Worth Township

Comprehensive

Development Plan

Final Draft April 1995

DATAPLAN, INC. 347 FRANKLIN

STREET, SLIPPERY ROCK, PA 1 16057

WORTH TOWNSHIP

COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WORTH TOWNSHIP

BUTLER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

EXISTING CONDITIONS AND RESEARCH ELEMENT

The following source documents and supplemental data were used in the

preparation of this Comprehensive Plan document.

1. 1990 Census Municipality Profile (STF3) - Southwestern Regional Planning Commission.

2. 1990 Census of Population and Housing by Census Tract - Pennsylvania State Data Center.

3. Ag Area Handbook, Agricultural Security Areas under Act 43 - Pennsylvania Farmers' Association.

4. Brady Township Comprehensive Plan Update, 1993.

5. Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory - Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

6. Communities Involved in Education, Slippery Rock Area School District Publication. 1992.

7. History of Butler County, Chapter 58, Worth Township and certain Biographical Sketches.

8. Initiate Transportation Plan Update - SPRPC.

9. Inventory of Building Permits 1989-1992 - Worth Township Planning Commission.

IO. Municipal Road Data Processing Report - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

11. Population, Households, Employment Cycle 4A Projections - Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission.

12. Proposed Zoning Ordinance, Plain Grove Township, Lawrence County, 1993.

13. Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Clearfield Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1993.

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14. Summary Groundwater Resources of Butler County, PA - Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Resources.

15. Traffic Counts Interstate 79 and Route 108 - Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission.

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Introduction and Purpose

This planning document represents the efforts of the members of the Worth

Township Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission to prepare for the

future of the Township as it relates to new development, and that development's

impact on the present and future residents of the community, as well as the

impact of growth on the natural environment.

This process began in the spring of 1992 with the realization that external

influences are being introduced into the community because of its geographic

location in the northwestern portion of Butler County. Access to U.S. Interstate

79, a major northlsouth transportation facility in Western Pennsylvania and to

Pennsylvania State Route 108 and U.S. Route 422, east/west arterial

roadways, is an important factor in the projection of Worth Township's

development potential.

With full interchanges near both the northern and southern boundaries of the

Township, the ability to reside in Worth Township and to commute to work in

urban and suburban areas to the south and west makes Worth Township an

attractive option both to young families and to empty nest couples looking for

second or seasonal homes. This document will present a comprehensive look

at the elements which will stimulate growth and the constraints which will

discourage it.

Information has been accumulated during the last year and Township

officials have initiated a series of work sessions, including the drafting of a

community attitude questionnaire, which is included in the text. Response from

the residents was positive and additional input on matters of concern to the

people of this community will play an important role in the production of a

development plan which reflects their hopes for the future.

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This planning process will culminate in the creation of a specific set of

community goals designed to accomplish both long range and short term

objectives. The identification of human resources, available funding sources for

community development grants, state and county agencies which offer

community development assistance, and local officials and staff willing to

devote their time and energy to document specific features of the physical or

social environment are keys to the successful attainment of the identified

community objectives.

Worth Township, primarily an agricultural area in northern Butler County,

western Pennsylvania, has begun to experience the residential growth that

comes with the availability of regional recreational opportunities within the

municipal boundaries and in adjacent communities. Moraine State Park, and to

a lesser extent, McConnell's Mills State Park and Jennings Nature Preserve,

attract thousands of visitors annually to this area of Butler County. The

physiography of the region leaves positive impressions on people from

intensely developed urban and suburban areas as far west as Youngstown,

Ohio and from the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. The rolling hills,

clean streams, heavily wooded tracts, and scenic beauty are internal factors

which are attracting residential development from all directions.

The Township has entered another stage in its evolution from it's mid-I 800's

agricultural and extractive industries roots to the early 21st century rural

suburban community it is moving toward. Agricultural activities and residential

subdivisions are not mutually exclusive land uses, however, each use should be

provided for in the plan. Each requires its own guidelines and community

awareness to minimize any negative impacts one may have on the other. This

development plan addresses that issue and recommends measures to achieve

a harmony of purpose.

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The lack of community and private facilities and utilities such as water and

sanitary sewerage, cable T.V. and community services such as police and fire

protection will deter major development in the short term, however, as the

technology advances making private sanitary treatment facilities more

cost-effective, the potential for substantial development exists. The

proliferation of on-lot wastewater disposal systems and deep wells is not the

most efficient method of delivering individual amenities. As more homes are

built in certain areas of the Township, system failures due to soil saturation may

cause residents to consider other options.

.

A low tax burden and minimal local government services may provide area

residents with a sense of independence. However, as more people migrate to

the community, the desire for additional services will be voiced. A plan to

monitor this issue and react in an efficient, cost-effective manner is the goal of

any community in the path of growth. Worth Township has committed itself to a

self-evaluation at its present stage of maturity through the creation of a

comprehensive development plan.

The implementation of a strategic plan is the business of the elected

officials, appointed officials and staff with assistance from state and county

agencies and the support of the community's residents. The development plan

represents the needs and wants of the people who live in the community and is a conceptual blueprint for managed growth. Its success depends on the

sensibility of its community objectives and the determination of its people.

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Worth Township is a township of the second class in Butler County, which is

the most common form of local government in the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, numbering 1,458 municipalities. There are currently three (3)

supervisors elected at large for six (6) year terms, with not more than two (2)

supervisors elected in any given local election year.

Primary responsibilities of the elected officials include road maintenance,

expenditure of Township funds, liaison with State Police for patrol coverage,

implementation of a township-wide recycling program, and the day-to-day

operations of the local government. There have been no major bond issues

passed for capital improvements within the municipality, and none are expected

in the short term.

The Board of Supervisors have appointed a seven (7) member Planning

Commission, charged with the review and recommendation of applications for

land development and subdivision. Butler County Planning Commission also

reviews subdivision plats submitted in Worth Township and approvals and

correspondence are coordinated by the Township Planning Commission

Secretary.

The Planning Commission is also assigned tasks deemed appropriate by

the Board of Supervisors. One such project is the creation of the Township's

first Comprehensive Development Plan, as per Section 301 of the Pennsylvania

Municipalities Planning Code, Act 170, as amended. Public meetings are held

by both the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission, as required by

Act 170.

There are, at present, two (2) full time employees on the road crew, a part

time Township Secretary, an appointed Sewage Enforcement Officer for the

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issuance of Department of Environmental Resources on-lot wastewater

disposal permits, an appointed Solicitor and a consulting engineer, employed

on an as-needed basis. The Secretary issues building permits and is

responsible for the filing and referral of official Township correspondence.

The Board of Supervisors currently hold a monthly business meeting in the

Worth Township Maintenance Building, off of West Park Road, on the second

Tuesday of each month. The Township Planning Commission meets on the

fourth Thursday of each month, also in the maintenance building.

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Histnrv and Earlv Characteristics

Settlement

The area of Butler County incorporated as Worth Township in 1854 was '

comprised of a large portion of Muddy Creek Township and a smaller portion of

Slippery Rock Township. The land is situated between the Muddy Creek and

Slippery Rock Creek drainage basins in the northwestern portion of the County

abutting both Mercer and Lawrence Counties. While agriculture dominated

early activities in the northem half of the Township, coal and natural gas were

extracted in the southem portion during the late 1800's. The Township was

named for General Worth, a hero of the Mexican War fought between 1846 and

1848.

In 1790 the first non-native people, David Studebaker and Abraham Snyder,

both from Westmoreland County, hunted and fished the area exploring the

region through the winter and eventually built a cabin. In 1793, Studebaker

returned with his father, Joseph, and a sister. Settlers during this period were

said to have fought well in the Revolutionary War; some of these early settlers

were William and John Elliott, John Dennison, David, George and Rebecca

Armstrong, Henry Stinetorf, John and Jacob Pisor, Thomas, David, William and

Samuel Cross, David and William McConnell. William McNees, and Benjamin

Jack.

During the later years of the last decade of the eighteenth century, Jonathan

Kelly, a blacksmith, Archibald, Michael and Joseph Kelly, Thomas Clark, also a

Revolutionary War soldier, and his sons, Andrew and John, settled in Worth

Township. In 1798. Thomas Humphrey, Andrew, Edward and James ,Douglas

and Charles Coulter arrived from Northern Ireland. Soon thereafter,

Christopher Wimer, Charles Martin, John Martin Sr., and John Martin Jr., John

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Taggert, Hugh Henderson, who was famous for his whiskey, and John Moore

had established permanent homesteads before 1800.

In the first years of the new century, Worth Township became the home of

Isaac Cornelius, whose wife and twelve children settled on what was known as

Hogback Ridge. Casper Hockenberry located on the North Bank of Muddy

Creek in 1810. Robert Glenn and Alexander McBride, who was a miller and a

school teacher and George Taylor, had settled in the Township by 1820, in the

vicinity of the mouth of Wolf Creek.

Of course all of the early settlers, beginning in 1790 when the first white men

Studebaker and Snyder entered the region, had to coexist with the Delaware

Indians who had established several permanent settlements along Slippery

Rock and Wolf Creeks. A treaty, entered into by regional government officials

from Allegheny and Erie Counties, with several local tribes was signed in

Greenville, Pennsylvania, reducing tensions between the native Indian

inhabitants and European settlers looking for new opportunities in what was the

United States' first frontier. By 1860, six years after the creation of Worth

Township, nine hundred and twenty eight persons populated the municipality.

Eorlv Schools

Five pioneer subscription schools were constructed in Worth Township

during its settlement period. Attendees were charged $6.00 a term for the

instruction. Before the year 1835 when the common school law was adopted,

two of the one room schools were built in the northwest comer of fhe

community, one north of what is now called Route 108 and one south on

Brandon Road in the Slippery Rock Creek watershed. School No. 1, at the

confluence of Wolf Creek and Slippery Rock Creek, was relocated from its

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place beside the United Presbyterian Church on Route 108 in 1991, and is now

situated in Slippery Rock Township, restored as a restaurant.

School No. 3, which was actually the first one built, on Pisor Road in the

southwestern comer of Worth Township, provided educational opportunities to

settlers in the Muddy Creek basin. Subsequent school buildings were located

centrally to areas being settled within the boundaries of the Township and were

later incorporated as a part of the public school system. Eight districts were

eventually created before consolidation occurred.

