Public will
get say on
master plan
By alison granito
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE — The second of three hearings on the master plan is scheduled for tomorrow.
The Planning Board is slated to hold two more special sessions at the Millstone Elementary School to supplement the session held on Sept. 18. In addition to the meeting scheduled for tomorrow, a third session is planned for Oct. 11. Both will be held at the school at 7:30 p.m.
The first hearing on Sept. 18 was held at the same time as the regularly scheduled Township Committee meeting.
The township has been in the process of reviewing the master plan for more than a year, after receiving a re-examination report on it last year.
According to Committeeman William Nurko, who also sits on the Planning Board, the board has heard testimony in recent months from many municipal agencies, committees, commissions and boards about what they would like to see happen with the master plan.
Among those yet to weigh in officially on the re-examination of the master plan are the fire department and the environmental commission, said Nurko.
"We’ve been in the process of gathering information," he added.
Nurko said that the township planner is expected to make some recommendations at the hearings, including a recommendation on the total "build-out" of the township.
The total build-out of the township would represent the maximum number of homes that could be built on the remaining land designated for residential development under the township’s zoning law.
"They [the Planning Board] will look at a number of different scenarios," Nurko said.
Previously, some municipal agencies had asked that the board consider raising the minimum residential lot size needed to develop. Their thinking was that an increased lot size requirement would decrease the number of homes that could be built on a site.
"In terms of flat-out building, what we can do is take the build-out and look at what would make things come out best for Millstone Township," he said.
"What we want is a new master plan that allows us to maintain our quality of life," he said.