Upper Freehold Planning Board to begin debating changes to township’s Master Plan.
By: Scott Morgan
UPPER FREEHOLD The Planning Board last week concluded its sometimes contentious public hearing sessions regarding the possible rezoning of township lands as part of its Master Plan review.
With residents who attended the meetings largely supportive of increasing minimum lot acreage from 2 to 4 acres, the Planning Board now must decide whether and how to do it. According to Planning Board Chairman Richard Stern, the board will begin discussing its options for the first time as a group.
Some of the choices faced by the board include whether to rezone portions of the township, consider farmland preservation to help save large tracts of agricultural land, and whether cluster zoning is a viable alternative.
From the beginning, the Master Plan review has been designed to maintain the rural and agricultural nature of the township. All suggestions, according to board comments last week, will take this directive into account as a guide. The hearings, which started in December, almost immediately polarized the township, with those supporting 2-acre zoning and those in favor of 4-acre zoning equally vociferous in their reasons and beliefs.
Supporters of 4-acre zoning said such a plan would curb rapid development and lessen the human impact on the environment.
Robert Abrams, a former Planning Board member, said last week that "time and land are the only things they aren’t making any more of." Referring to the township as a "jewel," Mr. Abrams said he supports 4-acre zoning because it will preserve the beauty of the township.
"We’re going to lose it if we’re not careful," he said.
Lenny Yanchar, a township resident on the other side of the fence, said the major issues at stake were affordability and housing. Throughout the public hearing sessions, Mr. Yanchar maintained that, like it or not, the area is growing and that people are going to need places to live.
He said he wants to protect the land as well, but cannot abide by what he referred to as the "I’ve got mine" mentality that the people who currently live in Upper Freehold are the only ones who should.
Mr. Yanchar asked, "Are you being selfish or are you looking out for your fellow man?"
A more moderate suggestion throughout the hearings was the idea of cluster zoning, in which residential development would be concentrated in a smaller area of land, thus leaving the majority of the parcel available for open space.
Mr. Stern said he considers cluster zoning a "good suggestion," but he said it is only one option open to the board. He said that while cluster zoning is a viable alternative, the board must consider cluster zoning’s place within the Master Plan and the township.
He added that nothing is a simple answer, saying that even though cluster zoning could work, it must be considered that many people would not want to live near the cluster.
"We can’t do anything haphazardly," he said.
Another suggestion came from former Township Committeeman Richard Osborn, who said it would be best for the township to maintain its rural character by ensuring farmers can continue to farm. He said the Planning Board and the Township Committee should consider a farmland preservation alternative and possibly consider providing matching funds to allow farmers the chance to sell land and lose neither the farm culture nor a lot of money.
He also suggested considering a program for farmers who may some day want to enter a farmland preservation program, but not yet.
The Planning Board expects to begin discussions by the beginning of May.
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