Stopping Sprawl
Many people would like to prevent the sprawl affecting our towns, but don’t know where to begin. Highlighted here are short summaries of the steps you, as an individual, can take at the local level. The key is to become knowledgeable about the specific growth occurring in your community and to participate in the review of proposals whenever necessary.
STOP THE SPRAWL
Step #1
Step #2
Step #3
What can you really do to STOP, INFLUENCE, MANAGE, and UNDERSTAND the growth in your community?
Often, residents learn about a development application at a point in the process when it is too late to have any substantive effect on it. Although knowing about the review process is important, it is even more valuable to know what planning and protective measures do or do not exist in your community and how they work.
In New Jersey, most of the decisions about land use and development in a municipality are made at the local level by the town’s governing body (the Town Council or Committee) and its Planning and Zoning Boards. Advisory bodies such as the Environmental, Recreation, or Historical Commissions provide information to the leadership and carry out projects for the town.
These groups operate under the legal powers granted to towns by the NJ Municipal Land Use Law (the MLUL). A primary requirement of the MLUL is that all towns must have a Master Plan, containing a Land Use Element, and other components, that lay out the township’s vision and goals and objectives for the next 6 years.
The Master Plan (MP) is the basis for the ordinances under which the town actually operates. These include the zoning ordinance, which spells out what is allowed to occur in different parts of the township; the subdivision or land use ordinance, which regulates the development process; and any specific ordinances affecting the town’s environment. Tree protection, stream corridor protection, septic management, and wellhead protection ordinances are examples. Other documents that can be part of a town’s MP or serve as part of its foundation include an Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) describing the natural features of the municipality; an Open Space & Recreation Plan (OSRP) detailing areas to be preserved for the use of residents and for wildlife habitat; a Historic Preservation Plan; a Housing Plan; and others.
These documents give a municipality the legal basis to enact regulations governing growth. However, they do not give officials the right to abridge the property rights of landowners, which are protected by a body of state law and court decisions. This is where the Planning and Zoning Boards come in. Their purpose is to review development and other applications to make sure these comply with local ordinances, under a legal process that protects the rights of the applicants.
Learn & Speak Up:
Contact your Municipal Clerk’s office and/or local library to see the documents that govern land use and environmental resource planning and regulation in your town. Attend the meetings of your governing body and Boards to see the process in action – the meetings are public and are all listed in your local newspaper. Communicate to your local elected officials your views about the future of your town. The Master Plan must be reviewed every 6 years, which provides an especially good opportunity to be heard.
- Questions to ask include:
- What Commissions exist in your town and are they active?
- Is there a M.P. Review or Advisory Committee and when is the next M.P. review?
- Does your town have an ERI? How recent is it?
- Does your town have an open space tax that funds protection of open space and/or farmland?
- Does your town have an OSRP? Does it have an Open Space Committee?
- Has a Housing Element been prepared and certified by the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)? By planning for affordable housing a municipality can avoid being forced by developers to accept large, high density projects.
No matter how much or little you are able to be directly involved in your town’s governance, the more you know about its protective measures and plans, or lack of them, the greater your influence can be. That’s step #1.
How can you help control sprawl in your community?
This article focuses on the development and land use applications that may come before your town's land use boards.
Residential developments often begin as Major Subdivisions creating multiple lots from a single lot. The review process for local approval of major subdivisions is set out in the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL), the legislation that grants land use regulation powers to the towns. Local land use ordinances must reflect the standards of the statute.
Types of Applications
Applications for development are usually of the following types:
1) Conforming Applications are proposals that meet all of the requirements of the town's zoning ordinance. They are reviewed and subject to approval by the Planning Board as to their design. The application may be for subdivision approval or for Site Plan approval. A site plan includes the design of a building and other features on a particular lot including building location, parking, stormwater management facilities, access and grading, and utility and landscape plans.
2) Sometimes a project will require a variance (permission to deviate from the terms of the zoning ordinance) as a first step. Such an application may go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment. This Board’s principal powers are to hear and decide questions on interpretation of the zoning map and land use ordinances of the town and to grant variances, or “relief,” as necessary and appropriate.
