Residents

THE ROLE OF THE PATTERN BOOK

Living in Sewickley Heights must begin with an understanding of the Sewickley Heights Pattern Book. Borough residents are encouraged to become familiar with this resource and new residents should contact the Borough for a complimentary copy. A Pattern Book is a design guideline. The role of the Pattern Book is to preserve community character by encouraging development that is consistent with the existing cultural landscape. It is a user-friendly tool intended to guide decision making, rather than to dictate outcomes. The Pattern Book is designed to complement existing Borough documents such as the Comprehensive Plan, Borough Ordinances, and Vision Plan. Users will include citizens, landowners, home builders, developers, and real estate agents.

In conjunction with the Pattern Book, the Borough has revised the required project approval process. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the Borough’s process is tailored to the type of project. For example, certain projects that are consistent with the cultural landscape may be done without approvals and other small projects may follow an expedited approval process. The larger and more visible projects require pre-application meetings to encourage good communication between the applicant and the Borough. An overview of the six possible processes is shown below.

Click here for  PATTERN BOOK