Planning for keeps

Meeting launches project to create ‘sustainable’ goals.

By: John Patten
   As Hillsborough grows and changes in the coming decades, what are the town’s key characteristics residents want to save?
   That’s the question a group of planners with the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute hope residents will resolve in the coming months in the "Sustainable Hillsborough" program. The program, funded by a kicked off Nov. 30 with about 50 residents participating in a session in the municipal complex outlining views on what’s best in town, what’s missing and what’s gotta go in the future.
   "The way this is going to work is you decide what you want and we’ll try to facilitate the strategies that will be used," Randall Solomon, director of the NJSSI, said to the group.
   The NJSSI was launched in 2002 to monitor the state’s progress towards goals established in 1995 by the New Jersey Sustainable State Project. That project created a plan based on input from "hundreds of New Jersey organizations and residents," according to the NJSSI publication, "Living With the Future in Mind." The earlier project identified economic, environmental and quality of life goals and targets that could be sustained in the future.
   Working with the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and the township, Hillsborough’s project, funded by a $40,000 grant from the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, will be molded to fit local priorities and ideas for making Hillsborough "sustainable" — a concept that’s itself malleable to fit local priorities.
   Mr. Solomon noted the NJSSI is working with six communities in the state currently — Highland Park, Lawrence, West Windsor, Princeton Borough and Township, as well as Hillsborough — using the same process but getting different results.
   While much of the input from residents in Hillsborough focused on traffic, agriculture and open space, Mr. Solomon noted Highland Park residents view water retention and energy conservation as more important for their community.
   A t the Nov. 30 meeting, the residents divided into six groups and discussed four questions, listing their responses to what they liked most about Hillsborough, what they’d most like to see changed, and what factors outside of Hillsborough most affect the quality of life here.
   Not surprisingly, residents cited factors such as the open spaces and agriculture, quality of schools and emergency services, and economic vitality as their favorite aspects of Hillsborough. The residents wanted to see more done to protect local agriculture and the environment, and to create a better "sense of place."
   Nearly all agreed traffic is a major hurdle for the township, and most felt energy and water issues need to be addressed if the favorable characteristics of the township are to be sustained.
   "All of these are going to be transcribed and then we’re going to solicit more input," Mr. Solomon said.
   Eventually, a "steering committee" of residents and township officials will be empaneled to figure out how to measure the goals and how to achieve them.
   Two additional meetings are planned in the coming months to further build on the project — the dates haven’t been set yet.
   For more information on the Sustainable Hillsborough project, check the Web site, www.sustainablehillsborough.org.