diff --git a/sites/default/default.settings.php b/sites/default/default.settings.php
index b1f95e201..7f180ab97 100644
--- a/sites/default/default.settings.php
+++ b/sites/default/default.settings.php
@@ -693,6 +693,17 @@
  * example.org, with all subdomains included.
  */
 
+/**
+ * Include the Pantheon-specific settings file.
+ *
+ * n.b. The settings.pantheon.php file makes some changes
+ *      that affect all envrionments that this site
+ *      exists in.  Always include this file, even in
+ *      a local development environment, to insure that
+ *      the site settings remain consistent.
+ */
+include __DIR__ . "/settings.pantheon.php";
+
 /**
  * Load local development override configuration, if available.
  *
@@ -703,6 +714,6 @@
  *
  * Keep this code block at the end of this file to take full effect.
  */
-# if (file_exists(__DIR__ . '/settings.local.php')) {
-#   include __DIR__ . '/settings.local.php';
-# }
+if (file_exists(__DIR__ . '/settings.local.php')) {
+  include __DIR__ . '/settings.local.php';
+}
diff --git a/sites/default/settings.php b/sites/default/settings.php
index 9a625fa10..020fbaffd 100755
--- a/sites/default/settings.php
+++ b/sites/default/settings.php
@@ -1,5 +1,20 @@
 <?php
 
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Drupal site-specific configuration file.
+ *
+ * This is the standard settings file provided by default
+ * for Drupal sites running on the Pantheon platform.
+ * This file will not be changed in updated versions, so
+ * you may place your customizations here without causing
+ * merge conflicts during upgrades.
+ *
+ * See default.settings.php for more configuration options.
+ * You may copy the default.settings.php file over this
+ * file if you wish.
+ */
+
 /**
  * Load services definition file.
  */
@@ -17,9 +32,15 @@
 include __DIR__ . "/settings.pantheon.php";
 
 /**
- * If there is a local settings file, then include it
+ * Load local development override configuration, if available.
+ *
+ * Use settings.local.php to override variables on secondary (staging,
+ * development, etc) installations of this site. Typically used to disable
+ * caching, JavaScript/CSS compression, re-routing of outgoing emails, and
+ * other things that should not happen on development and testing sites.
+ *
+ * Keep this code block at the end of this file to take full effect.
  */
-$local_settings = __DIR__ . "/settings.local.php";
-if (file_exists($local_settings)) {
-  include $local_settings;
+if (file_exists(__DIR__ . '/settings.local.php')) {
+  include __DIR__ . '/settings.local.php';
 }