He said communities that work together on comprehensive plans boost their chances on getting state funds, as well as tackle challenges both towns face.

“You start to realize that the issues that people talk about are very common,” Pashek said. “Stormwater doesn’t stop at the Fox Chapel border. Stormwater is a problem for both communities. Every one in Fox Chapel shops down here and they use the parks in both areas.

“We realize that there aren’t a lot of differences between these two communities and the key problems that need to be solved. It’s a lot easier to solve them if you’ve got two communities working on them instead of one.”

Pashek, who wrote a book about comprehensive planning called “Off the Shelf and Into Action,” said in his experience getting public input is the easiest part of the plan. The data analysis and draft proposals are the real work.

The township park event also featured frozen treats from Wu Shaved Ice.

More information about the plan and survey is available at ohara.pa.usand fox-chapel.pa.us.