MILLSTONE – Municipal officials have rezoned property that is the site of a local day camp.
During a meeting on Jan. 15, Township Committee members authorized a rezoning of Black Bear Lake Day Camp, which is located at 457 Stagecoach Road, to change the zoning of the parcels that comprise the camp. The properties will be changed from a neighborhood commercial zone to a recreation camp zone.
The township’s planner will develop master plan amendments and/or zoning ordinance amendments to implement recommendations made by the Planning Board to change the zoning. The amendments will be presented to the Township Committee for approval.
The planner will work with the Planning Board to develop any additional standards or recommendations that may be necessary.
The recommendations made by the Planning Board were sent to the Township Committee in a letter dated Dec. 12, 2019, and discussed a request from the owners of the day camp for a zone change.
As stated in the letter, the board recommended rezoning the properties to a recreation camp zone and modifying the recreation camp zone.
The recommended modifications are to increase the maximum permitted building height from 30 feet to 35 feet to accommodate indoor recreational uses; to increase the building coverage from 5% to 10% to permit more interior recreational opportunities for recreation camps to provide these amenities to the public; to increase impervious coverage from 10% to 30%; to allow existing single-family residential development to remain, but to not permit additional single-family development; and to require commercial development in the recreation camp zone along frontages on Stagecoach Road to a depth needed to accommodate neighborhood commercial-type commercial uses with recreation camp related uses behind.
According to the letter, the Planning Board’s vision for the future is for the streetscape along Stagecoach Road between the age-restricted Allen House II site and Red Valley Road to be developed consistent with the neighborhood commercial standards.
The existing recreational camp use will be encouraged to provide increased and improved recreational amenities for the public and be stimulated to couple those improvements with the desired neighborhood commercial uses along the Stagecoach Road frontage.
The board’s recommendations were considered by Township Committee members on Dec. 18, at which time it was determined those recommendations would be implemented. The resolution that was passed by the committee members on Jan. 15 will begin the process of potentially changing the zoning of the Black Bear Lake Day Camp properties.