Planners discuss creating hierarchy of subdivisions
Board wonders whether to base decisions on agricultural industry
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - The township's planning officials continued discussing last week what future subdivisions should look like.

The Planning Board continued its discussion on revisions to the master plan at its Feb. 27 meeting, which was held in the Upper Freehold Regional School District's elementary school auditorium.

The board has been discussing revisions to the master plan since March 2005. The revision process currently entails identifying sections of town as sending areas for farmland preservation and other sections as receiving areas for high-density development.

Township Planner Mark Remsa discussed the possibility of creating a farmette option in the master plan. He said that the proposed change in the township's base zoning - from 3 acres and a 35 percent bonus density for developers who choose to cluster development to 6 or 10 acres - may result in developers not wanting to participate in density transfers. He said the township could create a "hierarchy of subdivisions."

A conventional subdivision on a tract of less than 20 acres could have 6-acre or 10-acre lot sizes, he said. With lot averaging, some lots could be 3 acres and others could be 8 acres, but the range for all lots would average 6 acres, he said.

The farmette option would be available on tracts with a minimum of 25 acres, which would yield a minimum 10-acre farmette when using lot averaging.

"Twenty-five percent of the lots are farmettes, and the remaining 75 percent will be clustered," Remsa said. "You are not setting aside open space."

Board member Bob Freiberger said a perfect example of the use of farmettes is on the former Perretti parcel between Meirs and Harvey roads.

"Those properties are commanding outstanding prices right now," he said. "Look at the whole picture - trying to get equity for the landowner and fewer houses in the community."

Board member J. David Holmes said there could be deed-restricted open space on smaller parcels.

"A home site has no advantage to most people [with more] than 1 acre," he said.

Remsa said the developers of such parcels could have an option to cluster their development.

Freiberger, who said he is concerned about soil quality, said a minimum soil quality should be set for developers clustering down to 1 acre.

He said, "If you can achieve soil quality, there's a lot of value in what [Holmes] said."

Holmes said soil parameters for septic regulation and design are already set by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Remsa brought forward a new concept and said tracts that are 20 acres or larger could require mandatory clustering. Under this plan, no more than 20 percent of a tract would be developed, he said, and 80 percent would be dedicated to agriculture or open space.

Chairman Richard Stern said that would be cutting development down too much because of wetlands and woodlands, which he considers good open space. He said the state would rather preserve such lands than farmland.

Holmes said that clustering down to 20 percent is dangerously close to changing the equity of the total land. He suggested that 30 percent would be better, based on wetlands and soils in the township. He added that if the benefits are built in, the applicant may opt to reduce the percentage due to infrastructure costs.

Holmes noted the economics of long-term viability of agriculture in the area.

"It is becoming more difficult to support agriculture each day in an area that does not have the [agricultural] support industry," he said, observing that there were once nine John Deere tractor dealers in the area.

Holmes said the master plan the board has been discussing goes toward preserving open space but takes for granted that agriculture will stay in New Jersey. He said he does not know if the board could necessarily make this assumption.

Remsa said that mandating a cluster is part of the basis of the economic incentive.

"On paper, the math works at 20 percent," he said, acknowledging Holmes' experience as a farmer and awareness of land.

"The rural landscape is here because of the [agricultural] industry," Remsa said. "The industry contributes to the quality of life."