By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
In continuing efforts to improve the township, members of the Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee spoke before the Township Committee April 22, to detail the methods used in developing plans to promote quality living.
”This project is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” said Randy Solomon, director of the New Jersey State Sustainability Institute (NJSSI), which has partnered with the township to develop and implement its plan. “The purpose is to create a long-term vision and action plan.”
Mr. Solomon, with members of the Steering Committee, outlined a continuous plan that involves developing ways in which to improve the quality of life for residents, followed by a request for approval from both residents and the Township Committee, implementation of the ideas and a period of evaluation. He said they have already developed a first draft of the plan that will soon be shared with residents.
”We will spend a large chunk of time going forward with the plan and then evaluate how we did,” Mr. Solomon said. “We’ll be able to see if we are making progress toward our goals.”
Sustainable Hillsborough is a program designed to institute ways to improve the township to benefit residents in the present and future. The program is conducted in conjunction with the Stonybrook-Millstone Watershed Association and NJSSI to develop goals and objectives.
The Hillsborough program began in 2006 after the township received a $40,000 grant from the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, in Ewing.
”This is all part of a national movement to sustainability as a guiding principle for development,” Mr. Solomon said. “It is about improving the quality of life.”
Phil Ludvigsen co-chair of the Steering Committee and director of US climate change with Jacques Whitford, which investigates environmental policies outlined the five different goals discussed by both the Steering Committee and residents at various public forums in 2006 and 2007.
”We decided to focus on prioritizing what could be done in the short term,” he said.
One of the more important goals Mr. Ludvigsen discussed was first initiated at the June 19 public forum when residents determined that conserving energy should be a main focus of the project.
”We have been disappointed that the rest of the world seems to understand the need to reduce gas use, and we are just starting to see that in the United States,” he said. “We also want to educate the population about the green building. I am amazed at how many business owners don’t know about it.”
Mr. Ludvigsen said he is focusing on the green building at Faith Lutheran Church, on South Branch Road, where he is serving as the building committee chairman as the church works on a project that it hopes will allow it to get LEED certification, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which certifies the building as being green.
Another goal of the project is community, Mr. Ludvigsen said, and focuses on educating people about what they can do to help by promoting volunteerism and getting kids involved as well.
The second goal is environment, and Mr. Ludvigsen said this involves sustainable landscaping projects and other ideas for the town to keep it aesthetically pleasing and promote environmental safety. Mr. Ludvigsen cited the township’s current partnership with Rutgers University to retrofit detention basins to improve water quality and lessen maintenance as one step toward achieving this goal.
According to Mr. Ludvigsen, the third goal involves improving public transportation and bicycle use, among other forms that use less gas, while the fourth goal looks at the local economy and tourism opportunities, including those offered by Duke Farms.
For the plan to work, Deputy Mayor Frank DelCore said, it is important to look at all the aspects of the township to see the best steps for improvement based on the economy and town itself.
”This started as a project to aid Hillsborough to maintain its quality of life,” Mr. DelCore said. “These actions cover many facets of the community.”