Types of Variances
A proposal requires a variance when what is proposed is:
- A use not permitted in the zone, or an expansion of an existing nonconforming use. An example would be siting an industrial facility in a residential zone. (A "Use Variance")
- An intensity of use above the permitted density of the zone, for example, applying to build more houses, on smaller lots, that the minimum lot size allows. (A "Use Variance")
- Nonconforming size, shape or certain aspects of the configuration of a lot or structure. An undersized setback from the street or sidewalk might be an example. (A "Bulk Variance")
Questions to Ask:
- What development is coming to your community? Not all development is bad for a town, but sometimes a project is going into the wrong place, is an undesirable use for a particular area, or may have a negative impact on sensitive environmental features of the site.
- What applications have been submitted and where are they in the approval process?
- Are any variances required?
- What do your zoning and land use ordinances allow and where? Reading the ordinances will tell you what types of development are permitted in various sections of your community, at what densities, and under what restrictions and requirements. You can review the ordinances at the town hall, on the municipal website, or request a copy (for a set fee) from the clerk's office.
The Environmental Commission of your municipality often reviews subdivision and site plans that are scheduled to come before the Zoning and Planning Boards. Contact the E.C. to find out if an application in which you are interested is under review. This is one way for you to see the specific plans and to learn what variances are being sought, if any. The plans of any application become public documents once the application is submitted and are thus open to examination at the land use office.
If a public hearing has been "noticed" it means that the property owners within 200 feet of the applicant's property were notified of a public hearing to review the application. At this point, the applicant has already submitted complete plans and an application. There will be a public portion of the hearing on the application, following the full presentation by the applicant. At the hearing you have the opportunity to ask questions, cross-examine witnesses’ testimony, voice objections, and present relevant new information.
If you think the Zoning and Land Use Ordinances in your community should be strengthened or improved, the proper group to address is the municipal Governing Body (the Council or Committee). This elected body adopts, amends, revises, and enforces the Zoning and Land Use Ordinances, subject to advice by the Planning and Zoning Boards.
The key is to become knowledgeable about the specific growth occurring in your community and to participate in the review of proposals whenever necessary. That's step #2!
This article describes the sequence through which a development is approved, and your potential role in that process.
By the time many people become aware of an application to develop a property in their town, it is often too late to have any effect on the outcome. To have input into decisions about a specific project, you need to know about it in time. This means being alert to what’s going on in your community by:
- Reading legal notices and minutes of Board meetings (Planning & Zoning), at the town offices.
- Connecting with the Environmental Commission (E.C.), which usually reviews applications ahead of time.
- Studying plans for a project in advance of the hearing on it. These are available at the land use office of your town.
It also helps to know the process of major subdivision approval:
- A developer can request, or a town can recommend or require a pre-application conference about a proposed project. This usually occurs before a detailed site plan is drawn up and involves review of a less expensive concept plan.
- The developer submits an application, with detailed drawings of site features, subdivision layout, roads & parking, emergency access, utilities, grading, landscaping, stormwater management facilities, sewerage, and protection of natural resources.
- The application is reviewed by the municipal engineer and planner, and can be reviewed by the E.C. Written reports are prepared for the Board. A site inspection can be called for by the reviewing Board or the E.C.
- If all requirements for submittal have been met, the application is deemed complete and a hearing on it is scheduled.
- A public hearing is held, with required advance public notice of the hearing time, date, & place. Property owners within 200 feet of the project property are notified directly. At the hearing, the application is presented and expert witnesses may offer testimony. The Board and the public can question the applicant and experts. There is also a period for public comments and recommendations.
- Preliminary approval is granted or denied. This decision is based on the facts received from all sources and reviewed by the Board, including review of the project’s conformance with applicable ordinances and regulations.
- When Preliminary Approval is given, conditions may be imposed on the project by the Board. Once these have been met, Final Approval may be granted.
There are legal limits on the time a reviewing Board may take to make decisions. It must be understood that all significant alterations and conditions are added to plans at the Preliminary Approval stage. Thus, it is imperative to participate before and at Preliminary Approval if you wish to influence project decisions. The public hearing is your opportunity to provide input directly.
At the hearing it is important to give the Board relevant information and documentation of facts, rather than simply objecting to the project. A good approach is to frame specific concerns in the form of questions that should be considered, or that point up any limits or inconsistencies in expert witness testimony (“Are you aware that…”). You may also raise questions about compliance with ordinances and other environmental protection programs.
If you and your neighbors have a strong objection to project specifics, it may be worth retaining an attorney and/or hiring expert witnesses to represent the group and present testimony.
Participating directly in the review process of development applications in your municipality does take time, but it’s an important way to help manage the growth in your community. It’s step #3!
