New Master Plan to call for fewer houses

Some Montgomery property owners say downzoning proposed for the western side of the township will cost them dearly.

By: Steve Rauscher
   MONTGOMERY — The Planning Board adopted its latest re-examination of the Master Plan Monday night, taking steps to reduce housing density in the western section of the township.
   The board voted 7-2 to adopt the plan, with board members Walter Raymond and Michael Stachowicz dissenting.
   The Master Plan is intended to provide a snapshot of the township’s present appearance and an overview of its future development. The Planning Board is required to re-examine the plan every six years. The last major re-examination occurred in 1996.
   Mr. Raymond and Mr. Stachowicz agreed with several township residents who said the board’s plan to change the zoning in the Sourland Mountain area from a 5-acre minimum to a 10-acre minimum, and to require a 5-acre minimum lot size in certain areas in southwest Montgomery that now have 2- and 3-acre minimums, infringes on their property rights.
   Township Planner Richard Coppola said the zoning changes — the most significant changes contained in the new Master Plan — were designed mainly to reduce the buildup of harmful nitrate compounds leeched from area septic systems into the water table. Larger lot sizes lead to more space between homes and their septic systems. Mr. Coppola also said the board proposed the "downzoning" in part to limit the number of new homes being built in the area.
   "The board looked at that," he said. "But it wasn’t the driving force behind the changes."
   Whatever the reason behind the downzoning, property owners in the area did not support the changes, claiming their land would be worth less if fewer houses could be built.
   "Let me be clear on this," said Toby Lockwood, who owns 24 acres. "I’m looking at a minimum $400,000 equity loss. It would be worth me spending $200,000 to fight this in court."
   He said the zoning change is impractical, particularly in the Sourland Mountain area, because no one builds on lots bigger than two or three acres.
   "What’s somebody going to do with that, cut the grass for a week?" he asked the board.
   Members of the Planning Board said they had to consider the town’s best interests over those of a few landowners, and said that, while the value of land would drop in value in the short run, it would rise again.
   "I think that it comes down to one thing, and that’s to step away from the details and look at the bigger picture," said board member Duncan Finlayson. "These are issues that affect the entire town."
   The Township Committee, sitting in joint session with the board, introduced an ordinance to adopt the new Master Plan and will hear public comment on it at its next meeting Thursday.
   The downzoning would take effect only if the Township Committee adopts a separate ordinance providing for the changes. The Planning Board recommended the committee adopt such an ordinance Monday night.