Change in the wind?
By: DAVID LEVINSKY Burlington County TimesPemberton Township to consider amending master plan.
dlevinsky@phillyBurbs.com
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP - At 64 square miles in size, there's no shortage of land in this rural township.
But local officials and planners are quick to point out that roughly 90 percent of the township's territory is within the environmentally sensitive Pinelands making it subject to stringent restrictions on what may be built there.
The 10 percent portion outside the Pinelands is mostly picturesque farmland and open space in the township's northern end along North Pemberton, Birmingham and Arney's Mount roads. The land is zoned for agriculture and low-density housing.
That leaves local officials in a conundrum: Do they leave the northern territory alone or preserve it as agriculture and open space or do they approve zoning changes and public water and sewerage extensions to allow higher density residential and commercial development?
Residents could learn their decision tonight when the local Planning Board meets at 6:30 to adopt the township's first master plan amendment in nearly 37 years. (It's at 7:30pm)
Among the amendments proposed is a zoning change to allow senior housing on the Greenberg farm on North Pemberton Road.
The existing zoning on the former dairy farm is agriculture and permits residential construction at a density of one home per 6 acres. The proposed master plan calls for the zoning to be amended to senior housing. The permitted density was not available.
Proponents of the change say it's needed to attract development to help stabilize the township's rapidly rising property taxes.
Opponents worry allowing higher density development on the tract will affect the quality of life of nearby residents and cost taxpayers more for services. They also question the township's need for additional senior housing given the Planning Board has approved a 578-home age-restricted development to rise on Lakehurst Road.
The issue of developing the Greenberg land is not new. In 2000, New York developer David Weinberg of SGS Communities proposed building a 1,050-unit golf course development on the Greenberg land as well as the adjacent Pemberton Metro Airport and Wilson farm. The majority of the proposed homes were to be age-restricted, but some single-family homes and commercial development were included.
The project was believed to have been abandoned by the developer after the then-Republican-controlled Township Council announced it would not consider the required zoning changes and master plan amendments for the proposed development until after a county planning study of the Route 206 corridor was completed.
Planning Board Chairman David Cooper said he was not aware of any specific developer interested in building on the property.
Cooper said updating the master plan is a state requirement and the proposed changes are intended to make the township more attractive to residents and businesses. He said many changes were focused on the northern end of the township because of its potential to attract development to reduce the local tax burden.
"That's a definite goal," Cooper said, adding other land tracts were being rezoned from commercial and industrial to agriculture in order to preserve the rural character of the area.
"We're trying to achieve a balance of farmland preservation and development," he said.
Opponents worry the proposed zoning change on the Greenberg tract will allow additional development. They said any development on the tract should be done under the existing zoning and without extending public water and sewerage to the land.
"Putting water and sewers onto farms will open the floodgates. The next step will be high-density development," said resident Bob Cushmeyer.
Cushmeyer and other residents formed a grassroots group called Pemberton First to lobby against the golf course development. Cushmeyer said the organization became active again after learning about the proposed master plan amendments.
"We've been meeting monthly and we put out a survey and gathered signatures on a petition," he said.
Councilman Rick Prickett, also a member of Pemberton First, questioned why the zoning change is needed. He was unaware of any developer interested in building age-restricted homes on the land and township residents have not expressed a need for additional senior housing.
"It seems like this whole master plan has been developed to get sewers on the Greenberg property. The rest is just fluff," Prickett said.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching Mayor David Patriarca for comment on the proposed changes.
In a guest column published last week in a local weekly paper, Patriarca wrote the new master plan incorporates "smart growth planning" and the Greenberg farm would be rezoned with a 300-foot buffer intended to preserve the "rural character along North Pemberton Road." He also claimed the change was consistent with the county's Route 206 corridor plan.
Burlington County and the state Department of Agriculture have preserved nine properties totaling 619 acres along North Pemberton and Birmingham roads, according to county spokesman Loretta O'Donnell.
She said the Greenberg farm has not been targeted for preservation because the township does not support its preservation.
"Our preservation programs are designed to work with local planning and economic development projects, not against them," O'Donnell said. "The fact that this farm is not targeted is evidence of this policy."
July 09, 2009
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