Guest Column Bill Miscoski Upper Freehold has gone to a zoning process that works

Guest Column
Bill Miscoski
Upper Freehold has gone to a zoning process that works

My intention has never been to enter into a debate about zoning in our local newspaper. However, after listening to Sue Kozel’s comments at our last Planning Board meeting and then reading her guest column in the Jan. 31 Examiner, I feel compelled to answer. I cannot let statements of ignorance go unanswered.

When I returned from Vietnam in 1969, I was a confused, angry, lost young man trying to erase the images of war. After returning to Upper Freehold, I then lived and worked in various places in New Jersey. I finally got my act together and realized Upper Freehold was where I wanted to live and raise my family. After some time, I was asked to serve on the local Zoning Board, and I accepted the challenge. Through this I started to spend more time with the men holding office at that time, as well as some of their predecessors. I was impressed with these town fathers who had the best interests of Upper Freehold at heart, and with the countless hours they gave striving to achieve the best for everyone in our community — men like Charles I. Smith, Bill Van Hise, Wil Drews, Al Punk, Fred Kniesler, Bob Abrams, Tony Campanella, George Rue, Bob Hitchcock, Carlton Gravatt and Charles Faber, just to name a few.

I’m sure our new residents have never heard of many of these men. These are a few of the men who, along with Rich Osborn, Paul Burke, Dave Horsnall and myself, have molded this community into the desirable place it happens to be at this time — the community that Ms. Kozel and many others have also chosen to call home.

After 20 years of service to Upper Freehold, and truly taking the responsibility that comes with serving seriously, it is so frustrating to be accused of only caring about a few large landowners. My concern has been and always will be for our community as a whole. I’m not going anywhere; this is my home, too. Get your facts straight, Ms. Kozel: since 1989, only two new large subdivisions have been approved. The ones now under construction are a result of Gov. Christine Whitman’s Permit Extension Act in 1989.

We have gone to a zoning plan that works. We have the largest farmland preservation program in the state. We have no sewer or water lines that will encourage large development. Our soils will dictate our zoning without taking away the equity of anyone’s land. The new septic laws that are in place will not allow house after house. A perfect example of this is the subdivision on Hutchinson Road. It started out as a 19-house, two-acre project, but after testing the soil, it has turned into a nine-lot subdivision with a lot average of 4.65 acres. And this has not been approved yet.

Although Ms. Kozel would prefer to see any open space remain dormant, I happen to believe providing recreation fields and parks is something we have needed for a long time. This community needs to serve all of its residents, and our children need recreation fields provided for them by this community.

There is so much more that could be said, but I hope I have made my intentions clear in what I have expressed. The bottom line is, I care deeply about our community and the preservation of our way of life. Just maybe those of us who have been making the decisions so far have learned a little something along the way. Our town is rich with history and families who are proud of what we have here and have no intention of throwing it all away. I will continue to fight for what I believe in and not take kindly to being accused of anything less.

Please become a part of our community, but don’t call us ignorant and uncaring. I leave you with this: "Those who contribute the least to the system are those who try to disrupt it the most."

Bill Miscoski is deputy mayor of Upper Freehold Township