Upper Freehold Township seeks new township planner to replace Richard Coppola who announced his resignaton in December.
By: Dana Lynn Flatekval
UPPER FREEHOLD In the new year the township will face the task of finding someone to replace Township Planner Richard Coppola, who announced his resignation last month.
At the Dec. 9 Planning Board meeting Mr. Coppola told members of his desire to end his service to the township.
Mr. Coppola and his wife, Cindy, own Coppola & Coppola Associates of Princeton Junction. He has been the planner for both the Planning Board and the Township Committee for the past 12 years.
Although Mr. Coppola would not comment on his decision to leave the township this week, Mayor John Mele said he cited his workload as a reason.
Among the other area New Jersey towns Mr. Coppola works for as a planner are East Windsor, Montgomery, Pennington, Hopewell and Blairstown.
In September, Mr. Coppola presented the township with a report recommending the township rezone from 3 acres to 6 acres. In that report, Mr. Coppola acknowledged that downzoning would be consistent with the goals of the Master Plan and would be in the best interest of the township.
Following Mr. Coppola’s recommendation to rezone, Committeeman Stephen Alexander proposed that an ordinance be drafted based on the planner’s report. However, at the following meeting, Mr. Alexander withdrew his request stating there would not be enough time to adopt the ordinance by the end of the year.
"When any planner has put that much time in preparing a report and it winds up going on the shelf, that has to be frustrating," Mayor Mele said. "He must question whether he is doing any good and whether the committee is interested in anything he has to say.
"I believe he looked at the towns he works for and chose which ones are actually following through with planning," he said.
According to the contract Mr. Coppola has with the township, he must remain its planner until a replacement is found.
The mayor said the township will be searching for a new planner in the upcoming weeks.
Mayor Mele said Upper Freehold is unique because concentration is not on continued development but on maintaining its rural character.
"We need someone who will be able to understand our needs as a rural community," the mayor said.
The new planner will have to guide the township in maintaining its rural atmosphere and meeting Council on Affordable Housing obligations.
"(Mr. Coppola) has a lot of history with Upper Freehold and an understanding of its needs," he said. "There are probably qualified planners out there but Mr. Coppola will be missed."