Early Industry

In 1803, a saw mill built by Thomas Coulter was the first enterprise of its

type in the region. Grist mills built by Alexander McBride, an Irish immigrant,

and Franklin Elliott were in operation by 1830. Log buildings constructed for the

purpose of housing these fledgling enterprises were probably the first

established businesses in the Township.

A carding mill, used to prepare wool and cotton fabrics for weaving, was

established by Charles Coulter after the War of 1812 in Jacksville, which was

prior to this period called Mechanicsburg. That mill was expanded in 1854 and

used throughout the years of the Civil War, to produce blankets and flannel.

A number of distilleries were established early in the Township's history.

Hugh Henderson was considered to be the maker of the best whiskey during

the period, and Jonathan Dean and William Vogan both competed with

Henderson in what was considered to be a brisk market until the temperance

movement forced most whiskey producing enterprises out of business.

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A tavern, started in 1803 by James Coulter, and subsequently owned by

Alexander Balph, did a good business through the mid-1800's south of

Jacksville.

Cli urches

The United Presbyterian Church at Wolf Creek was organized in 1809, and

the building later constructed is still used by today's congregation, on the north

side of what is now identified as Route 108, as the Wolf Creek Presbyterian

Church. Alexander Murray was its first ordained pastor and the church building

was completed in 1811. In 1839 the original log church burned and a new

frame church built.

Zion Baptist Church was organized in 1841, by families from Muddy Creek

Township and several local families. A brick building was erected on lands

donated by Jacob Fisher in 1843 and the first pastor was Rev. Daniel Daniels.

In 1871, the Mount Union Church of God was organized and a church

building erected in 1873, on land donated by John Updegraph. Rev. Joseph

Grimm was its first pastor.

villa,ee.s

One settlement attained the status of village in Worth Township at the

intersection of Reichert Road and Humphrey Road, where Humphrey Road

crossed Black Run. A post office begun in William Jack's store in the

mid-I 860's (date approximate), near the settlement, caused most early

residents to refer to the village as Jacksville or Jacksville Post Office. The

original name of Mechanicsburg was attributed to the fact that at one time a

number of people with mechanical skills lived in the village.

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At its peak in the late 1800s, there were a dozen houses, a general store,

harness shop, post office, blacksmith shop, town hall, a wagon shop, a woolen

mill and a tannery occupied in the village of Jacksville.

Earlv Corporations

The Worth Township Mutual Fire Insurance Company, chartered in 1875,

insured farm buildings and the products of early industries in a twelve township

area, and at one time, provided approximately $1,000,000 in total coverage.

The Worth Township Gas Company was formed in 1892 to operate gas wells

on the Glenn and McClymonds farms.

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Education Opportunities

School aged children in Worth Township attend the Slippery Rock Area

School District facilities in Prospect Borough at the Moraine Elementary School,

Slippery Rock Borough at the Slippery Rock Elementary School, and Slippery

Rock Township at the Middle School and High School, depending on their age.

The Slippery Rock Area School District is one of the largest, geographically, in

Western Pennsylvania, encompassing all of Mercer, Slippery Rock, Worth,

Brady, Muddy Creek and Franklin Townships, plus the Boroughs of Harrisville,

Slippery Rock, West Liberty, Portersville and Prospect.

During the 1993-94 school year, the district will be engaged in long range

planning activities at the request of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Rapid growth in the southern portion of the district and the consolidation of

facilities in light of expected enrollment projections have necessitated these

planning activities.

In all, the district operates three elementary schools, a middle school and a

high school with a current budget of approximately $14,000,000.00. There are

one hundred fifty-five (155) people on the professional staff, sixty percent (60%)

of which have achieved a masters degree. The average teacher has fifteen

(1 5) years of teaching experience.

The six townships total one hundred and twenty-one square miles and the

five boroughs in the school district total ten and one half square miles, making

the logistics of busing critical, especially during the winter months when road

conditions are a factor in the safe and timely delivery of students to their

schools. The district anticipates the occurrence of at least four "snow days"

annually and as a result school classes begin in late August. West Liberty

Borough is actually closer to the geographic center of the district than Slippery

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Rock Borough and Slippery Rock Township, however, the addition of the

Slippery Rock Normal School to Slippery Rock Borough in 1875 eventually

provided for a logical hierarchy of educational opportunities from elementary

school through college.

Major access highways to school facilities include State Route #173, Route

#I08 and #528, US. Routes #8, #19, and #422 and Interstate Route 79. The

district is classified as rural with no major industrial sites, and ninety percent

(90%) of the approximately two thousand, six hundred (2,600) school aged

students are transported by bus to their schools.

Three school board directors are elected from each of three sub-areas within

the district for four (4) year overlapping terms.

There are no residents from Worth Township on the current school board,

which has been the focus of discussion about tax revenues being spent for

education, without local input. At the completion of the district's planning

exercise, projected enrollment, class size and expansion plans will be reviewed

carefully by Worth Township officials.

A look at the last three (3) years on a per building basis for student

population follows:

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Clearly the school aged population in the region and in the Township is

increasing. At a two percent (2%) increase annually, the student-teacher ratio

may become unacceptable within the next two contract periods.

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Conimumity Facilities amd Services

At present, the business of the Worth Township government is conducted in

a portion of the community's maintenance garage on the south side of West

Park Road and on the west side of the Interstate 79 right-of-way. The structure

is a steel-sided pole building of approximately two thousand (2,000) square feet

which houses the Township's road maintenance equipment and tax records.

Two full time road crew employees and a part-time Township secretary

comprise the community's work force and approximately ninety percent of all

annual tax revenues are assigned to road maintenance. A major portion of

West Park Road, which functions as Worth Township's major interior

north-south collector roadway, was widened and repaved in 1992.

Including Act 32 "Tumback" mileage, 14.57 miles of roads which were once

owned by the State but subsequently improved and turned back to the

municipality, the Township maintains 43.35 lineal miles of roads and the State

maintains 3.25 miles. All potable water and sanitary sewerage disposal and

treatment is provided for "on-lot", through private wells, and private on-lot

wastewater disposal systems, with the exception of a private treatment plant on

the Slippery Rock Campgrounds site which is designed to accommodate the

effluent from 1,100 sites.

Public Utilities

Both Columbia and Peoples Gas Company provide service to portions of

Worth Township while United Telephone provides communication via several

exchanges. Armstrong Utilities supply cable television service along Route 108

right-of-way west to the Slippery Rock campground site along Slippery Rock

Creek. Electricity is distributed through the Central Electric Co-op and West

Penn Power and all areas within the municipal boundaries are serviced.

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Housing and Houseliolds

Owner Occupied Renter Occupied Vacant Seasonal Unit

Total

Information for this element of the comprehensive plan for Worth Township

was derived from several sources and minor discrepancies exist among the

data collected. For the purpose of this discussion, the data made available

through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission's

municipality profile is considered the most accurate. This data was condensed

and revised based on post-census housing counts and attached to the

Summary Tape File 3 data for analysis of economic elements.

1970 1980 1990

182 247 287 44 42 47 21 19 40 74 92 102 32 1 400 476

A comparison of housing units from 1970 to 1990 indicates a steady rate of

residential growth in Worth Township. While statistics vary depending on the

source of the data, total population has increased by approximately two

hundred persons over the last two decades, representing an overall rate of

growth of approximately 1.3% annually. Between 1980 and 1990 the rate

increased to 1.5% and building permit records from 1990 to 1992 indicate an

increase, if sustained, of more than 3% annually, or double the rate of the

previous decade.

HOUSING I Number of Housina Units I

Average household sizes for the same period have been steadily decreasing

while the rate of construction of new dwelling units has been on the rise. This is a county-wide trend and reflects the increase in two income families with no

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children, and the continued residence in the Township of over 55 aged couples

whose children have left home to raise their own families.

1970 1980 1990

reflect the use of temporary camper sites (totaling more than 1,100) within the

Township, which if counted, would more than double the 1990 population.

Persons Per Household

A review of Township permit records indicates that 17 permits issued in the

last four (4) year period, or 28% of the total were for modular or mobile units.

This trend is consistent within the Moraine State Park region in neighboring

townships, as mobile homes continue to represent a significant proportion of

new residential dwelling unit permits. This trend appears to be on the increase,

as mobile homes continue to represent a significant proportion of new

residential dwelling unit permits.

3.32 2.91 2.86

As a percent of the total number of units township-wide, mobile homes

represent 22% of all dwelling unit types and according to Butler County

statistics, 65% of all mobile homes in Worth Township are occupied seasonally.

Sixty-nine (69) dwelling units or 16.2% of the total, are listed as using a

source of water other than a private well, six (6) on a private treatment system

and sixty-three (63) claiming another source of water. Twenty-five (25) dwelling

units are also listed as being connected to public sewers or a private treatment

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plant. Slippery Rock Campgrounds provides the majority of these alternative

facilities, but the vast majority of dwellings rely on private wells and on-lot

septic systems.

As shown, 11.4% of the housing units occupied year round in Worth

Township still rely on wood for heating. Oil and kerosene is the most common

method of heating with 54.2% of all units. Clearly the community is still

predominantly rural, some may even say rustic.

Fuel Used

1990 Census Data

Units 'Yo Total

I OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS BY HEATING

Utility Gas BtllLP Gas Electricity OillKerosene Coal or Coke Wood Solar Energy Other Fuel

FUEL USED

47 14.5 24 7.4 32 9.8 176 54.2 9 2.8

37 11.4 0 0

0 0 No Fuel Used 0 0

Total

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325 100

SPRPC Cycle 4 Projection

I OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS BY YEAR MOVED I Period

1989-1 990 1985-1 988 1980-1 984 Before 1980

Total

INTO UNIT Annually Units Yo Total

12.5 25 7.7 24.25 97 29.8 11.2 56 17.2

147 45.2 325 100

Almost 55% of all year round housing units have been occupied since 1980.

How the Township officials decide to manage this growth will become part of

the discussion of community goals and objectives.

