Revised Master Plan Adoption Recommended to Committee

The Planning Board approved a resolution recommending the township Committee adopt the Master Plan Re-examination Report, a guiding document on land use and development goals, Monday night.

A Planning Board committee developed in October 2011 worked alongside the Economic Development Commission to review and update the master plan, Deputy Mayor and Planning Board member Gary Quinn said.

Elements looked at included land use, housing circulation, utilities, renewable energy, community facilities, recreation, conservation, farmland preservation, business and the historic district.

The major change to the master plan, which hasn’t been updated in 15 years, pertains to residential sites, Quinn said.

As Lacey became more developed with big box stores, the mom-and-pop shops have been impacted, Quinn said.

“We wanted to find ways to help those folks,” he said.

The master plan proposes permitting multi-family townhouses and condos and age-restricted apartments, Quinn said.

The re-examination, if approved by the township Committee, would allow for non-age restricted multi-family residential development in commercial zones. For example, dwelling units in mixed-use buildings on Route 9 or Lacey Road. It would also permit two-family dwellings and mixed-use buildings along Manchester Avenue.

The plan also proposes revamping sign ordinances and landscaping along Lacey’s main corridors to add “attractiveness,” Quinn said.

Other master plan modifications included:

• Incorporate zoning for wireless communication equipment in the township as a permitted use on municipally owned lands.
• Incorporate zoning for solar energy and small wind systems in the township so that clean renewable energy resources can be utilized in a cost-effective and timely manner. Re-evaluate the intersection of Route 9 and Taylor Lane.
• Evaluate and restrict parking on side streets along Lacey Road to reduce the number of accidents.
• Adopt and incorporate New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Complete Street Policy, which requires future roadway improvement projects to include safe accommodations for all users including bicyclists and pedestrians. This would include sidewalks and bikeways along Lacey’s major streets.
• Update the recreation element by developing an appendix listing all of Lacey’s different recreational facilities.
• Add the existing recycling plan ordinance.
• Adds shade tree and landscaping ordinances for along the Lacey Road and Route 9 corridors and update sign ordinance.
• Rezone the property owned by Jersey Central Power and Light so it is zoned properly for a new generation facility upon Oyster Creek’s closure in 2019.

The Planning Board committee that worked on the master plan was comprised of Chairman Steven Kennis, Mayor Gary Quinn and board members Chris Reid and Vinnie Layton. Board engineer Bruce Jacobs and a zoning official would also sit in on meetings.

The township Committee will review and discuss the master plan in February or March, Quinn said. Then, the Committee will either vote on a resolution adopting the master plan or make further recommendations to the Planning Board.

Return to Lacey Patch for further stories on each element of the master plan.