Master plan changes in the works for U.F.
Twp. will soon schedule public information sessions about revisions
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - The township seeks to spend $300,000 on revising its master plan.

The special emergency appropriation for the master plan was among the ordinances introduced at the Nov. 2 Township Committee. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

The ordinance states that the township has found it necessary to make the special emergency appropriation to meet planning, legal, engineering and other expenses related to Planning Board and Township Committee actions. The ordinance also addresses contemplated actions as to the preparation of and revision to the master plan and to obtaining plan endorsement from the State of New Jersey. The plan will incorporate the requirements of the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law and the Department of Community Affairs Office of Smart Growth.

The Planning Board has been working on revising the township's master plan since early 2005. At the Oct. 12 Planning Board meeting, Township Planner Mark Remsa proposed revisions to the plan that would change the township's current 3-acre zoning to 6-acre zoning. Remsa also said the township should increase the few areas in town with 5-acre zoning to 10-acre zoning.

Remsa also has suggested revising the plan for the transfer of potential development densities in rural areas of Upper Freehold to places in the township that are more suitable for development. He said the township must create an economic incentive to encourage landowners to opt for these density transfers and proposed reducing the township's base zoning as that incentive.

To further encourage density transfers from rural areas to other specified receiving areas in Upper Freehold, Remsa has proposed that the township not only give landowners credit for what they could build on their land, but also give them a 35 percent bonus density.

"The idea is to reward the developer and landowner to take units from a rural area and put them in areas deemed appropriate for development," Remsa said.

The proposed ordinance for the emergency appropriation states that the fundamental goals of the Land Use Element of the township's master plan include maintaining the rural and country atmosphere that prevails throughout the township; preserving farmland to the maximum extent possible and in a reasonable manner that is achievable and equitable to the farmer; providing sufficient open space and appropriate facilities for a variety of passive and active recreational needs; preventing the homogenous spread of suburban type development throughout town, and considering a responsible approach to addressing the mandate of the Mount Laurel II New Jersey Supreme Court decision as well as the requirements of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing.

The ordinance also states that the township recognizes that the state's plan endorsement encourages municipalities to engage in cooperative regional planning to ensure that municipal, county, regional and state agencies are consistent with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan and with each other. It also states that an endorsed plan entitles municipalities and counties to a higher priority for available funding, streamlined permit reviews, and coordinated state agency services.

The Planning Board will discuss the possible changes to the master plan at its Dec. 14 meeting. Mayor Stephen Fleischacker said that educational sessions about revisions to the plan would be announced at the Planning Board meeting.

Fleischacker said the proposed changes "are not a done deal," but will be reached through a community process and consensus building.