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Transportation and Circulatiotr

The total mileage of all public Township and State roads presently being

maintained is 46.6. Aside from Interstate Route 79, a major highway which

runs north to south roughly through the center of the Township, State Route 108

(3.25 miles), which lies east to west in the northernmost portion of the

community, is the only other transportation facility classified as a major

collector. This roadway connects the city of New Castle with Slippery Rock

Borough, and also provides access to Interstate Route 79.

Immediately south of the southern Township boundary line, State Route 422,

which connects the cities of Butler and New Castle, runs east to west and is

accessible via a full interchange off of Interstate Route 79. With access to and

from a major highway at both the northern and southern perimeter, Worth

Township's accessibility to large volumes of traffic is evident.

Traffic Volumm

Hourly traffic counts taken by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Planning

Commission on January 8, 1992, approximately midway between Exits #29 and

#30, total 17,663 vehicle trips both north and south. Peak hours were between

11 a.m. and noon (1,189 vehicles) and between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (1,294

vehicles). More trips were heading south than north, 9,716 to 7,947.

Similar counts taken on State Route 108 between the Lawrence County line

and the Interstate Route 79 ramps, between August 29 and August 31, 1989,

indicate an average twenty-four (24) hour weekday count of 4,545 vehicles in

both directions. The peak hours were between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.. (350

vehicles) and between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (327 vehicles). These peak hours

correspond to daily work schedules at Slippery Rock University, which is the

regions largest employer.

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Roadway Segments Survee

PennDOT's District 10 Municipal Road Data Report surveyed forty-eight (48)

roadway segments in Worth Township for surface conditions, cartway width,

right-of-way width and length. All Township road rights-of-way were recorded

at thirty-three feet (337, an archaic standard, two (2) rod width, except for a .5

mile segment of Church Road (T371) which was recorded at forty feet (40'). An

unnamed segment of only .25 miles in length (T661), and an unnamed segment

of only .08 miles (T662), were recorded at a sixty foot (60') right-of-way width in

the same survey.

The nominal cartway width for the vast majority of Township roads is

eighteen feet (18), with portions of Pisor Road, Camelot Road, Swope Road,

Corry Road and English Road at only fourteen feet (14'). Segments of Brandon

Road, Humphrey Road and T663, an unnamed roadway, were reported with

sixteen foot (16') cartways. As is the case in rural communities, the

transportation network was built by simply clearing old paths, tractors roads and

trails, for use by automobiles. Design standards were nonexistent when most

roads were graded for use and the lane widths (cartway) are not sufficient to

carry even moderate volumes of traffic.

A list of roads surveyed by PennDOT and for which liquid fuels

reimbursements are received, follows. It should be noted that the entire length

of West Park Road, Windy Knob Road (?), Drake Road (?) and Mount Union

Road have been "turned back" to Worth Township by the State.

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T318 Cunie Road T318 Patterson Road T344 Reichert Road T348 Book Road T366 Ralston Road T368 Camelot Road

T371 Church Road T372 Swope Road

T373 Pisor Road T662 NoName T375 McCracken Road T663 NoName T375 Davis Road T377 Brandon Road T850 NoName

T377 Kelly Road T379 Cony Road T396 English Road T661 NoName

T664 Humphrey Road

T860 Drake Road (7) T861 Mount Union Road T862 Windy Knob Road (7)

Bri&a Six (6) weight-restricted bridges were identified by PennDOT in the 1992

Bridge Inspection Survey. Upon review, several additional facilities were added

by Township officials in order to complete the survey. The facilities and basic

statistics follow:

The seventy one foot (71') span on West Park Road is scheduled for

replacement within two (2) years.

Circulation

Generally, all areas of Worth Township are accessible by vehicle. West

Park Road is a centrally located north-south collector, and Currie Road, Book

Road Studebaker Road and Patterson Road on the west side of the Interstate

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Route 79 right-of-way, carry traffic north and south. On the east side of the

Interstate Route 79 right-of-way, Ralston Road, Reichert Road, Swope Road,

Barron Road, Taggart Road and Mount Union Road all provide north-south

access.

Brandon Road in the northern half of Worth Township provides interior

access east and west, as do Kelly Road, McCoy Road, Cornelius Road, Church

Road, Cooper Road, Davis Road, Dickey Road and Harlansburg Road. In the

south, Pisor Road and West Liberty Road carry traffic east and west. None of

these transportation facilities is sufficient to carry significant volumes of traffic

without major improvements. Vertical and horizontal realignment, drainage

facilities, additional binding material and minimal wearing surfaces will be

necessary to accommodate increases in vehicle trips safely.

With Slippery Rock University to the northeast and Moraine State Park in the

south, both accessible from Interstate Route 79, roadways adjacent to these

facilities will see the largest increase in volumes in the long term. However,

with the construction of seasonal or even permanent homes around Moraine

State Park, along Muddy Creek or by Coopers Lake and Tamarack Lake, the

secondary local roads which provide direct access to certain areas of the

Township may also need to be considered for improvement along with

segments of the collector roadway system.

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Economic Profire

The median household income in Worth Township where a family occupies

the household is currently $31,509.00. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of all

wage eamers are salaried employees earning an average of $34,536.00

annually, and one hundred and thirty (130 or 47%) of the two hundred and

seventy-three (273) families reporting in the 1990 decennial census claimed

two persons working.

In owner occupied housing, the median value of the home is $50,200.00,

and the average mortgage payment on that house is $532.00. In renter

occupied housing, which represents about ten percent (10%) of the total

number of dwelling units, the median gross rent is $279.00 per month and yet

twenty-two percent (22%) of those households reported no cash rent or rent of

less than $100.00 per month.

Travel to Work

Of the 398 working residents over the age of sixteen (16) who responded,

360 of them said that they drive alone to their place of employment. In a

related category, only twenty-five (25) persons reported working in Worth

Township, while 246 reported being employed somewhere in Butler County.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of the households in Worth Township reported having

two (2) or three (3) vehicles available and eight percent (8%) reported having

four (4) or more vehicles available.

Average travel time to work is 26.1 minutes, but 23.4 percent of the

residents responding said it took less than fifteen (15) minutes to get to work.

These are the people working within or near the Township, while sixty-three

(63) persons (16% of the total) reported driving more than forty-five (45)

minutes to their place of employment.

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Occunatirins

Occupation of Worker Exec, Admin & Managerial Professional Specialty Technicians & Related Support Sales

A survey of the industries within which Worth Township residents are

employed reveals that of the 419 persons responding, which is a good sample

based on a total population of 924, over eighty-four percent (84%) of the

workers are in nonmanufacturing jobs. Retail trade ranked the highest with

twenty-one percent (21 %) followed by educational services (12%) and

transportation (1 O%), of the total persons over sixteen (1 6) years old employed.

The construction industry employs five percent (5%) of Worth Township

residents and agriculture, forestry and fisheries employ six percent (6%) of all persons reporting.

Total Ya Total 51 12.2 57 13.6 8 1.9

2% 6.7

Individual occupations as classified by the Bureau of the Census and

persons engaged in those occupations are as follows:

I OCCUPATION OF EMPLOYED PERSONS 16 & I OVER I

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There are 261 men and 158 women living in the Township over the age of

sixteen (16) who are employed full-time. Unemployment stands at 5.8 percent

which is low for the region. These statistics indicate a blue-collar work force

with a high percentage of skilled workers. Half of the residents have high

school diplomas and another thirty-one percent (31 %) have attended college or

attained a degree.

27

As previously stated, Worth Township's population at the time of the first

birthldeath count in 1860 is almost identical to the present population at the

time of its first planning exercise, according to excerpts from the Historv of

Butler County. PA, Volume 1, published by R.C. Brown, 1895 and reprinted in

1977. Fluctuations in population have occurred over the years, but the most

recent twenty (20) year trend indicates a steady increase in population.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission

(S.P.R.P.C.) Cycle 4A forecast for the year 2000 is 986 persons. However,

based on the current person per household figure multiplied by the number of

new residential units permitted through 1992, that forecasted increase of

sixty-two persons (986 from 924) in population has already been tripled, and in only the first two (2) years of the decade. There is no recognition by the

SPRPC of the growth rate factors which are bringing people to Worth

Township.

A tabular representation of five year age groupings for the 1990

population of Worth Township follows:

28

TOTAL PERSONS BY AGE AND SEX Age Male Female Total % Total

150 to 54 I 6 I 14 I 20 I 2.2 I 45 to 49 31 9 40 4.3

A comparison of these numbers with non-regular interval statistics kept by

Butler County for the twenty (20) years beginning in 1970 shows that the

greatest difference in population has occurred in the 30 to 44 age range. This

is the result of in-migration to the Township as opposed to movement through

the aging process into upper aged survival age groupings.

55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 to 74 Over 74

Total

Another marked increase has occurred in the 0 to 14 age range. In 1980,

persons 0-14 represented twenty-one percent (21 %) of the population, while in

1990 the same age range represents twenty-six percent (26%) of the total

population. Raising families appears to be a popular activity in the Township,

and that characteristic will continue to attract couples of child bearing age to the

rural atmosphere and pace of living found in this community.

21 0 29 3.1 36 34 70 7.6 22 16 30 4.1 4 12 16 1.7 12 17 29 3.1 411 447 924 100

An interesting statistic relative to the natural aging of the Township's

population has to do with persons aged 55 (fifty-five) to 64 (sixty-four). In the

previous two (2) decades, the number of persons in the preceding age

grouping, aged forty-five (45) to fifty-four (54) was larger by approximately

twenty percent (20%) from the next range, fifty-five (55) to sixty-four (64) years

of age, however in the 1990 decennial census the upper range age grouping

exceed the preceding one by ten percent (10%). This is an indication that

in-migration may be occurring, and this time with persons of retirement age. It

29

is likely that a larger percentage of the "seasonal" housing units along Slippery

Rock and Wolf Creeks, are owned and occupied by persons of retirement age,

as opposed to persons of child-bearing age establishing "starter" homes.

