In an effort to ensure that future generations in West Windsor will enjoy the same quality of life that attracted the present generation to the township, officials have released a plan to commit West Windsor to “sustainable development.”##M:[more]##
A draft of the Sustainable West Windsor Plan 2007 was prepared by the Rutgers Center for Green Building and the New Jersey State Sustainability Institute. Officials from Rutgers will present the plan to the Planning Board during its meeting on Tuesday, October 10.
The plan analyzes social, economic, and environmental conditions, develops objectives using those factors, and suggests courses of action to guide officials in making environmentally-friendly decisions. According to the draft, the plan is intended to inform future amendments to the township’s Master Plan and related policy implementation.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said the sustainability plan looks into all kinds of things, including township operations, and social, economic and financial factors.
He said while sustainability plans aren’t new, having them at the municipal level is, and that he hopes the plan will become part of the township’s Master Plan.
The idea of reducing impact to the environment is becoming more and more acceptable to scientists and professionals in the field, said Hsueh, and while West Windsor is just one municipality, reducing its share of impact can make a difference.
“What’s really important is we want Planning Board members to start thinking along those lines,” when it comes to redevelopment projects, such as the one at the Princeton Junction train station,” he added.
Hsueh also said the state Office of Smart Growth is happy with the plan and wants to use West Windsor as an example for setting up sustainability plans in other municipalities.
There are five areas (land use, circulation, society, natural resources, and government) for which the plan outlines goals and courses of action.
With regard to land use, suggestions include improving pedestrian and bike access for existing neighborhoods to transit nodes. It also suggests the township create a Neighborhood Activity Center Overlay District to encourage small-scale commercial and mixed-use development in convenient locations that provide daily services and jobs within walking distance of neighborhoods. Requiring that green building practices be considered for all buildings at the Princeton Junction train station is also a recommendation.
The township should employ traffic calming devices and establish “park and ride” facilities on the edge of the Princeton Junction redevelopment zone, the plan suggests.
Hsueh said he definitely wants to tie the sustainability plans into the redevelopment. “I would like to make sure the redevelopment plan incorporates all sustainability ideas as part of it, and make it a requirement,” he said.
Some other suggestions in the plan include enforcing littering ordinances, hosting garden tours of area homes, businesses, and organizations, and organizing a series of community sustainable events to help raise awareness about air quality. It also suggests providing information to residents and business owners regarding energy conservation, green roofs, and rain water collection practices.
Hsueh said the township will also continue to look for state and federal assistance.”You’re not going to expect taxpayers to pay for everything,” he said. “We want to manage in a more cost-effective way.”
The plan began as an initiative of the township’s Environmental Commission. The township subsequently received a $5,”000 Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) grant to help with the process and the hiring of a consultant, Jennifer Senick from Rutgers.
After the Environmental Commission drew up the framework of the plan and solicited input from residents, the township received a $20,”000 Office of Smart Growth Green Planning Grant to fund the studio and consulting work involved in researching and drafting the plan.
“I think what’s important here is what the future generation would get out of this,” Hsueh said. “We have to think about longer terms, the sustainable community, and what all of this really means to everybody.”
