Township Committee selects Plan B.
By: Sarah Winkelman
MILLSTONE After months of debate surrounding the adoption of the township’s Master Plan, the issue has finally been resolved under a compromise intended to preserve the rural character of the township.
The Township Committee voted unanimously to approve the plan at the June 18 committee meeting, prompting a burst of applause from beleaguered residents who have been attending committee and Planning Board meetings, waiting to see how the saga would play out.
Under the new plan, Plan B, the minimum lot size was raised from 3- and 4-acres to 10-acres, with the addition of cluster zoning. This plan offers smaller landowners those with land between 10 and 19.9 acres the option of clustering, which they would not have had under the first plan, Plan A, which was rejected by the committee in May. Small landowners would have been hit hardest by an increase in lot sizes since they would not have been able to subdivide under 10-acre zoning.
Plan A had called for increasing the minimum lot sizes from 3- and 4-acre lots to 10-acres, but without the cluster zoning option. Critics of the plan claimed that 10-acre lots would encourage "cookie-cutter" lots, which would hurt large-parcel landowners by devaluing developable land.
Committeeman Chet Halka said at the June 18 meeting that he was against the 10-acre minimum lot size requirement.
"If you have a bunch of 10-acre lots spread all over the place, it doesn’t do any good," Mr. Halka said. "If you cluster the buildings, it promotes open space. It will still be up to the Planning Board to make the decision about clustering.
Committeeman Cory Wingerter said the Master Plan process has been a long one that needed to be resolved.
"We’ve seen the same faces at the township meetings and the Planning Board meetings and we’re thankful to everyone for the comments," he said at last week’s meeting. "We’re in a difficult position now. Plan B is needed; we have to set something up now, even though nothing is set in stone. We can change things, make amendments if we need to. I will be concerned if a bunch of proposals for 10-acre lots come in (to the Planning Board)."
Mr. Wingerter added that a "tremendous amount of property has been coming in" on open space applications on the county, state and municipal level.
"Overall, the build-out has lessened as the committee has been asked to buy property and development rights," Mr. Wingerter said. "In 100 years, we’ll see how the town looks."
Committeeman Charles Abate said Plan A was a "disaster."
"Plan A did not preserve open space," he said. "You cannot farm 10 acres of land. Yes, Plan A protected the small farmer, but Plan B is overall much better."
Committeeman John Pfefferkorn said he is concerned with the political nature in which the Master Plan adoption was delayed.
"In my opinion, this could have been on the table in late 2002," he said Tuesday. "Between then and now, countless homes have been approved under the old zoning ordinance, which I believe to be significant and deliberate."
"This plan does not benefit the populace," he added. "Clustering is a big enticement for developers. They can get more homes on the property that way."
Mr. Wingerter disagreed, saying that the rural nature of Millstone would be preserved under the new Master Plan.
"This new zoning ordinance accomplishes what the Planning Board adopted as a Master Plan for the township," Mr. Wingerter said in a Tuesday interview. "Through clustering, the ordinance preserves large pieces of land for agriculture, equestrian farms and open space. It also protects the important environmental aspects of the township, (such as) stream corridor protection, water recharge, wetlands, view sheds and wildlife habitats. It also reduces the amount of homes to be built, which will help maintain the rural aspect of the township."
Under a possible amendment to the plan, to be discussed at the July 2 committee meeting, which would change the percentage of land that must remain untouched from 65 to 50 percent, more land would be available to developers.
"The 50 percent versus 65 percent has to do with the amount of land left undisturbed when clustering is considered," Mr. Pfefferkorn said Tuesday. "That means that there would be roughly one house every six acres, on average, for a 100- acre piece of property. Clustering would give developers 16 homes instead of 10 homes."
Mr. Pfefferkorn said he believes Plan B is a prejudicial plan, mainly because an additional 250 homes are available under the plan if total build-out were to occur if the clustering option was utilized.
"I don’t think we should rush into making any more changes right now," he added. "This is an improvement over what we had, but there are still problems that need addressing."
Red Valley Road resident Toby Teller said she owns 27 acres of land. Under the new Master Plan zoning guidelines, she would be able to build three houses and one bonus house on her land. Under the old plan, she would have been able to build seven houses on the property.
"There’s nothing in (the Master Plan) for the smaller landowner with the clustering provision," she said at the June 18 meeting. "It would have been good to know the option (to sell the land) was there, even if we never had to use it."
Township Attorney Bob Munoz said the committee had three options: they could draft an amendment, hold a public hearing on July 2 and then refer to the amendment to the Planning Board; adopt the present Master Plan and then introduce the amendment to the Planning Board; or they could have not adopted the Master Plan and introduced a third plan with the revised percentage of open space.
The mayor and committee decided to move forward with the vote for the Master Plan and bring up further amendments as needed.
Elias Abilheira, a Republican candidate for the Township Committee, asked the committee if developers in the process of applying for subdivisions can get variances from the Planning Board.
He added that the Master Plan needs to be changed as the town grows.
"I believe Plan A was excellent and that Plan B is not as good," he said at the June 18 meeting.
The committee decided to recommend to the Planning Board that the new guidelines would not apply to applications deemed complete as of June 18.