Crafton zoning update aims to streamline rules, encourage walkable mixed use neighborhoods

Jenny Easton, planning director at Pashuk MTR, gave a public presentation to Crafton residents describing a multi-year zoning ordinance update that the planning commission has recommended for approval.

Easton said the update reorganizes the borough code into a shorter, streamlined ordinance intended to implement the borough's 2017 Thrive Plan and to make it easier for small businesses and walkable, mixed‑use development to occur. "Zoning is just one part of the whole book of ordinances that Crafton Borough has adopted," Easton said, adding the update seeks to clarify what zoning covers and what it does not.

The draft ordinance consolidates standards into eight articles, adds a use table for quick reference, and reorganizes district rules. It would explicitly allow residential uses on upper floors of established commercial buildings in appropriate districts and make several administrative changes intended to reduce permitting friction for small projects, Easton said. The draft also preserves existing protections for nonconforming uses: properties built under the current code would continue as grandfathered and would be subject to new rules only if substantially renovated.

Easton summarized how the update was developed: the borough adopted the Thrive Plan in 2017; the zoning project began in 2022; a draft was released in April; and the planning commission has since deliberated and recommended the current draft. The process included 35 public meetings and events, six public meetings where state law requires only one, nine committee meetings, and 16 planning commission deliberations, she said.

Easton described several specific outcomes from the public review. At residents' request, townhouses were removed from the NR district, accessory dwelling units will not be added, and some zoning map changes requested by residents were approved. The planning commission rejected certain resident requests that it judged would expose the borough to legal risk, and it rejected a staff recommendation to reduce minimum lot width in residential areas to 25 feet.

She said the next formal steps are a 45‑day advisory review by Allegheny County, a borough council public hearing, and then a council vote to enact the update or not. "Crafton must send the draft off to Allegheny County, which has 45 days to review the document and return advisory comments," Easton said.

Easton emphasized that zoning is an enabling tool, not a guarantee of development. She gave local market context: roughly 611 homes changed hands in the last three years — about 20% of an estimated 3,000 homes — but the borough issued zero permits for residential new construction in the last three years and only three new‑construction residential permits in the last 15 years. Building permit activity in the past three years included 20 solar permits, fewer than 10 commercial upgrade permits, a handful of nonprofit/public projects, and no new residential construction, she said. Easton also said borough staff has a record of 18 demolitions over the last 15 years (staff believes the real number may be almost double). She said the average sale price last year was about $115 per square foot (with many sales under $100 per square foot) while the cost to build a new home in Crafton is about $250 per square foot.

Easton said the draft is not a dramatic rewrite of every standard; many standards will carry forward but will be reorganized for clarity. She described zoning's limits under Pennsylvania law: municipalities cannot create a legal carrying‑capacity ban, cannot legally distinguish rental from owner‑occupied housing by zoning, and cannot enact rules that discriminate against protected classes. She also explained that zoning changes do not force property owners to upgrade their properties and that existing uses are generally grandfathered.

Easton encouraged residents to review the draft materials posted on the project site and to participate in the upcoming public hearing and table‑style discussions with council and staff. She closed by reiterating that the code is a living document and can be amended after adoption if circumstances warrant.