Watchdog group wants
to hold onto open space
MONROE — The township is currently one of the few municipalities in Middlesex County that still maintains a largely rural atmosphere, and one group of residents is trying to keep it that way.
"Our focus is for open space preservation and sensible, controlled growth," said Warren Barnes, a member of the citizens organization, Save Open Space. The group, which Barnes said has varied in size since its inception two years ago, is made up of a diverse mix of township homeowners, whose goal is to inform and to bring together other residents who are concerned about the township’s present and future development plans.
"We’re like tree huggers with chain saws," Barnes said, agreeing that it would be unrealistic to anticipate bringing a halt to development in the 43-square-mile town where roughly two-thirds of the land is still undeveloped.
"I think the concern (over preserving open space) is only going to escalate until the township takes a proactive approach over development," said Barnes, who noted that in the future he may consider selling his 30-acre farm to the state’s Farmland Preservation Program to protect it from being developed.
Like many other group members, Barnes comes from a long line of local farmers. His 4-year-old daughter, he said, represents the fourth generation of farmers in his family, which first arrived in the township in the 1950s. However, group members range from construction workers to white-collar workers. Barnes said he encourages residents to voice their opinions on future development by contacting him at the group’s Web site, www.mtsos.org.
Barnes said representatives from the group regularly attend Township Council and Planning Board meetings, and also keep in contact with other citizens groups also concerned about future development.
"We’ve worked with the Old Church Road group and with Joe Salerno and other seniors in his group," Barnes said, referring to two local groups that recently objected to a Planning Board recommendation that the master plan be amended to allow the addition of an eighth age-restricted community in Monroe.
If built, the retirement community of approximately 900 units would be located on a 300-acre site bounded by Applegarth, Union Valley, Old Church and Federal roads. The retirement community is being pursued as an alternative to the 350 single-family homes that have already been approved for the site. The Old Church Road group recently submitted a petition signed by 250 residents who objected to the Planning Board’s proposed master plan amendment at a recent meeting.
Joe Salerno, a resident of The Ponds adult community, represents seniors from some of the adult communities who are fighting the proposed master plan amendment. The Ponds is located north of the development site in question.
Save Open Space members believe that if the council allows the retirement community to be built with 900 units — or 550 more homes than are approved for the site — it should in turn rezone other areas of the township to prevent that same number of units from being built elsewhere.
Group members say the master plan amendment that includes a "downzoning" should also include an "upzoning," or a reduction in residential units allowed per acre.