Retiree leaves township with over 17 years of memories.
By: Josh Appelbaum
Harvey Moskowitz, Cranbury’s longtime township planner, is retiring after more than 17 years of service to the township.
Mr. Moskowitz, who will retire as of today (Friday), started consulting with the township on planning matters in 1988 and became its principal planner in April 1991, and presided over its Master Plan, which was completed in 1993.
The 1993 Master Plan helped limit development by creating a commercial district east of Route 130 to provide a solid ratable base as a way to pay for preservation of open space and farmland, to meet state affordable housing requirements and to keep municipal taxes low.
Mr. Moskowitz said his Master Plan was in line with what the Planning Board and the Township Committee wanted, which was a comprehensive, forward-looking policy that it knew would be challenging to implement, but would address problems being faced by Cranbury.
"We put together a Master Plan of what (Cranbury) would be when it grew up," Mr. Moskowitz said.
Additionally, Mr. Moskowitz advised the township in 1992 to change zoning rules and require new houses to be built on 6-acre lots, as opposed to 2-acre lots. The zoning change was a way to deal with what he described as an impending crisis, as developers sought to build large housing developments. He said former Committeemen Tom Weidner and Alan Danser, and Planning Board Chairman Thomas Harvey recognized that zoning 2-acre parcels wouldn’t curb over-development.
He said of all the decisions made by the township, moving to 6-acre zoning was the most significant.
A planner for 45 years, Mr. Moskowitz has been contracted by the State of New Jersey, Lawrence Township, founded the community planning consulting firm Moskowitz, Heyer & Gruel in 1972, and has taught planning policy at Rutgers University.
An Air Force veteran, Mr. Moskowitz, who will turn 73 in March, started his career in planning with the CanDoElectra Series Co., a community planning consulting firm based in Elizabeth, in 1959.
"I learned what a planner does affects the built environment a doctor can bury his mistakes, architects can cover them with vines but planners constantly see their mistakes and are able to see where plans work and where they don’t. No one likes to see their mistakes," Mr. Moskowitz said.
Mr. Moskowitz said the most important dynamic that has taken place in the township has been development of the commercial district east of Route 130, which he said has funded agricultural preservation, open space and recreation around the historical village and in residential zones.
Looking at the Cranbury Township map in the planning office in Town Hall earlier this month, Mr. Moskowitz placed his hands over both zones, showing the ties between both zones.
"They have a synergistic relationship we decided to use revenues from warehouses for green preservation," Mr. Moskowitz said.
Mr. Moskowitz contends the most important part of planning is to balance the needs of the township and that of the public. But, he said, many factors contribute to a township’s success, including politics.
"It is important to make your case, give expert planning advice, and then once the politicians have made their decisions, you need to shut your mouth that’s why God gave us two ears and one mouth you are supposed to listen twice as much as you speak," Mr. Moskowitz said.
Mr. Moskowitz said a balance between development and preservation has been met because township political leadership has been pro-active and farsighted in dealing with planning issues. He said it is a reflection of how much the community is involved with public policy.
"(The politicians) have always been good at reaching out to the public, and the citizens aren’t afraid to speak up," Mr. Moskowitz said.
According to Mr. Moskowitz, planning is only one element of Cranbury’s success. He describes it as one leg of a stool, the other two elements being engineering and legal consulting.
Another goal of the Master Plan was to lay out a play for the township to meet its affordable housing requirements. Mr. Moskowitz said new Council on Affordable Housing regulations, which bases the number of housing units required on the amount of new residential and commercial development in a municipality, calculated as its growth share, makes more sense than the previous plan, which assigned each town a number through a complicated process that was based on projected growth.
He said Cranbury’s was an ideal contract to end his career.
"The township has been blessed with good leadership that has held consultants to its objectives, and these policies are now working," Mr. Moskowitz said. "The town has faced problems directly and consistently, and that is unique for a township. They’ve looked realistically at the future."
When asked if he had any advice for Cranbury’s future township planner, Mr. Moskowitz, who lives in Livingston, said candidates should have a sense of humor "developers love my jokes," and recommends that they live outside of Cranbury.
"You can’t live in a town for which you plan, you need to give good advice and be quiet so you can learn about the town. I’ve found the one hour drive I have to Livingston allows any anger to dissipate," Mr. Moskowitz said.
The township has not yet hired a new planner, but is in the process of selecting candidates for the position.
Citing James Watson and Francis Crick, who cracked the DNA code, Mr. Moskowitz said when one comes to the age of 73, he should be able to do anything he desires, including doing nothing at all. But the septuagenarian plans to explore his other, varied interests including, reading, teaching and traveling.
"I’ll write articles, golf, do local HAM radio and do some traveling," he said.
Mr. Moskowitz said he will embark upon an expedition to South America and Antarctica.

