Residents Sound Off on Moon's Development in Comprehensive Plan Survey

Lynn Kirkpatrick, owner of the  boutique on Thorn Run Road, said she worries potential customers may too readily travel to Robinson Township.

She said Moon’s scattershot business district and lack of a town square drives shoppers away from the township. Instead, she said, they spend their money in nearby communities, where they find a larger selection of corporate retail stores and eateries. 

“We’re pushing people to shop outside of the Moon area,” said Kirkpatrick, who has owned the for 22 years. “If that continues, [Moon small businesses] will be gone eventually.”

Kirkpatrick on Nov. 8 received Moon Township’s survey in the mail. Opinions gathered from that survey, administered by the township’s comprehensive plan committee, will help shape Moon’s residential and commercial development over the next decade.

It’s an opportunity for residents and business owners to sound off about Moon’s future growth, township manager Jeanne Creese said.

“It’s one of the requirements for the comprehensive plan process,” Creese said. “[The survey] gives us a chance to get input from residents and business owners in the community.”

Every ten years, the township convenes a comprehensive plan committee comprised of business owners, municipal employees and residents to create what becomes a blueprint for township leaders over the next decade. Each meeting is open to the public.

Creese said representatives from the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, , Allegheny County Airport Authority and the are among the members of the committee. Click here to view a full list of committee members. 

The yearlong, state-mandated process began in April. 

“[The comprehensive plan] is a policy,” said Moon spokeswoman Meghan McNamara. “It’s not legally enforceable. But in Moon Township the comprehensive has been something that [the Board of Supervisors] has always looked at. In Moon, historically it’s not a shelf document.”

The survey polls residents on issues ranging from their most common neighborhood concerns and housing needs to whether Moon should acquire more land for recreational use. 

Kirkpatrick said she hopes Moon officials work to develop a more centralized “town square” to serve as a gathering place for local residents and business owners. 

“Our kids need someplace to go,” Kirkpatrick said. “They go to Robinson and hang out at the mall.

“There needs to be more promotion of the smaller Mom and Pop businesses here,” she said.

Creese said the surveys, which were mailed last week, tend to have a low response rate amongst residents.

“We have been surprised at how many we’ve gotten back,” Creese said. “Typically the response rate with these can be as low as 5 to 15 percent. We’re hoping to get to 20 percent returned to us.”

Terry Chesky, owner of , said she too believes Moon Clinton Road would be an ideal place for a centralized town square.

“We don’t need any more big box stories,” Chesky said. “We need people to see the uniqueness of Moon.”

Click here to take the survey online. The Moon comprehensive plan committee meets monthly in  

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