📐 Planning Advisory Commission
Meeder Residents Pack Planning Meeting With Parking, Safety Complaints as Charter Homes Seeks Phase Changes
More than 20 Meeder residents voiced frustrations over inadequate parking, speeding on Main Street, and commercial space concerns as Charter Homes presented revised plans for Phases 2 and 3 of the mixed-use development along Rochester Road.
More than 20 residents of the Meeder development turned out Monday night to challenge Charter Homes over persistent parking shortages, traffic safety problems, and questions about commercial space ownership as the developer sought approval for changes to the community's next phases.
The Feb. 23 meeting of the Cranberry Township Planning Advisory Commission was dominated by a conceptual plan review for Meeder, a mixed-use neighborhood along Rochester Road. Charter Homes representatives Anthony Faranda-Diedrich and Amanda Heineman presented proposed adjustments to Phase 1 to add parking capacity, along with revised plans for the final Phases 2 and 3.
But resident after resident rose to describe a community struggling with the gap between what was promised and what was delivered.
"These are developer issues," said Michael Richards of 606 Parker Street. "Residents were promised a livable, walkable community." He urged the commission to ensure Meeder is prioritized before Charter moves on to other developments.
Sam Guarascio of 517 Rodney Lane, a 6.5-year resident, echoed those concerns. "We were promised adequate parking," he said, citing undersized garages, changes from the original parking design, insufficient streetlights, and Main Street being used as a cut-through from the roundabout. He questioned whether there was enough demand for additional commercial space, particularly with residential units planned above it, calling it "just adding to the parking failure."
The parking issue drew the most sustained criticism. Jennifer Ortiz of 322 Harlequin Street questioned whether townhome garages and driveways — many of which residents say are too small for practical use — were included in the developer's tally of 1,300 parking spaces. Cynthia Maro of 304 Parade Street pressed Charter on how that number was calculated.
Deb West of 425 Roebling Court described living in an end unit next to on-street parking where idling vehicles send vibrations and fumes into her home. She said Charter denied her request for landscaping to buffer the problem. Donald McCoid of 423 Roebling Court reported similar conditions.
Safety on Main Street emerged as a second major theme. Luke Lesic of 124 Main Street said parking along Main Street "does not exist" and warned of speeding vehicles using the road as a shortcut. Kathy Frank of 217 Foundation Drive asked for stop signs. Christina Mustovic of 199 Foundation Drive and Julie Smaltz of 717 Whithers Park Drive both called for crosswalks.
John Kuras of 214 Foundation Drive delivered one of the sharpest rebukes, telling commissioners there are "compounding errors in this development" and asking them not to move forward with approval. He said emergency services vehicles cannot navigate most roads in the development.
Several residents raised concerns about the planned commercial spaces. Melanie Marsh of 312 Harlequin Street, an HOA board member, questioned why Charter maintains an office on the property and asked about long-term ownership of commercial buildings. Karen Rigard of 310 Parade Street asked that commercial structures be built before residential units and wanted a completion timeline for the new phases.
Rosetta Dufalla of 306 Parade Street questioned who would maintain Main Street and whether commercial leaseholders would bear that responsibility. Sarah Wise of 622 Gratitude Road said she would prefer restaurants over office space.
The meeting also included a public comment from Everett Burns of 9747 Goehring Road, who asked the commission to consider filling in missing sidewalks along Goehring Road. Planning Director Ron Henshaw said connections are being examined.
Commission members Sharon Beck, Todd Bookwalter, Jim Feath, and Chair Susan Rusnak were present. Member Morgan was excused. No formal vote was taken on the Meeder conceptual plan, which will continue through the review process. The meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
Coverage of the Planning Advisory Commission meeting on 2026-02-23,
Cranberry Township, PA.
This article was drafted by AI (claude-opus-4-6) from the official meeting transcript and reviewed by a human editor.
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