Master plan issues concern U.F. residents

My wife and I moved into Upper Freehold Township, just outside Allentown, in 2005. Since then we have become very concerned about the proposed master plan issues facing the township. While there is a lot of discussion, posturing and positioning by various parties about revising specific sections of the plan, it is time for all of you collectively to "rein in" (pun intended) the master plan discussions, scrap the "town center" and other big box stores/warehouses/commercialization ideas and boldly instruct the town planner, Planning Board and legal counsel to be innovative in saving what is left of our open space. To that end, I propose the following two ideas for discussion.

First, the township needs to immediately create and designate much of the township as a "Horse/Small Live-stock/Husbandry Industry Zone." The zone would be restricted and dedicated to the horse and small/specialty livestock (i.e., goats, lambs, llamas) industry and would include a "polo field" for horse polo events and a grandstand area, one or more public horse back riding stables, several public trails that would hopefully be connected to each other and would go through already designated parkland/open space, appropriate horse related agricultural activities, an indoor facility or facilities for horse related activities for use during the winter months (jumping, instruction, competition, etc.), modest-sized bed and breakfasts, other appropriate horse and small/livestock commercial use buildings/areas for veterinarian services, feed and livestock suppliers, saddlery, breeding, butchery, agricultural research, etc., and would encourage organic small livestock such as goats, lamb and specialty animal (llamas) farmers.

The above would be good, gentle, quiet, and green ratables, which would be appropriate and consistent with existing land use (i.e., the Horse Park, White Birch Farm, Rick's Saddle Shop). The horse-related activities described above are not cheap activities as it takes money to keep and maintain good polo ponies, jumpers, etc. There are plenty of horses, and horse-related activities already in the Township and expanding a pre-existing industry and playing on our strengths would seem to be the better strategy than replicating the same failed sprawl strategies which never stop the sprawl or lower taxes.

Second, the township needs to engage Rutgers University and ask it to sell its New/North Brunswick agricultural/livestock land and move those facilities to Upper Freehold Township. Rutgers has at least several hundred open acres in North/New Brunswick at its Cook campus dedicated to livestock/equestrian/agricultural research. This land is extremely valuable to developers because all the towns in the areas are built out. If the university sold the land to developers, it would reap hundreds of millions of dollars. But the question remains, where would these activities go?

Well, Upper Freehold Township is the answer. We already have a Rutgers University Research Center in Cream Ridge. Let's get the university to buy some un-preserved farmland, or work out a way to preserve additional farmland with Rutgers as the "tenant." This would again be a good, gentle, and quiet, use appropriate and consistent with existing land use.

Let's stop arguing about, and trying to understand "floating hamlets," multiple town centers designations, expired warehouse/commercial overlays, etc., in the township master plan. Why do we need them when we can all get to the Hamilton Square mall, or its equivalent, within 10 minutes of virtually any place we live in the township? Let's get creative and get going before we lose our chance.

Elliot Wiesner

Upper Freehold