Future development targeted
By John Tredrea
Hopewell Township is working on new design standards that would make future development more environmentally friendly, or “greener,” as the newly popular term puts it.
The standards, which would be embodied in township ordinances, were endorsed by a unanimous vote of the township Environmental Commission on June 10. The commission forwarded the proposed standards to the township Planning Board. The board will consider the proposed standards and may make recommendations on them before sending them along to the Township Committee.
It is the committee that can adopt ordinances that would give the green design standards the force of law.
The proposed standards say developers must configure their developments in ways that maximize possible use of solar energy instead of fossil fuels.
The standards also would require developers to extract, process and manufacture their raw materials regionally. This would cut down on the need to transport those materials. Transport burns fossil fuels and produces pollution.
Another pollution-cutting measure in the proposed design standards is the stipulation that commercial developments must provide a number of bicycle parking spaces equal to at least 5 percent of the number of automotive parking spaces on their sites. Commuters who switch to bicycles from automobiles reduce traffic, fossil fuel consumption and pollution.