The Planning Board and Environmental Commission want residents’ opinions on how best to protect the borough’s natural resources as part of its Master Plan.
By: Linda Seida
STOCKTON The Planning Board and the Environmental Commission hope to elicit public comment during a meeting Tuesday about proposed changes to the town’s Master Plan.
The board and the commission are inviting residents of the borough and surrounding communities to attend the 7:30 p.m. meeting at Borough Hall on Main Street.
The Master Plan does not contain a conservation element, according to board member and commission Chairman Bill Lowry. The proposed changes will seek to address the conservation and protection of Stockton’s environmental, historic and cultural resources, he said.
"Stockton is working with its town planner through a grant with ANJEC (the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions) to update its Master Plan," Mr. Lowry said. "The Master Plan is a framework to ensure that the Planning Board and council meet local needs such as housing, transportation issues and other economical needs of the community while protecting important natural resources."
The commission was charged with compiling a natural resources inventory, identifying all significant natural resources within the borough. The NRI will eventually become part of the Master Plan’s conservation element.
"Identifying these natural resources is the first step in protecting them," Mr. Lowry said. "Future work will include the development of a land use element, which will show existing and proposed land uses and describe population and development densities. That work should be completed by early next year, and, once again, there will be an opportunity for public input before that plan element is adopted by the Planning Board."
With changes to the Master Plan, the board and commission hope to be able to protect Stockton’s ground and surface waters, including the category one-classified Wickecheoke Creek and the Delaware and Raritan Canal, which is a source of drinking water for 17 million people, providing about 75 million gallons of drinking water per day. Receiving a C-1 designation from the state Department of Environmental Protection means it must be given the highest protection.
Stockton also is home to wetlands, floodplains and stream corridors, Mr. Lowry said.
Also in need of protection are critical animal habitats, such as those of the barred owl and the long-tailed salamander, according to Mr. Lowry.
"There are historical resources, too," he said. "There are a number of historic landmarks from the (Prallsville) mill to the school."
The Stockton Borough School was built in 1832 and was placed on the state and national historic registers about a year ago.
An example of the town’s cultural resources is the Indian campground discovered on the land formerly owned by the My Ben Corp., which the borough preserved as open space last year.
The Master Plan was last updated in 2001 and must be updated every six years, according to Mr. Lowry.
Mayor Gregg Rackin said, "The Master Plan is a critical document that lays out the planning agenda for our community. It’s important for residents who are concerned with what Stockton will look like over the next 20 years to participate in revising this document. I want to thank Bill Lowry and Michael Hagerty for their leadership and all the members of the Stockton Environmental Commission and Planning Board for their efforts in making this important process move forward."
Mr. Hagerty is the council’s liaison to the Planning Board.

