Housing developers are planning to build 220 homes on Klein road in New Sewickley. A meeting was held where the housing proposal was brought in front of the township supervisors. The meeting on April 24, which was supposed to be held in the municipal building, had to be held in the road department garage due to the high number of community members in attendance. The Medowcrest development proposal plans for 116 single family homes, 25 four unit condo buildings and two double unit duplexes as well as other amenities to seal the community as a package deal. Many community members did not like this proposal. The proposal as a whole has caused a divide in the community with many members on each side.

There are two main points made in either support or opposition to the plan. Supporting it, the tax money of a larger community would benefit the township. A huge portion of that argument is how that money could affect the school district. As the district faces increasingly smaller class sizes for students, the impact that large changes in the community have on students grows. Another outstandingly large factor in support of the project is its likelihood to bring water to residents of New Sewickley. A great deal of, if not a majority of, houses in New Sewickley rely on well water. Some of these houses even have to rely on multiple wells to ensure a sufficient, reliable and consistent source of water. The lack of municipal water serves as a deterrent for many to move into the community. If the housing plan were to be constructed, it is likely that many more houses would gain city water.

On the other hand, several community members believed that the construction of the housing plan would disrupt their way of life. New Sewickley has notoriously been a rural area. This area has long been dominated by farms with lots of open room. Community members who have spent their entire lives on farms do not want to live next to a large scale housing plan. Not everyone in the community is lunging at the opportunity for more people to move into the area and dispeling the idea of change because they are fine with the town the way it is now.

“I mean I don’t really care what happens, It’s just houses, but I know my parents don’t want it to be built,” senior Alyssa Imhoff said.

The development company now faces the challenges of trying to fit the complex in the designated 90 acre area and ensuring that all of the aspects are in compliance with the city code. Once that step is done, an actual vote of approval from the township supervisors is needed. Regardless of the outcome of this future vote, the result is sure to have a lasting impact on the future of the community.