Planning Board 2/19/04
In the movie, Dogma, the characters of Jay & Silent Bob were warned not to underestimate the staggering drawing power of the Garden State.
The rich culture and history of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. are within a 5-hour drive of New Jersey. New York City is less than an hour away from the north and central regions. The coastal region offers National and State Parks, boardwalk amusement parks, casinos, and entertainment for families, as well as thrill seekers. New Jersey has something for everyone, and it seems like everyone is here.
Many people live, work and vacation in New Jersey. New Jersey has long been the most densely populated state. Current estimates claim that only two percent of the land within the borders of Hazlet is undeveloped. Responsible management of our township’s scant remaining land has been debated in the media, and was a major issue during the last two local elections.
Managing the use of Hazlet’s land is not the sole responsibility of the township committee. The planning board is the governing body with the power to stop over development. The 2004 planning board is comprised of a cross section of residents who live here, endure the same traffic, and pay the same taxes, as do all Hazlet citizens. This year, Mayor Paul Coughlin appointed citizens and professionals with valuable and relevant experience to the open positions on the board.
The chairman and vice chairman are both professional engineers. Committeeman Scott Aagre, a licensed architect, holds a seat along with a supervisor from the public works department and Mayor Paul Coughlin. The board attorney grew up in Hazlet, and the board’s consulting engineer has past experience with our township.
One of the first issues presented to this planning board is an application to construct a 15,000 square-foot Aldi’s supermarket and a separate 5,000 square-foot retail store on Poole Avenue, adjacent to Walgreens.
If an application is filed without requests for waivers or variances, the board must approve it or subject the town to a lawsuit. The lot on Poole Avenue is currently zoned as business highway, so a supermarket is an approved use. The application for Aldi’s does require both waivers and variances. The board must have just cause to deny them, or it exposes Hazlet to costly and losing legal battles.
This site contains wet spots and a swale (wetlands), which help drain surrounding property. The Aldi application includes plans to construct a drainage system that complies with state guidelines regarding water runoff.
Anyone with a basement in Hazlet knows that groundwater is a sensitive issue; because newly developed land often turns nearby dry basements into wet ones. The chairman of the planning board has made it clear to the applicant that this issue must be studied further, and engineering testimony will continue at a later date.
Until the laws governing land use in Hazlet are changed, the planning board’s power to stop development of our precious open space is limited. A review of the Zoning Element of the Master Plan is forthcoming, but in the meantime, all applications are subject to current law.
Public input can often influence the planning board’s handling of an application. The only way to make an informed effort to preserve this open space is to attend the meetings and hear the facts. Public participation assists the board in determining the effect on citizens and their daily lives.
Public apathy is now the greatest threat to Hazlet’s last remaining morsels of open space.
The rich culture and history of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. are within a 5-hour drive of New Jersey. New York City is less than an hour away from the north and central regions. The coastal region offers National and State Parks, boardwalk amusement parks, casinos, and entertainment for families, as well as thrill seekers. New Jersey has something for everyone, and it seems like everyone is here.
Many people live, work and vacation in New Jersey. New Jersey has long been the most densely populated state. Current estimates claim that only two percent of the land within the borders of Hazlet is undeveloped. Responsible management of our township’s scant remaining land has been debated in the media, and was a major issue during the last two local elections.
Managing the use of Hazlet’s land is not the sole responsibility of the township committee. The planning board is the governing body with the power to stop over development. The 2004 planning board is comprised of a cross section of residents who live here, endure the same traffic, and pay the same taxes, as do all Hazlet citizens. This year, Mayor Paul Coughlin appointed citizens and professionals with valuable and relevant experience to the open positions on the board.
The chairman and vice chairman are both professional engineers. Committeeman Scott Aagre, a licensed architect, holds a seat along with a supervisor from the public works department and Mayor Paul Coughlin. The board attorney grew up in Hazlet, and the board’s consulting engineer has past experience with our township.
One of the first issues presented to this planning board is an application to construct a 15,000 square-foot Aldi’s supermarket and a separate 5,000 square-foot retail store on Poole Avenue, adjacent to Walgreens.
If an application is filed without requests for waivers or variances, the board must approve it or subject the town to a lawsuit. The lot on Poole Avenue is currently zoned as business highway, so a supermarket is an approved use. The application for Aldi’s does require both waivers and variances. The board must have just cause to deny them, or it exposes Hazlet to costly and losing legal battles.
This site contains wet spots and a swale (wetlands), which help drain surrounding property. The Aldi application includes plans to construct a drainage system that complies with state guidelines regarding water runoff.
Anyone with a basement in Hazlet knows that groundwater is a sensitive issue; because newly developed land often turns nearby dry basements into wet ones. The chairman of the planning board has made it clear to the applicant that this issue must be studied further, and engineering testimony will continue at a later date.
Until the laws governing land use in Hazlet are changed, the planning board’s power to stop development of our precious open space is limited. A review of the Zoning Element of the Master Plan is forthcoming, but in the meantime, all applications are subject to current law.
Public input can often influence the planning board’s handling of an application. The only way to make an informed effort to preserve this open space is to attend the meetings and hear the facts. Public participation assists the board in determining the effect on citizens and their daily lives.
Public apathy is now the greatest threat to Hazlet’s last remaining morsels of open space.
posted by Rich Kohler at 7:45 AM
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