Population Proiection

Using the previous five (5) year period as a benchmark trend and

extrapolating growth rates based on 1970 and 1980 statistics, a high and low

projected population for Worth Township can be made. In terms of probability,

the conservative estimate will appeal to persons who expect little change and

the higher population projection will act as a "worst-case" scenario to those who

acknowledge the potential for significant change. The actual count will be

somewhere in between based on the parameters considered, unless certain

aberrations in the statistics were overlooked or misinterpreted.

The twenty (20) year growth rate between 1970 and 1989 average

approximately 1.4% annually in Worth Township and beginning in 1990 that

rate doubled. Low tax rates, minimal government regulation, accessibility to

employment centers, a good school system and, of course, the intangible

factors of the environment, geography and proximity to recreational

opportunities continue to stimulate residential development.

A straight line projection of 1.4% annually will result in a year 2000

population of 1,054 persons as the conservative number and high projection of

1,202 persons. Using the same analysis parameters, the year 2010 population

based on the year 2000 conservative projection is estimated at 1,202 persons.

With no major public utility construction providing infrastructure for more intense

development, and with the potential for private sanitary sewerage treatment

facilities based on improvements in effluent treatment, the projected year 201 0

high end population estimate is 1,371 persons.

30

If the year 2000 population reaches the upper range projection as opposed

to the conservative estimate, the Township could see as many as 1,563

persons, depending on the factors discussed.

31

Regional Considerations

Municipal Neighbors

To the west in Lawrence County, Plain Grove Township, Scott Township and

Slippery Rock Township share portions of their municipal boundaries with

Worth Township.

Plain Grove Township has begun to plan for its future, and with the help of

the Lawrence County Planning Commission has completed a comprehensive

development plan as well as basic zoning regulations designed to protect

agricultural uses while providing for a variety of housing opportunities and

limited commercial land use.

Brady Township has also begun to look to the future as it develops its first

comprehensive development plan. Although more than 5,000 acres of Brady

Township is now a part of Moraine State Park, the remaining acreage has

accommodated a twenty two percent (22%) increase in population from 1980 to

1990. With good access to Routes 8 and 173 and indirect access to Interstate

79 through Franklin Township, Brady Township has experienced the same type

of development pressure being felt by neighboring municipalities. Worth

Township still has the greatest growth potential due to its location within the

region, its access and its relatively flat topography.

These communities exhibit similar characteristics to Worth Township, but

they do not share the same ease of access to Interstate 79. McConnell's Mills

State Park, in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, attracts thousands of

visitors annually, many of whom travel through Worth Township to get there.

This state park and historic grist mill which is in close proximity to Moraine

State Park provides recreational opportunities on a regional basis.

32

On the east, Slippery Rock Township in Butler County, Brady Township and

Franklin Township, as well as West Liberty Borough which, at 2,309 acres, is

geographically, the largest, in the State of Pennsylvania, share common

municipal boundaries with Worth Township. Again, the common characteristics

are evident, and Slippery Rock Township is also currently considering zoning

regulations, as a way to manage the expected growth.

Muddy Creek Township abuts Worth Township to the south and is also in

the path of growth with access to Interstate Route 79, subdivision regulations

are being considered there presently. The rustic environment is an element of

potential growth and U.S. Route 8 provides access to areas exhibiting

conditions amenable to suburban growth. With the completion of Interstate

Route 279, the Pittsburgh metropolitan center is less than an hour away.

ReRional Facilities

Moraine State Park, which opened in 1970, provides for seasonal

recreational activities at the regional level, including three campgrounds in

Brady Township with approximately 1,100 camper pads and tent sites. These

campgrounds rely on private water and sanitary sewerage facilities as does the

Slippery Rock Camp Ground Association, which provides for another 1,100

camper pads in Worth Township.

The success of these camping facilities has made Worth Township, Brady

Township, and Slippery Rock Township very attractive to urban area residents

looking for a few days of slower paced living. Of course, with the influx of

seasonal visitors, local stores and businesses benefit from the tourist trade. A

one hundred and fifty (150) store retail outlet mall is currently into Phase IV of

construction south of the intersection of Interstate Route 79 and Interstate

33

Route 80, approximately eight miles to the north of Worth Township in Mercer

County at the Grove City exit.

It is likely that the impact of this regional shopping facility, less than ten

minutes from the Township, will add additional development pressure as

employees and service industries look for undeveloped areas convenient to

their source of income for residences and to establish businesses. Springfield

Township is projecting the development of at least two (2) motels, in addition to

the restaurants under construction. In the development cycle unfolding in this

region, residential housing plans will follow commercial development within two

(2) to four (4) years of occupancy.

34

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

In July of 1991, the Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory was produced

by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Several significant natural features

are situated within or immediately adjacent to Worth Township. These areas

have been identified and documented for the purpose of conservation.

The four (4) areas delineated within the Worth Township municipal

boundaries are the Lower Wolf Creek Valley, the Slippery Rock Creek

Property, the Slippery Rock Creek Gorge, and the Miller Esker. The first three

natural areas listed are classified as high or moderate significance natural

communities and the Miller Esker Natural Area to the south of Tamarack Lake

is a managed area. All occur generally in the northeast quadrant of the

Township.

Clearly these environmentally sensitive areas will see no development,

however, development on land in close proximity may degrade or pollute

existing stream channels not regulated locally. Excerpts from the Natural

Heritage Inventory which include descriptions and characteristics of each of the

four areas follow:

SLIPPERY ROCK QUADRANGLE

The glaciers that once covered this northwest portion of the county

account for many of its unique natural qualities. The majority of the land in

this quadrangle is farmland. Mineral extraction is also common and

includes not only strip mining, but also limestone and gravel mining. Wolf

Creek and Slippery Rock Creek are the most prominent natural features in

this area. These streams exhibit and number of unique habitats along their

banks including ravines, floodplain forests, oxbow formations, and

35

wetlands. A large number of the quality natural heritage sites in Butler

County are located in this quadrangle.

Wolf Creek is a medium gradient-clearwater creek community (NC013)

that flows from Mercer County into Butler County and empties into Slippery

Rock Creek in the vicinity of Moores Corners. The section of Wolf Creek

that flows within Butler County, in addition to the land that borders it has

been designated the Wolf Creek Conservation Area. Wolf Creek and

the large tracts of land that surround it are significant for Butler County in

that they provide unique habitats and undeveloped space that merit

protection.

Wolf Creek is an important ecosystem and, therefore, it should be

protected. A potential threat to the stream is the rapidly developing

residential areas outside of the town of Slippery Rock. As these areas

grow, the buffer area around Wolf Creek will be reduced. Erosion,

sedimentation, and pollution of the stream will result. Other activities such

as mineral extraction and logging within the Wolf Creek Conservation Area

or upstream outside of Butler County can also have a detrimental impact

on the stream and its associated communities. Altering the flow of Wolf

Creek, by creating a dam or levee, would not only impact the aquatic

resources, but would have a damaging effect on the floodplain and

wetland communities that exist along the stream.

The Lower Wolf Creek Valley is a large site located at the southern

end of the Wolf Creek Conservation Area. This site is significant for its

biodiversity, which is represented by five communities. One of these

communities is Wolf Creek (NC013). Wetland communities are prevalent

in this lower portion of Wolf Creek in old channel scars created by the

36

stream hundreds of years ago when it ran closer to the hillsides. along the

base of the slope on both the east and west sides of Wolf Creek wetlands

have formed on the floodplain. Most of these have been degraded by acid

mine drainage and surface runoff and sedimentation from farm fields. Two

communities exist, however, that have been left relatively undisturbed.

NC009 is a spring run community that originates in limestone bedrock.

This results in alkaline water that cascades down the slope and produces

unusual pools of calcareous deposits. The spring run and associated

pools are teaming with aquatic life: algae, mosses and invertebrates. The

spring waters flow into both Wolf Creek and an emergent marsh wetland at

the base of the slope. The clean calcareous spring water is important to

the maintenance of water quality in both Wolf Creek and the marsh, the

latter being one of the most diverse marsh communities in the county.

Unfortunately, sedimentation runoff from the higher agricultural fields

nearby is deposited in the marsh and is damaging its quality. Additionally,

it appears as though the entire Spring run may have flowed into the

adjacent marsh, however, and that a portion of its discharge was then

diverted to Wolf Creek. If further investigation indicates that this is true,

the flow of the spring run should be returned to its original course into the

marsh. Even more important is the protection of the quality and quantity of

the water in the aquifer that produces the spring. More information is

needed regarding the limestone layer and how much drainage basin

produces the aquifer and thus the spring. Certainly any limestone mines

near this area should be carefully reviewed. The spring, spring run and

wetland should all be protected from agricultural runoff of any kind.

Farther upstream from NC009 is a series of seepage wetlands that

result from the out flow of groundwater at the base of the northern slope of

37

the Wolf Creek valley. These wetlands exhibit a wide variety of natural

community types that are moderately diverse in both species and habitat,

although most have been damaged to some degree by adjacent mining

and agriculture. However, the condition of the westem-most wetland is

relatively high. This wetland is a circumneutral shrub swamp community

(NCOIO) in which the herbaceous plants and shrub species grow on peaty

humioc soils that appear calcareous in chemistry. Groundwater seeps and

rivulets are visible. Although the dominant vegetation consists of willows

(m spp.). alder (m sp.), sedges (Carex spp.) and marsh marigold

Caltha Palustris), a few of the plants, for example stany Solomon's-seal

(Smilacina stellata), which known from no other locality in Butler County,

indicate that some of the habitat here is similar to that of a rare wetland

community type known as a "calcareous fen. "

Threats to the wetlands include surface runoff from surrounding

agricultural fields, as well as contamination from acid mine drainage.

Protection should include maintenance of the upland areas that are

hydrologically linked to the wetlands and any alteration in the hydrology of

the floodplain should be avoided. This includes changing the level or flow

of Wolf Creek. Any disturbance to the forested buffer should also be

avoided.

Slippery Rock Creek, like Wolf Creek, also harbors significant

communities along its banks. Just west of the confluence of these two

streams in the area of Moores Comers is a site referred to as the Slippery

Rock Creek Property, which is owned and managed by the Department

38

of Environmental Protection - Bureau of State Parks.

undisturbed communities exist at this site.

