Land Use Goals to be Discussed by Planning Board

The township’s Master Plan will be a topic of discussion at tonight’s Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at the .

For the first time in 15 years, the Lacey Planning Board is looking to update the township’s Master Plan, a guiding document on land use and development.

The board will be provided with an overview of the township at tonight's meeting so members can begin brainstorming for the Master Plan, Mayor Gary Quinn said.

The board will go through every zone of the township to determine which to target and what would benefit the township, he said.

The Master Plan can be updated in sections or in its entirety, Committeeman Dave Most said. The Planning Board has yet to decide which it will do.

“We’re sitting down and moving forward on the Master Plan, which is a good thing,” Most said.

A priority is the property owned by Jersey Central behind Oyster Creek Generating Station. The current Master Plan does not encompass that property, Most said.

The township is seeking to on that property once but currently, it is not zoned for that purpose, Quinn said.

“We’re going to basically be preparing the property to make a smooth transition,” Most said.

Once the property is zoned properly, the township can begin the permit process with the Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies, Most said.

“We’re paving the way for success,” he said.

Most municipalities update their Master Plans every five to 10 years, Quinn said. The most recent Re-examination Report was conducted in 2004 by the Planning Board.

The 2004 Re-examination Report's land use plan element adopted zoning for age-restricted housing development, independent living facilities and assisted living care facilities, and the delineation of the Forked River Historic District.

Much of the circulation plan element incorporated plans for Railroad Avenue along the former railroad right-of-way.

For a copy of the 2004 Master Plan Re-examination Report and the 1991 Master Plan, see the attached PDF files.

What would you like to see included in the township Master Plan?