Two years after Cranberry officials began in earnest to tackle the contentious rezoning of the Freedom Road corridor, it appears the issue is on track for final resolution by next month.

Supervisors decided last week to rezone two of the three Freedom Road study areas to a low-intensity commercial/residential zoning that allows for the development of homes and of nonresidential uses that are considered to be particularly suited to neighborhoods. Known as the Traditional Neighborhood Development, it will be a zoning overlay district that essentially is added to the existing residential and mixed-used district. A potential developer could choose to build either under the original zoning or under the overlay zoning, provided the specific requirements of the chosen zoning district are met.

The third and final study area piece, located near Powell Road, will be the subject of a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Rochester Road municipal center.

Traditional Neighborhood Development zoning also is being recommended for the third piece, although the permitted uses in each section vary. Nearby homeowners persuaded supervisors last week to adjust the requirements of the proposed district to further buffer their neighborhoods and moderate the potential commercial uses by decreasing the size of the buildings the district allows.

The Freedom Road corridor is the township's most notorious bottleneck, a segment of road that has not changed with the times. Making up a leg of Cranberry's original crossroads at Freedom Road and Route 19 -- known as Criders Corners -- Freedom Road is at the heart of Cranberry commerce yet is flanked by houses.

Residential property owners have begged township officials to rezone their land so it can be sold to commercial developers, noting that no one wants to buy a house on the east-west road, which has evolved over the years into a high-traffic link between Beaver County and Route 19.

But property owners just behind those houses have made equally impassioned pleas to officials to spare them the prospect of being next door to commercial development that will change the character of their neighborhoods -- a repeat of history, echoing what happened to the homes that currently make up the front line along Freedom Road.

The township has sought to appease both sides by putting in an overlay district that will allow commercial development but only the kind that would be welcomed next to homes, such as small retailers and service businesses including dry cleaners and doctors' offices.

Manager Jerry Andree said he thought the ordinance addresses property owners' interests, striking a balance. But he acknowledged that it was doubtful everyone affected would be happy.

In September 2008, supervisors created three study areas along Freedom Road to establish a transportation and land use planning process for the corridor. The areas are at Haine School Road, at Parkwood and Valley Forge drives, and at Powell Road.

What to do with Freedom Road has been under discussion for decades. In the early 1990s state officials toyed with widening the entire corridor -- known as the Crows Run project, running from Route 19 in Cranberry to Route 65 in Beaver County -- or building alternate roads that would siphon traffic north and south into Zelienople and Marshall. Conflicting interests stymied the project, and Cranberry continues to live with the bottleneck.

Mr. Andree said rezoning Freedom Road was good for the community because it protects property values and positions the township for future transportation improvements.

"Right now, we have an undesirable land-use scenario over there. That causes property values to suffer. We have to reverse that, and the tool is rezoning," he said.

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