Smart growth talks target Route 206 municipalities

By: Cara Latham
   While the county is working on creating a smart growth plan for northern Burlington County, local officials say they are on board with efforts to revitalize the Route 206 corridor.
   As part of its planning efforts, the county conducted a forum last week at the Rutgers EcoComplex in Mansfield, where speakers, including Chesterfield Mayor Larry Durr and a developer who is working on a Town Center project in Eastampton, gave insights into different options municipalities could explore for smart growth.
   Mark Remsa, the director of economic development and regional planning for the county, who also spoke at the meeting, said the county’s goal is to create an overall plan for the "farm belt region" aimed at curbing suburban sprawl while creating a balance between development and growth.
   The plan for that region, running through 13 municipalities, including Chesterfield, Mansfield, New Hanover, North Hanover, Bordentown Township, Bordentown City, Fieldsboro and Springfield, "includes farmland and open space, preservation and encouraging development in more concentrated (locations) in certain areas of the farm belt region," he said.
   While Mr. Remsa gave an overview of the whole planning effort, the developer spoke about the Town Center in Eastampton, and Mayor Durr explained the Transfer of Development Rights program currently in progress in Chesterfield.
   TDR requires developers to purchase credits from farmers in order to build new houses. The program keeps development to certain areas of a town, rather than having it spread out.
   In Chesterfield, a 550-acre development in Old York Village will, when complete, will have triple townhouse units, single-family houses and apartments in addition to retail. The township’s Master Plan caps the number of housing units in Old York Village at 1,200.
   "We had very positive response" from the forum, said Mr. Remsa. "There were a number of folks that realized that we can’t do business as usual, or else we will lose our farmland."
   The county plans to promote these opportunities in areas like the Columbus village in Mansfield, in Wrightstown and in parts of North Hanover.
   The county is encouraging the development of a village along Sykesville Road in North Hanover, which had been developed years ago, but has since declined a little bit, he added. These efforts will "help revitalize that area, as well as encourage the transfer of development from the farms into that village area," Mr. Remsa said.
   North Hanover Township Committeeman Bill Tilton said Tuesday that the township has a redevelopment program in process, and that township officials are hoping that it will begin to move quicker.
   "The Route 206 corridor does play a vital role in what we do, as well as any other major artery," like Route 68, he said.
   Mr. Tilton said he thought the TDR programs are a good idea, but no one has yet approached the township with any specifics about the direction to go with that area, he added.
   "If TDR is done correctly, it can be utilized as a tool and be very effective," he said, but warned it could have the adverse effect if used inappropriately.
   "Our business district has been blighted for so many years, any movement at all will probably be very positive, but you also have to take a look at the big picture," he said. While the Township Committee is very interested in doing something with the area as soon as possible, there are no specifics at this time, he said.
   Bordentown Township Mayor George Chidley said the township has been working with Mr. Remsa to talk about the strategies for Route 206 and Route 130 as well. They are also still working on plans.
   "We’ve adopted corridor standards," in keeping with the township’s goal as becoming a destination in coordination with the county’s goal, he said.
   "In our case, we’re more built out," he said. "We would be one of the areas where redevelopment makes more sense in that strategy," and to make the area much more user friendly is one of those main goals, he said.
   The township has received a $40,000 grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to work on smart growth initiatives in Town Center — in the area of Route 130, 206 and Farnsworth Avenue — and will be working on that in the coming year, he added.
   Mr. Remsa said the county is hoping to wrap up the regional planing effort by the end of the year. Then, "the county’s focus will be helping municipalities to change their Master Plans and zoning ordinances" so that this type of growth will occur.
   While "the county does not mandate any of this, and all the municipalities have complete land use control," they are all "very enthusiastic about it," he said.
   Once the planning is complete, the next step is to implement the goals, he said.