Water quality at stake with U.F.'s zoning
New study forces twp. to seriously consider going to 6 acres
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

Upper Freehold Township may have to downzone to keep its groundwater clean.

Township Planner Mark Remsa and his associate, Robert Kull, unveiled the results of a nitrate dilution study, partially funded by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), at the July 24 Planning Board meeting.

Based on the study, along with possible changes to the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection's Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) rules to limit the level of nitrates that can be discharged into the groundwater, Remsa said the township may have to implement larger-lot zoning.

The township currently has 3-acre zoning, which means developers must have a minimum of 3 acres to develop. The township also offers a 35 percent bonus density to developers with larger tracts of land who opt to cluster larger developments.

The township's Planning Board has been trying to revise the master plan, which regulates land use in the community, for the past 2 1/2 years. During the revision process, the board, which consists mostly of large landowners, has not shown interest in downzoning but has discussed the possibilities of implementing density transfers and village centers.

The results of the nitrate dilution study will further impact the master plan revision process because it states that almost two-thirds of the land in the township's aquifer recharge area is currently undeveloped and unconstrained for future development. The report goes on to state that the use of the land may significantly affect the quality and quantity of future water supply from groundwater.

"Existing zoning for development using individual water supply wells and conventional on-site septic systems will result in groundwater quality failing to meet standards in many areas of the township, while existing zoning may fail to use all of the development capacity available for septic systems in other areas," the report states. "Conventional and noncontiguous cluster development ordinances can enable 'smart growth' that uses all of this capacity."

The report suggests that the township use the DEP's Nitrate Dilution Model, which has a target rate of 5.2 milligrams (mg) of nitrate per liter of groundwater in combination with reducing the capacity for new development under current zoning by two-thirds, to 949 dwelling units.

"Build-out of existing zoning would contribute 2,019 dwelling units above the development capacity that would most likely result in groundwater quality contamination, at least in some study areas, substantially above the 5.2 mg-per-liter target standard," according to the report.

The report further states that using the DEP's Nitrate Dilution Model with the 5.2 mg-per-liter target would substantially constrain new development in the New Sharon and Ellisdale areas of town and would indicate a need for alternative wastewater treatment systems in these areas.

In the master plan revision process, the Planning Board has discussed using the New Sharon and Ellisdale areas of town as potential village center/hamlet receiving areas.

The proposed DEP Water Quality Management Planning rules could further reduce the amount of nitrates that can be discharged into the ground. According to Kull, the township could fall subject to having to meet a 2 mg-per-liter limit.

For Upper Freehold, meeting that limit could mean having to increase lot sizes from 3 acres to between 4.6 and 6.4 acres, or typically 5.3 acres, Kull said.

"In most cases, existing zoning lot sizes are too small and may lead to groundwater contamination, unless development is reduced or alternatives to individual septic systems are used," Kull said.

Except for the Four Seasons and Heritage Green housing developments on Ellisdale Road, developments in the township currently rely on the use of private wells and septics.

Kull said, "Opportunities exist throughout the master plan [process] to optimize zoning based on groundwater protection."

Based on the study and the possible changes in DEP regulations, Remsa recommended eliminating the township's 35 percent bonus density because it "throws the number of units beyond what the ground can handle," he said.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Doug Raynor asked if maintaining a 5.2 mg-per-liter nitrate dilution means 3-acre lots, whereas maintaining a 2 mg-per-liter dilution means 6-acre lots. Remsa told Raynor that he is correct and said that while some areas of town could handle more development, most could not and that maintaining the new nitrate dilution rate would mean having to go to 6-acre zoning.

"Some areas of town have good soils, some are really poor," Remsa said.

Planning Board Chairman Richard Stern said that zoning varies due to soil types. He called the nitrate dilution study a "double-edged sword" and said that some residents may be using excessive amounts of chemicals and fertilizers on their lawns.

Kull said that there are several types of soil in the township that have different rates of water absorption. He said the northwest part of the township, near Allentown and Interstate 195, are the best areas for aquifer recharge and that in the southeast section, the recharge is worse.

Board member Bob Freiberger recalled that old master plans had the southwest part of the town zoned for 3-acre lots while the rest of the town was zoned for 1-acre lots.

"Someone realized that was where the underlying marl was and they couldn't get good septics," Freiberger said of the southwest part of town. "Maybe we should revisit that."

Kull explained that while nitrates can cause health problems, more significantly, they are molecules that do not change form in the ground.

"[Nitrates don't] change into other chemicals," he said. "We can measure the concentration at the surface and where it enters the water supply. The difference is where it is diluted."

Most septics discharge 10 pounds of nitrates per person per year, he said.

Mayor Stephen Fleischacker said that current zoning practices do not take environmental constraints into account. If the DEP passes its new regulations, which Fleischacker said he believes will happen, the state will oversee local zoning so that it does take the constraints into account.

The township's former planner, Richard Coppola, presented a report to township officials in 2004 regarding the potential of rezoning the township's agricultural and rural zoning district.

In the document, Coppola recommended that the township go to 6-acre zoning based partly on the carrying capacity of the land.

In the report, Coppola stated that the Soil Limitations for Septic Filter Fields map graphically shows that soils throughout almost the entirety of Upper Freehold are rated by the Soil Conservation Service as having severe limitations for the location of septic systems.

In the report, Coppola had also cited DEP amendments to the Water Quality Management Planning Rules that would address the impacts of new developments that rely on wastewater disposal through a discharge to groundwater.

"Of particular concern are the nitrate levels that enter the groundwater," Coppola's report stated. "It should be noted that the DEP currently is considering additional changes to the Water Management Planning Rules regarding the estimation of the carrying capacity of lands in New Jersey to adequately support on-site subsurface water disposal systems."

The Development Capacity Analysis report is available on the township's Web site at www.uftnj.com.

In related news, the township's Board of Health is holding a public hearing on an ordinance that would regulate the use of alternative septic systems in town at its Aug. 14 meeting.