Three relatively

A floodplain forest community (NC006) dominated by maturing sugar

maple (Acer saccharum), black maple (A niqra), and black cherry (Prunus

serotinal borders the south side of Slippery Rock Creek. This community

extends along the stream edge to the base of the slope in the southern

portion of the site where it grades into open canopy wetlands. The

floodplain forest is characterized by its rich, highly organic soils that

provide suitable conditions for a huge variety of herbaceous species. This

forest community helps to buffer the wetland communities that are located

at the base of the slope of the southern side of the Slippery Rock Creek

valley. The slope, which is formed of glacial rubble, and the uplands

harbor a fairfy diverse mesic central forest community (NC007). Included

are northern red oak (Ouercus borealisJ, American basswood (m americana) and American beech (faaus arandifolia) on the slope, while a

drier forest of white oak (0. alba) and black oak (0. veluntinal grows on

the uplands. In some portion of the site the forest is young and more

recently disturbed, while more mature stands with colonies of spring

wildflowers occur elsewhere. Also included is a rare shrub for the county:

running strawbeny-bush (Euonymus obovatus). The small stream flowing

north through the eastem side of the site appears to be of good quality as

indicated by its sandy bottom and stonefly population.

The wetlands, referred to previously, at the base and mid-points of the

forested slope are several small springs and seeps that emerge from the

glacial till and drain to form seepage wetlands of various descriptions. The

small wetlands that form at seep and spring heads along the mid-slope

harbor several wetland plants and numerous invertebrate animals that

39

indicate good water quality. At the base of the slope these water merge to

form a larger wetland dominated by alder (& sp.) and skunk cabbage

(Svmplocamus foetidus). A separate adjacent wetland to the west

provides a more acidic habitat and is dominated by several shrubs,

herbaceous plants and mosses, including spiraea (Spiraea sp.). highbush

blueberry (Vaccinium CONmbOSUm), sedges ( m x spp.), and mosses,

especially peatmoss (SphaUnUm sp.). This unusual wetland community is

considered an acidic shrub swamp (NCOOS) and has been left relatively

undisturbed.

The natural resources at this site will be besf protected by an

expansion of the present state park holdings to include more of the area. Some of the area has been disturbed by recent logging and pasturing, and

past quarrying on the east side. In any case, the state park land at this

site should be dedicated as a natural area and managed as such. Protection for the wetlands should include the maintenance of the glacial

till uplands hydrologically linked to them. Quarrying, or other earth

disturbances in this area will potentially impact the quality and quantity of

the water supporting the wetland communities. Forested land will most

effectively protect this hydrology.

Downstream from the Slippery Rock Creek Property along Slippery

Rock Creek is a site referred to as Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. The

forest along both sides of the stream is a northern hardwood-conifer forest

community (NC004) with eastern hemlock (Tsuua canadensis) and sugar

maple (Acer saccharum) dominating the steep gorge sides and more

northern hardwoods, particularly sugar maple and yellow birch (Betula

alleuhaniensis), sominating the upland areas. The gorge is underlain by

limestone, as is evidenced by the numerous rock outcrops and

40

herbaceous vegetation growing on them. These calcareous cliff

communities (NC005) are uncommon in Butler County and help to

characterize the gorge and its smaller tributary valleys. NC005 provides

habitat for vegetation that requires calcareous conditions to grow.

The quality of the site is high although land for grazing and farming

extends, in many places along the gorge, to the very edge of the upper

slope, thereby restricting the forest community (NC004) to the sides of the

gorge. Some of the bordering areas of the site have been impacted by

recent logging practices. To accommodate these logging practices, roads

have been built and this has resulted in increased erosion and

sedimentation in the gorge. Another threat to the Slippery Rock Creek

Gorge communities is a strip mine that border the northern section of this

site. This strip mine was not reclaimed properly and as a result non-native

species of conifers have established themselves.

To protect the gorge and the limestone communjties, a substantial

buffer zone should be maintained so that these habitats continue to

function ecologically as a northern hardwood-conifer forest and calcareous

cliff community, logging and any other activities such as grazing and strip

mining should be avoided. An evaluation of the strip mined area to the

north of NC005 should be made to determine if conditions are suitable for

the successful regeneration of native species that comprise this

community. An analysis should be made of the soil to determine if the

topsoil is suitable or if it needs to be developed in order to sustain a forest

community.

41

The Miller Esker Natural Area represents one of the best examples of

a glacial esker in western Pennsylvania. The esker itself is nearly 5 km

long, however much of the total formation has been excavated or

otherwise disturbed. The least disturbed portion of the esker is preserved

within the 32 acre Natural Area. This site is owned and managed by the

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

An exhibit is included in this plan document which delineates the areas

being discussed. It should be noted that within the Slippery Rock Quadrangle

(U.S.G.S.), twenty-nine (29) natural communities, special plants and indigenous

animal life have been selected for protection.

Current land use in buffer areas adjacent to the environmentally sensitive

land consists predominantly of agricultural uses. While erosion and

sedimentation from active farming activities has the potential to adversely effect

the ecosystems within the Slippery Rock and Wolf Creek stream valleys, the

use of appropriate earth disturbance techniques is encouraged by the Butler

County Conservation District.

Projected land use categories which consider the sensitivity of these

defined areas will provide guidelines for future local regulatory legislation. In

addition, land which exhibits steep slopes, unsuitable soil types for on-lot septic

disposal, or are located within floodplains or wetlands are also limited for

development. A variety of constraints will prevent significant development in

certain areas, but a major portion of Worth Township is considered

developable.

42

Development Constraints

While several elements of this plan document have identified factors which

will potentially stimulate residential growth, there are conditions which will

discourage development in Worth Township. Chief among the constraints to

growth is the lack of public utilities.

Without public water and sanitary sewerage treatment facilities, the rate of

new residential construction will depend on the intangible factors previously

identified. The low tax burden, a visually stimulating environment, and minimal

government regulation are elements which will attract some new people, but

public water and sewerage have become the staples of targe scale

development.

The condition of interior roadways will also discourage, to some extent, the

location of more intense development in given areas of the Township. With

nominal eighteen feet (18') wide surfaces, poor or nonexistent road drainage,

and deficient visibility to traveling motorists due to horizontal curves in the

roadways, only limited subdivision and development can occur without major

transportation improvements.

This situation is not bad news to residents who have witnessed the increase

in traffic on roads in the southern half of Worth Township. Boating and sailing

enthusiasts, fishermen, campers, and picnickers seeking access to one of the

many attractive recreation areas in Moraine State Park have explored all the

access roads and new users will follow their lead.

In areas where unsuitable soil types prevent on-lot wastewater disposal,

private treatment plants or public sewage treatment facilities are the only

option. Both are expensive and potentially prohibitive. Until a large number of

43

failures occur on existing septic systems, there is no political expediency to

offering public sanitary sewerage treatment.

The same can be said for private wells. Where a number of wells become

contaminated or where recharge does not occur as needed, the option is public

water, through extensions from an existing public system (the closest is in

Slippery Rock Borough) or public wells. Because of a high iron and acidic

content, most private wells in Worth Township produce water that needs to be

treated. If enough users determine that a community sized system is more cost

effective, local officials may have to consider that option.

In terms of steep slopes, floodplains, wetlands or severe climatic trends,

significant areas exhibiting one or more of these elements in combination, are

not prevalent within the municipal boundaries. The humid continental climate

produces wet autumns and moderate winters with few cloudless days. Annual

rainfall in the Lake Arthur region is somewhat higher than elsewhere in Butler

County which receives between 36 and 40 inches of precipitation and between

40 and 48 inches of snowfall, however this weather pattern is not excessive to

the point of being considered as a development constraint.

The desire for "green space," and country living is gaining in importance to

the aging populations of Pittsburgh's northern suburbs and Youngstown's

eastern urbanized areas. Inexpensive land and the security of a modem day

homestead offer attractive alternatives to "cookie-cutter" subdivisions and

sprawling development with little or no recreational opportunities.

A regional police force may prove to be a viable alternative to the

intermittent coverage provided by the State Police, and certainly

inter-community cooperation through the creation of a northern Butler County

44

Council of Governments should be considered at this point, to improve the

delivery of services.

The same development pressures being experienced by Worth Township

are being felt by all of its municipal neighbors and the rate of residential

development in the Township and the region may well exceed current

projections given the external factors at work.

45

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

1 0 1 53 38

In July of 1992 a community attitude questionnaire was prepared by the

Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for random distribution to

Worth Township residents. The results of that survey are included here along

with the original questions and additional responses.

No Response

0

WORTH TOWNSHIP

RESULTS OF SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

93 Responses

July 14, 1992

Strongly Disagree

0

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly No Response Agree

1 2 48 42 0

46

Strongly Disagree

0

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly No Response Agree

6 8 41 36 2

Strongly Disagree Undecided Disagree

4 2 7

Agree Strongly No Response Agree

44 36 0

6 7 19 32 28 1

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Disagree

Strongly No Response Agree

1 10 12 43 26 1

47

Strongly Disagree Undecided Disaaree

Agree Strongly No Response Aaree

7 20 29 31 3 3

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

1 4 19 64 3

No Response

2

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

23 27 23 17 2

c Strongly Agree Strongly No Response

No Response

1

11 Disaaree I I I I Aaree I II 1 4 6 42 40 0

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Disagree

9 8 21 39

Strongly No Response Agree

15 1

14. New employment opportunities should be encouraged in Worth Township.

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

1 7 7 43 35

48

No Response

0

2 3 11 56 21 0

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly No Response Disagree Agree

0 0 4 25 64 0 -

49

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

11 15 12 39 15

No Response

1

Strongly Disagree Undecided Disagree

5 6 14

Agree Strongly No Response Agree

49 19 0

Strongly Disagree

1

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly No Response Agree

10 29 37 16 0

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Disagree

3 13 23 26

Question #3 Growth should be managed so as to limit its impact on existing

properties:

Strongly No Response Agree

28 0

But not necessarily by the local government.

Question #5 Local Zoning laws should be considered for Worth Township:

I would like to see something done about undrivable vehicles parked on peoples property where everyone can see them.

Question #6 Improvements to .the roadway system in Worth Township are

necessary today:

Cooper Brothers should be responsible for maintaining the roads which they use daily in the community.

