Public meeting seeks input with models for Hillsborough town center.
By: Roger Alvarado
Hillsborough residents are invited to play the "zoning game" on Oct. 28 and help the Planning Board complete the second part of the ongoing Master Plan review.
The game will be part of a special Planning Board meeting where residents will use maps and model pieces to show how they would like the area on Route 206 between Raider Boulevard and Andria Avenue zoned as Hillsborough’s town center.
The three- to four-hour guided exercise, to be led by Master Plan consultants Wells Appel Land Strategies and Lenaz Mueller & Associates, will give the public an update on the project’s status and allow them to break up into small groups to plan the "ideal town center."
Planning Board Chairwoman Marian Fenwick-Freeman says she hopes there’s a huge turnout later this month for the special meeting.
"This is the first step in what we will do and it will be a somewhat lengthy process," Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said. "Based on the feedback and input we get from the community our consultants will get all the information and go back and more or less incorporate the ideas, suggestions and recommendations."
A subcommittee of the Planning Board has been meeting with consultant Roger Wells since May in an effort to refine the proposed town center concept and surrounding areas in a plan that encourages smart growth. The plan concentrates future development in areas already served by appropriate infrastructure while preserving outlying areas, according to the township planning office.
Township residents with help from the consulting firms and Planning Board members will get the opportunity to create mock-ups of what they’d like to see in a town center using models, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said.
"We will divide up into groups and each group will get a game board," Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said. "The game board will be in essence a blank map.
"They will be given game pieces and, in essence, take and place them on the game board in what they think would be the best design," she said. "It would be their idea … what they think the town center should look like."
According to Ms. Fenwick-Freeman, the groups will get a chance to explain their proposals and make cases for their reasoning.
"They will decide where the retail businesses, homes and residences should go," she said.
"It’s almost like monopoly only there’s no exchange of money," Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said. "We just want to see what kinds of ideas, suggestions and recommendations the community has in mind for what they would like to see in the town center."
Currently, Phase 2 of the master plan provides for mixed use including offices, retail and residential, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said.
"We want to hear what the public really would like to see in terms of a town center design even to the point of what types of architecture there should be," she said. "Once we do the town center portion and come up with how we want it to look, we will have to examine the types of uses and zoning that currently exist in the township and move to adopt ordinances that would go along with plans for the town center."
Ms. Fenwick-Freeman says she expects public hearings on the Master Plan to commence early next year
Last week’s announcement by Mayor Steven Sireci that Department of Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere has determined that the Route 206 bypass expansion project should go ahead as planned and does not need to be redesigned was a major hurdle that the township has overcome, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said.
"That’s always been a key component for us," she said. "Trenton is indicating it will proceed as planned and that gives us a lot of encouragement. The town center is depending upon the bypass becoming a reality.
"We could still create a town center, but the only thing is that in terms of doing that we would have a significant volume of traffic passing through town," she said.
Ms. Fenwick-Freeman says she’s optimistic that the town center will become a reality within approximately 10 years.
Ms. Fenwick-Freeman says she’s hoping that a large contingent of Hillsborough residents chooses to attend the meeting.
"I think it will be fun and interesting," Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said. "It’s really geared for the community to come together to tell us their thoughts and ideas.
"My concern is that people may not come out for this," she said. "But we think that this is something that’s very positive. We are very interested in knowing how the community feels about what it is that we’re doing and we really want to encourage residents to come out and spend a few hours with us. Let us know if we’re moving in the right direction and if we are doing the right thing. It is very important that people do come out."
In an effort to entice as many people as possible, refreshments will be served, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said.
"We’re going to feed those people who might want to come but don’t have an opportunity to have dinner," Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said. "So, come and relax and sit down with the other residents of the community and enjoy what I think will be a great activity."
The meeting will commence at 6 p.m. and will be held in the multi-purpose room of the Municipal Complex.
Ms. Fenwick-Freeman is encouraging any members of the public to try and make it by 8 p.m.
"If people want to participate in the game it’s important for them to arrive by 8," she said. "Otherwise it will be difficult for them if them miss the beginning of the meeting and don’t really have a good grasp of what they’re doing.
For those that can’t attend, the meeting will be videotaped and aired on Channel 25 on a later date, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said.