Residents should take part in U.F.’s future

The results of the recent build-out analysis in Upper Freehold Township should get area residents concerned about preserving the rural character of the community in an uproar.

According to the data, the township’s population could triple by build-out. That means residents would have more than 10,000 new neighbors by the year 2030.

The build-out analysis estimates that the township has approximately 10,816 more buildable acres. The township currently has 3-acre zoning. If residents are adamant about keeping development under control, they will urge township officials to increase zoning to 6-acre or 10-acre zoning as surrounding municipalities have.

According to the analysis, 85 percent of the total buildable land in the township exists in the agricultural/residential (AR) zone. That land consists of lots large enough to take advantage of the township’s cluster option.

The cluster option in the current zoning gives a developer the ability to build more homes by preserving more open space. However, developers in Upper Freehold and other municipalities can use the density bonus and “preserve” land unsuited for building, such as wetlands and other unbuildable areas. Asking officials to eliminate the cluster option altogether, could also help reduce residential growth.

The township planner said, at build-out the township would be at one-third of what is considered rural in New Jersey. Tripling Upper Freehold’s projected population at build-out amounts to about 46,419 people. That means, by those standards, that Manalapan, which currently has a population of 33,423, is rural and North Brunswick in Middlesex County, a community that just rezoned its last farm for development, and has a population of 36,287, is rural.

There are currently about 1,300 homes in Upper Freehold. The planner estimated that between 1,800 and 2,000 dwelling units would be constructed in Upper Freehold by the year 2030. Nonresidential development at build-out would total 8.2 million square feet and 940 acres. The population would amount to 15,473 or about 300 people per square mile using township roadways, services and the schools.

The build-out analysis provides residents with a good look at what could happen in the community. The data should act as a catalyst for those who want to control development to get out to public meetings, encourage their farming neighbors to enter the farmland preservation program, and most of all, avoid casting ballots for any candidate in any election who bankrolls his/her campaign with money from developers and political action committees that take contributions from developers.

Those who fear urban sprawl will creep into and eventually overtake Upper Freehold, should realize now is the time to get involved in the township’s decision-making processes about development. It’s too late when there’s limited resources for basic township services, or when property taxes drastically increase because the town needs another school, or when the farmer next door sells the farm and the developer starts putting up McMansions.