Doing good so far.

The berms should be mowed so people could walk, also for safety.

Question #7 Local qovernment officials are responsive to Township residents'

concerns:

Some are, some aren't.

Question #8 Police response time is adequate:

"Adequate" is not good enough in an emergency. We need local protection.

One hour to answer a disturbance call in 1990.

50

+ Two responses on same questionnaire (counted as No Response in survey results) - Strongly Disagree if local; Agree if State.

Question #9 I would be willinq to pay additional taxes in order to improve the

local road system:

+ Taxes are higher than other areas around.

More money isn't necessary - more work and less talk is.

They increase each year. When will it end?

Let's have a comprehensive plan first to determine proper road usage.

Question #I2 Township maintenance of roads durinq the year is adequate:

+ Need to oil Studebaker-Davis Roads.

+ Not in winter

+ The men are laid off. This should not be.

Question #I3 Land uses such as landfills, mobile home parks and commercial

development should be regulated locally as opposed to County

or State:

+ I believe the local board leaves too much room for "personal opinion:" The county doesn't know the individual and views proposal more objectively. That can be detrimental, but I believe in the long run their objectivity far outweighs the local bias/opinions. (This response also' applies to Question 20.)

Question #I4 New emplovment opportunities should be encouraaed in Worth

Township:

In property regulated commercial districts.

Bywho?

What kind is an issue!

51

Question #I 7 Moraine State Park has had a positive impact on the residents of

Worth Township:

Except for taxes.

More people, more crime and destruction and higher taxes.

Two responses on same questionnaire (Listed as No Response in survey results): Disagree - More theft and crime, loss of tax capital, increase in road usage. Agree - May increase land value?

Question #I 8 The local school district provides adequate educational

opportunities to school aqed children:

The move to the "Moraine" school - wrong.

Question #20 Local subdivision and land use requlations should be considered

for adoption in the near future:

Based on the land's ability to sustain (Le. septic, well, run-omf).

Bywho?

Township Supervisors should be responsible for subdivision and sewage needs versus state or county control.

52

WORTH TOWNSHIP

BUTLER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN . . , . . , , . . , . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary of Planning Process

The Worth Township Planning Commission began to actively plan for

their community's future in the fall of 1991. Together with the Board of

Supervisors, they chose a planning consultant to assist them in the preparation

of a comprehensive development plan for their community. At both regularly

scheduled monthly meetings and special work sessions, commission members

assembled information and discussed specific aspects of their community.

Township residents with knowledge of the history of Worth Township, new

arrivals with investments in the community's future, and interested citizens

attended Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor's meetings over a

three (3) year period. The Planning Commission conducted a series of

windshield surveys in order to identify existing land uses. Residential

structures, commercial uses and structures, accessory uses such as agricultural

related structures and recreation uses were located on a set of paper maps.

A base map of the municipality prepared at Slippery Rock University was

used to locate the information collected in the field. The base map was derived

from Butler County assessment maps and contains recorded parcels and road

names and was produced digitally, which provides a more efficient revision

process in the future. Additional thematic maps designed to present

information about natural and man-made features were also produced in

conjunction with this planning project.

Discussions about the diversity of the population, the regional recreational

facility (Moraine State Park) in the southern portion of the Township and its

positive and negative impacts on the community, and the desire to preserve the

area's working farms, took place at many of the work sessions. The consensus

53

of the group is that their local government should evolve slowly and in a

structured, conservative manner.

Focus Groups

At the conclusion of the information gathering stage which occurred in

mid-year of 1993, a series of informational hearings were scheduled in order to

solicit input from Township residents. The results of a random sample attitude

survey conducted in 1992 was the starting point for these in-depth work

sessions. This survey response represents ten percent (10%) of the estimated

1990 population based on Census data, and was conducted door to door and

through general distribution throughout the Township. A copy of the survey

results is included in the existing conditions portion of this document.

In December of 1993, two public meetings, advertised as public hearings,

took place in order to focus on specific issues facing the Township in the years

to come. Approximately seventy (70) persons were in attendance at each

meeting and four (4) focus groups were formed. Copies of the Existing

Conditions Report were made available and a Worth Township General

Knowledge Quiz was administered.

Having discussed the external factors which helped to create the

municipality, Township residents began to identify internal factors impacting on

their day to day lives by listing Worth Township’s strengths and its weaknesses.

During this exercise it became clear that preservation of the rural character of

Worth Township, retaining a low individual tax burden, providing a high

standard of roadway maintenance and accessibility and improving police and

fire emergency response time were issues of concern. It was noted that these

same issues were common themes facing residents of many neighboring

communities in the region.

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From the lists of specific strengths and weaknesses, general short and long

range community goals were articulated by each group for comparison and

discussion at the public meetings. In addition, comments relative to those

positive and negative characteristics were prepared for review. The extent of

commitment from elected officials to achieve the goals, was a point of

discussion and relates to the inclination by the Board of Supervisors to provide

only those basic services necessary without generating additional tax revenues.

Strategic Plan and Plan Elements

The culmination of the planning process in Worth Township is the

preparation of "action plans" which involve strategies for the achievement of

community objectives. The first step involved a fine tuning of goal statements

from the broad areas originally identified, to practical activities aimed at

compliance with the intent of the plans. These goals and the resources

committed to attaining them, reflect a collective vision for the future of this

community.

Rural areas with agricultural roots are the last areas in Western

Pennsylvania to experience the kind of in-migration experienced by the

urbanized settlements in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Following

World War II, and with the mobility ushered in by automobiles, long commutes

to employment centers and the development of the suburbs occurred.

It is the task of local governments to provide its' citizens with the services

and amenities they need and want, within a defined budget. However, where

the community is in transition, and fixed income or low income groups comprise

a significant percentage of a community's population, the job becomes more

difficult. Worth Township is such a community. The long term fiscal policy has

been conservative and for at least the next several years, the status quo may

55

be maintained. There are, however, increasing influences from external

sources which will impact on this community before the turn of the century.

Northern Butler County has been the scene of accelerated residential growth

in the first third of the 1990's. Local officials in some jurisdictions welcome

moderate growth which brings with it additional employment opportunities.

Local land use regulations have been adopted in most neighboring

municipalities in order to manage the growth that appears to be on the horizon.

Worth Township will take the same path, albeit more cautiously than some.

The plan elements and supplemental documentation which follow, present a picture of a rurallagricultural community with much to offer new residents in

terms of the pace and cost of living. People with deep roots and years of family

commitment to Worth Township have known about its attributes and have

learned to live with its simplicity. Balancing the interests of those property

owners and taxpayers with a more recent investment in the community's future

is the challenge ahead. This planning document with community goals and

objectives should act as a set of guidelines and policy statements to be used in

the evaluation of development proposals by local officials.

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Community Goals & Objectives

Consensus Building

In the Fall of 1993, two (2) public meetings were advertised and held in the

Worth Grange building on West Park Road. One of the purposes of these

meetings was to acquaint Township residents with the vital statistics of their

community and to review the Worth Township Existing Conditions and

Research Elements Document developed during the preceding year and a half.

A second purpose was the listing of perceived strengths and weaknesses of

Worth township, and general comments about day to day living, local

government, services, road maintenance and resource protection.

These activities eventually resulted in the identification of community goals

and objectives which provide the framework for the action plans which follow.

The General Knowledge Quiz successfully brought many basic pieces of

information to the group's attention and clarified some misconceptions. It should be noted that many of the residents in attendance were very

knowledgeable about their community and provided additional input for

discussion.

The quiz and appropriate responses are included here:

A Worth Township

General Knowledge Quiz

1. Worth Township was incorporated in 1854 as parts of Muddy Creek and Slippery Rock Township. I

2. Worth Township is more than twenty-five square miles in land area. 25.3 sauare miles.

57

3. The 1990 Census counted nine hundred and fifty five (955) persons as permanent year round residents of Worth Township. T - current population estimated at 1.140 based on permit reconls.

4. The largest percentage of working people in Worth Township are employed in agricultural and forestry businesses. F - 1. retail trade; 2. educational services; 3. transportation: 4. auriculturalfforestry

5. School aged children represent less than one quarter (114) of the Township's population. T - ages 519 totals 22%

6. Only twenty five (25) persons of the three hundred and ninety eight (398) Worth Township residents who reported being employed, actually work in Worth Township. I

7. The Township maintains thirty six (36) miles of public roadways during the year. F - actuallv 46.6

8. There are more than two thousand (2,000) seasonal camper pads in the four (4) campgrounds in Brady and Worth Townships. T - 2.220 at capacity

9. Worth Township is the only municipality in Butler County with both north and south access at two interchanges with Interstate 79. 1

10. The median value of a home occupied in Worth Township year round is seventy thousand dollars ($70,000). F - $50,200 average mortuaue payment is $532.00

11. More than seventeen thousand (17,000) vehicle trips are registered on Interstate Route 79 during a twenty four (24) hour period. T - 17,663 counts bv SPRPC. Jan. 8. 1992.

12. The Slippery Rock Area School District, which includes Worth Township, is more than one hundred twenty-five (125) square miles in area. 131.5 su. miles. 6 townshim (121 so. miles) and 5 boroughs (10.5 su. mrles)

13. More than half of all year round housing units in Worth Township have been occupied since 1980. T - 55% (147 before 1980 119791: 178 affer 19801

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14. The population of Worth Township in 1990 is about the same as the population was in 1860. T - 1990 (955 - one source says 924); 1890 (928)

15. School aged children in Worth Township represent twenty five percent (25%) of the 1993-94 school district enrollment. F - 202 of 2,582 total 8%

- Group #I

Positive Characteristics Negative Characteristics close to a number of interstates ]limited shopping

Following a review of responses to the quiz, the group was divided into four

(4) "focus groups" of approximately seventeen (1 7) persons. Instructions for

this exercise were to identify those positive aspects of living in Worth Township

and those deficiencies or negative elements which could be improved. While

all responses were to be recorded by a group facilitator, a planning commission

member or Township supervisors, only those statements which were generally

supported by the group would evolve into a community goal or a step in the

process of achieving a stated objective.

A summary report of the first focus group work sessions is included here:

Summary of Focus Group Exercise

Public Hearing held December 6,1993

59

Positive Characteristics Negative Characteristics

sense of community good environment for raising children

lfire department response

General Comments:

Township. J Should be known as Worthmore Township rather than Worth-less

one hour to Pittsburgh access to parks close to State University small population good school system affordable housing newsletter - when meetings are held concerned citizens

Group #2

natural gas no cable T.V. roads bad in some areas enforce the junk car ordinance lack of sewer system limited crime watch no industrial park need townshio blda. & different office hours

I Positive Characteristics I Negative Characteristics road maintenance overall better than ten years ago

don't want a Cranberry corridor

road maintenance police response time emergency medical response time don't want higher taxes, taxes are hig enough

General Comments: None

Positive Characteristics Negative Characteristics good neighbors cleanliness farming wide openness Dark fishina/North Shore (sense of community lassumed open range hunting

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park traffic park trash more government involvement large residential development by outside builders increased crime

park inexpensive to live

Ino respect for private property I neighbors getting too close/overgrowth

park close by open area trees (keep forests and farms) animals (developments push them out)

campground noise unplanned growthhobile homes in and out and abandoned

not going the direction of Cranbeny numbers predict : police, fire taxing campgrounds (individuals) safety (theft), police reaction time lines on road (West Park Road)

General Comments d Want residential growth limited, if possible, zoning decided with

J Concern over lack of police, especially with crime increase.

J Suggest advance planning for road repair and maintenance,

J In favor of local controls of grading and constructionldevelopment.

consideration of the people of the Township.

I Group #4 I I Positive Characteristics I Negative Characteristics I

(speed limits - how enforced lopen up roads - brush and trees

General Comments: J Keep open land, 1-2 acres per home in developments

J Water supply

J Sewage problems

J D.E.R. problems - forcing public sewage

J Development must take on costs of total development

J Zoning the only way to control

J Ordinance on building lines

J Forcing people to pay to tap into public sewagelwater

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J Currently developers are smart and know who to talk to and have things

J Taxes go up when developments come in

J Limit business to certain area (108)

J Underground wire - both power companies and individuals

J Recycling - when? how?

their way

Summary of Responses

While several elements of life in Worth Township in the early 1990's are

viewed by some residents as strengths and some as weaknesses (road

maintenance, public water and sanitary sewers), there are other areas of

concern shared by each group. There are also positive characteristics which

have been identified consistently from group to group, and will become the

foundation for the drafting of community goals and objectives.

The most common negative aspect of life in Worth Township as identified by

the four focus groups, concerned the issues of police protection and emergency

services delivery. However, another commonly identified negative dealt with

keeping government and taxes to a minimum. These characteristics are

directly related to one another. Minimal government means minimal provision

of services, including police protection and emergency services such as fire and

ambulance service to name a few.

It will be a challenge to keep taxes low, while attempting to deliver needed

services. This has become local government's challenge as the federal and

state governments have withdrawn funding for a variety of service programs.

The search for methods of delivery of these needed services in an efficient and

economic manner has caused the creation of a number of C.O.G.3 in the

region. A C.O.G., or Council of Governments, is a collection of local

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governments formed to purchase items in bulk at reduced prices (road salt,

anti-skid material), schedule training sessions, share costs for code

enforcement officers or police and to maximize the buying power of small units

of local government. Worth Township may benefit from such an arrangement.

Intergovernmental cooperation with neighboring Slippery Rock and Brady

Townships for road maintenance and the sharing of labor and equipment has

been established.

Another group of negative issues which were commonly identified from

group to group had to do with planning and managing growth in Worth

Township. Rapid growth is unwanted, but planned residential growth seems to

be an acceptable alternative. Comments about limiting residential growth,

locating businesses in certain areas, establishing one and two acre minimum lot

sizes, and preserving open spaces and farming reflect the need for land use

regulation at the local level.

Many people felt that in Worth Township there is a sense of community, with

good neighbors and concerned citizens. This is the most encouraging positive

characteristic and will become more important as the comprehensive plan is

implemented and the goals identified are being achieved.

Moraine State Park made most group's list as a positive aspect of living in Worth Township, but activities associated with having a regional recreational

facility in the community also made the negative aspects lists. Noise, additional

traffic, trash and litter and the enforcement of local speed limits are issues

associated with Moraine State Park that have earned negative review.

Several groups considered access to Pittsburgh and interstate highways a strength and several groups felt that the access will bring large scale

developments and higher taxes. These are also issues which have a direct

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cause and effect relationship and for which comprehensive planning was

designed. Once there is a consensus on which issues to address and how to

address them, a strategic plan can be drafted and implemented.

The range of goals and objectives will vary depending on the variety of

issues and concerns identified by Worth Township residents. There are several

areas of concern which may be beyond the elected officials ability to resolve.

However, there are other strengths and weaknesses which will be drafted as

statements of community development objectives attainable through active

citizen participation.

At the second focus group work session, an inventory of broad ranged,

generalized objectives were distributed for discussion. The preceding summary

was used to solicit specific comments about the degree of support for the

preliminary community goals and objectives statements. As each topic of

concern was reviewed, general discussion followed. The keys to the attainment

of the goals in Worth Township are the commitment of the elected officials to

support the policies derived from the stated goals and the maturation of Worth’s

citizens to implement the steps necessary to work toward achievement.

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Preliminary Comniunity Coals and Objectives

This list of municipal-wide goals and objectives represents the input and

discussion of current Township residents. These topics and issues were

identified in order to establish a "baseline" of consensus for the articulation of

the final list.

1. Formation of a C.O.G. or membership in an existing C.O.G. should be investigated for the efficient delivery of municipal services, and a series of work sessions scheduled with directors of local C.0.G.k.

J Benefits and responsibilities of belonging to a Council of Government should be discussed with representatives of member municipalities of existing C.0.G.k.

r/ Specific activities and services needed by residents of Worth Township should be identified.

J Dialogue with regional municipalities should continue in order to explore shared resources.

2. Worth Township should identify areas for agriculture preservation and conservation.

J Field surveys can be conducted for accuracy and completeness by volunteer citizens.

J All persons wishing to register under the Pennsylvania Agricultural Securities Act should be given the opportunity with the Township's assistance.

J Reference to Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory should be included.

3. Local regulations for subdivision and (earth disturbance activities?) should be established.

J The Worth Township Planning Commission should review local examples of subdivision control and management and report to the Board of Supervisors.

J A work session should be conducted for discussion with local engineers about the impact of unregulated grading and earth disturbance. (?)

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J The Township should apply for State Planning Assistance grant money to fund the preparation of a local subdivision and grading ordinance.

4. The Township officials will review the practicality of various types of anti-skid and salt for icy and snowy roadways.

5. The Township officials will review the practicality of lane markers for Township maintained roads.

J Information on traffic characteristics and projected volume increases should be collected on roads adjacent to Moraine State Park and points adjacent to the 1-79 ramps.

J Estimates for improvements should be prepared and discussed with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials.

6. A long range system of land use regulation or zoning, should be implemented prior to the introduction of large scale development in Worth Township.

J State Planning Assistance grant money should be applied for in order to fund preparation of a local ordinance.

J The Butler County Planning Commission should be contacted and a work session scheduled to discuss funding sources.

J Local municipalities in the process of preparing their own land use regulations should be contacted and a dialogue begun to address common issues.

J The Planning Commission should request and review local examples of zoning regulations and report to the Board of Supervisors.

Clearly, Worth Township's residents favor growth management, however the

degree to which they will intervene as concerned citizens or as elected officials

to enact local standards is still not clear. Many comments about the ability to

enforce local subdivision and land use regulations indicate that there is not a

high degree of support for additional staff, part-time or otherwise.

Through the spring and summer of 1994, additional mapping products were

created and the preliminary goals and objectives were fine-tuned. New

members of the planning commission were introduced to the process begun in

66

1991 and offered additional input and new perspectives on a variety of issues

facing the Township.

A State Planning Assistance Grant application was submitted in the Spring

of 1994 in an effort to provide funding assistance for the completion of the

Comprehensive Development Plan, preparation of a Subdivision and Land

Development Ordinance, and basic land use regulations. The application was

not funded, however, reapplication should occur in 1995.

The following list of goal statements represents the culmination of three (3) years of input from local residents, and a concerted effort to educate those

residents about the need to plan for their community's future. As indicated,

information from a variety of sources both public and private were also included

in this document. Community objective statements are listed in order of priority.

Final Goals and Objectives

Short Term Goals 1995-2002

1. Register working farms under the State's Agriculture Security Act.

J Encourage purchase of development easements through the Butler County Farmland Preservation Board.

2. Identify green space and significant stands of mature trees without general restrictions for agricultural activities.

3. Consider basic local land use regulations to preserve the rural character of the community. (?)

4. Consider local regulations for mobile home parks and travel trailer parks. (7)

J Include in Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

5. Establish local regulations for subdivisions and land developments.

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6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

J Research cost sharing for administration with neighboring

Apply for funding assistance to develop local subdivision and land development regulations.

J Use application fees to pay for administration and enforcement.

J Research SPAG (State Planning Assistance Grant) and SCPAP (Small

Coordinate emergency service coverage to all areas of the Township with appropriate medical and law enforcement organizations.

J Include Slippery Rock, Portersville and Prospect Volunteer Fire Departments and emergency medical services (EMS).

J Determine Pennsylvania State Police coverage.

J Research aid agreements with local police forces within a fifteen (15)

Conduct a Roadway Sufficiency Analysis of all Township owned collector roads.

Research benefits of membership in a regional Council of Governments to reduce road material costs.

communities.

Communities Planning Assistance) programs.

mile radius.

Long Range Objectives 2003-2010

Research the need for additional Township staff.

J Provide scheduled hours for Township administrative business.

Expand municipal garage facility to accommodate additional maintenance equipment.

Acquire funding for major improvements to Township collector roadways.

J Community development block grant with neighboring municipalities.

J Utilize turn-back program funds for improvements.

Continue to upgrade computerized municipal tax and permit records for efficient administration.

68

14. Worth Township officials should contact neighboring municipalities in an effort to identify the need for an intermunicipal police force.

J Initial correspondence should survey elected officials in neighboring communities in order to establish common goals.

J A work session should be held at which representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs will present options and methods for financing such a project.

J Crime statistics from the Pennsylvania State Police, Slippery Rock Borough Police, Muddy Creek Township Police and appropriate local law enforcement agencies should be requested and reviewed in order to assess the magnitude of the problem.

15. The Township will identify its traffic circulation deficiencies through the conduct of a roadway sufficiency analysis.

J Elected officials should seek funding from Butler County's discretionary fund for a transportation impact analysis.

J Information on traffic characteristics and volumes should be collected on roads adjacent to Moraine State Park and points adjacent to the 1-79 ramps.

J Estimates for improvements should be prepared and discussed with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials.

The goals articulated do not include references to the types of housing

anticipated, the provision of public water or sanitary sewer systems or the

efficient delivery of anything but the most basic of local government services.

Worth residents equate even basic amenities such as fire-protection, police and

emergency services, and community facilities such as the construction of a

municipal building or recreation facilities with more government and higher

taxes. At this point in time, having considered the options, they have chosen to

live without the services in favor of lower tax burdens and less interference in

their private lives.

69

Land Use Plan

1991 1992 1993 1994'

Totals

Having located existing land uses, members of the Worth Township

Planning Commission have taken time to consider what, if any, negative

impacts have arisen under the current policy of non-intervention. While topics

such as "enforcement of the junk car ordinance" and the "protection of open

space" have been introduced, increased traffic and the fear of intense and

inappropriate development have been the impetus behind the preparation of

this comprehensive development plan.

0 10

10 15 5 7 3 3

34 46

The rate of residential growth as a percentage of existing households has

been moderate since 1990 as indicated in the chart below:

Yenr I # of Subdivisions I # of Recorded Pnrcels I I 1990 I 0 I 11 I

As discussed in the existing conditions report, the rate of development has

accelerated in the first half of the 1990's to about double the rate of the

preceding two (2) decades. This residential development rate is projected to

continue or increase during the latter half of the 1990's.

In terms of commercial or industrial activity, with the exception of automotive

sales related uses along Route 108, no significant non-residential development

has occurred. It is likely that the area abutting the Interstate Route 79

interchange at Route 108 will attract the type of commercial activity which relies

on significant traffic volumes and visibility.

70

The Planning Commission has selected a Land Use Plan (See attached

exhibits) which seeks to encourage agriculture, provide for moderate density

housing, light industrial and limited commercial opportunities. Where access

and roadway conditions are sufficient, more intense land use is planned for.

Roadway sufficiency limited in Worth Township as most of the collector roads

within the community have evolved from wagon trails and farm lanes used to

transport coal or tim6er from remote areas or to get produce and grains to

markets in Plain Grove, Slippery Rock, Prospect and Portersville.

Generally, the topography of the Township presents no significant constraint

to development activities and site preparation. The fact, however, that large

tracts of land are not easily accessible except by unimproved roadways

presents the prospective developer with an economic dilemma. To improve a segment of a secondary roadway to PennDOT's specifications is a very

expensive proposition. Failure to improve the primary access limits the ability

to market lots in a residential subdivision, and the cost may prohibit the

improvement. This cost goes in the negative column and is a factor in the

decision to develop in Worth Township.

Specific geographic areas earmarked for certain categories of land use are

illustrated on the attached Land Use Map, included as an exhibit. Broad

categories of use are proposed in anticipation of a range of housing types and a

mix of non-residential uses in appropriate areas of the Township.

71

Infrastructure Plan

Throughout the planning process, officials and residents of Worth Township

compared their quality of life and pace of living to those internal factors over

which they have some control. Taxes, road maintenance, educational

opportunities and property rights dominated this planning process. State,

county, and local government intrusion on their day to day lives was considered

to be unnecessary and unwanted.

Because preservation of the agricultural heritage of their community through

a program funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and administered at

the County level goes against that basic mistrust of government intentions, it is

a program they will participate in. And yet, with the Department of

Environmental Resources' enforcement of the Clean Streams Law, specifically

Article 102, Erosion & Sedimentation Control Regulations and regulations

controlling the location and use of jurisdictional wetlands (a similarly funded and

administered program), the impact is viewed as unwarranted and unwelcomed.

Herein lies the dichotomy of purpose of government's role perceived by the

residents and local elected officials of Worth Township.

This same problem occurs with the drafting of an action plan fon,&

provision of community facilities, public utilities, .hou$ng needs, trayportation 7

that measures will be taken and local resources will be committed &,the

improvements and overall government responsiveness. An action plan implies \ *

achieving of certain community-wide goals. Where the goals are in line withlhe

conservative practices followed by the current Board df Supervisors (and past

boards), the goal is supported.

\ .J

Where there is an expectation that the provision of public services will

increase local government's intrusion into the affairs of it's citizens, the goals

72

are not supported. Absent an application for a major residential subdivision, or

retail center, the planning of community facilities and the funding of support

infrastructure for significant development may be premature. There is the

recognition of the potential for growth in the community and the

acknowledgment that growth may bring unwanted changes. The preparation of

a Comprehensive Development Plan is a real effort to deal with anticipated

growth through the commitment of local resources.

Because of the geographic location of this community and because of its

accessibility to a major north/south roadway, Interstate Route 79, Worth

Township is considered by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning

Commission, to be in a major growth corridor. The indicators have pointed to

development. Township officials have taken the position that public services

add to the tax burden unnecessarily.

In a real sense, the provision of public utilities (water and sewer), local

parks, a municipal building, increased police protection and road improvements

will be driven by the residents who now or will in the future, elect officials who

share the same philosophy of government. For now and for the foreseeable

future, private wells and on-lot septic systems will be sufficient. For now and

for the foreseeable future, adequate housing for the projected population is not

a concern.

~ Local tax revenues will be spent on basic road maintenance, correction of

minor drainage problems, snow removal, and the operation of a minimal local

government. The plan is simple and at present, effective. There is no urgency

to develop a Comprehensive Growth Management ' Plan which requires

compliance with locally adopted regulations and the associated costs of

enforcement. The external growth factors are not real enough yet to cause

73

Planning Commission members and elected officials to consider an expanded

role for their local government.

In 1994, the private sector is expected to provide the "public" utilities,

housing and transportation improvements associated with development in

Worth Township. The policies in place dictate a passive acknowledgment of a

future need for those facilities discussed throughout this planning document.

Slippery Rock University has an excellent library and Moraine State Park is only

minutes away. The amenities offered by these state government entities are

available to the public and Worth Township residents are part of that public.

Implementation of a strategic plan to provide public water and sewer

systems, however limited, neighborhood recreation, senior citizen housing or

additional road improvements, to name several of the issues discussed will

have to wait. In this community, the status quo will give way to changes

brought about by government intervention only when the residents' perspective

of the present is threatened. The future will come and with it a set of challenges

requiring the reaction of community leaders. At that point, the reaction may be

too little, too late. It is not a perfect plan, but it is their plan.

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Region-Wide Characteristics

In recent years neighboring communities have chosen to regulate

development within their municipal boundaries. Moderate growth, due in part to

regional public recreation facilities such as McConnell's Mill State Park and

Moraine State Park has occurred in northern Butler County, eastern Lawrence

County and southern Mercer County and the trend is projected to continue.

Generally the region in question is predominantly rural with agriculture and

extractive industries having deep roots in the settlement patterns. Timbering,

and strip mining are still visible, but to a much lesser extent. Natural gas wells,

however, have begun to appear with some regularity throughout the three (3) county area. Boroughs, such as Volant, Leesburg, Slippery Rock, Grove City,

Prospect, Portersville, West Liberty, Harlansburg and Plain Grove, represent

the most densely populated places in this region of western Pennsylvania.

Until the 1970's it was in these downtown shopping areas that the primary

retail activities occurred. Supermarkets, hardware stores, restaurants, doctors

and dentists offices, clothing and sporting goods stores, automotive service

stations, and drug stores, provided basic goods and services at these small

urbanized centers. As was the case earlier during the suburban boom of the

1950's and 1960's, the introduction of regional shopping centers with easy

access to stores, free parking and one stop shopping, proved to be the demise

of the small town "downtown".

The rural areas surrounding these small urban centers produced the food

and provided the energy to run the mills and to supply the electricity to

dwellings and stores. They also became home to more people moving out of

the city and town environments north of Pittsburgh and east of Youngstown.

Worth Township is located at the convergence of three counties - Butler,

75

Lawrence and Mercer - and is influenced to some extent by transportation

routes and common characteristics of existing land use in all three areas.

While the Mercer County communities of Pine Township and Grove City

Borough introduced iand use regulations more than twenty (20) years ago, as

did Slippery Rock Borough in Butler County, for the most part, only recently

have neighboring communities followed suit. In 1993, Plain Grove Township in

Lawrence County, which is contiguous to Worth Township to the west, and

Slippery Rock Township to the northeast, both passed zoning ordinances.

Brady Township to the east began a comprehensive development plan and

Muddy Creek and Franklin Township to the south and southeast are considering

subdivision regulations.

With the opening of the Grove City Factory Shops, a major retail center, in Springfield Township, Mercer County (northwest of Worth Township) in 1994,

that community is now in the process of adopting subdivision and land

development regulations. This outlet mall, in addition to a planned expansion of

the Slippery Rock Plaza has brought home the development potential of the

region. A check of permit records for Slippery Rock Township indicates that

new housing units constructed between 1991 and 1994 exceed the total for the

immediately preceding twenty (20) year period.

It is likely that residential development will continue along the Route 108

corridor through Worth Township and at points of access within the community

where connections with Interstate Route 79 and Route 422 are convenient.

While the lack of adequate public facilities has prevented significant growth

from becoming a reality, technological advances in the treatment and

distribution of water, and the treatment and collection of sanitary sewerage may

impact the rate of development within the next five to ten (5-10) years.

76

Issues such as fire protection and a higher rate of failed septic systems will

certainly have a bearing on when public utilities are considered viable.

However, at this point, no plan for their provision has been articulated as a

result of this process.

77