As West Windsor officials continue the process for certification under the Sustainable Jersey program, the council has approved two resolutions that affirm the township’s commitment to green initiatives.
The resolutions, approved June 14, are necessary in order for the township to become certified under the program, which provides access to grants and helps municipalities to find funding opportunities to continue becoming more sustainable.
The first resolution authorizes the township’s commitment to pledge continuation and expansion of its sustainable land use planning practices, while the second resolution authorizes the township’s commitment to promote green building practices within the township.
The first resolution pledges that township officials will reach out to neighboring communities concerning land use decisions and take into consideration regional impacts; continue the creation of transportation choices with a complete streets approach by considering all modes of transportation, including walking, biking, and transit; protect natural resources; use its zoning power to allow for a mix of residential, retail, commercial, recreational, and other land uses; foster a diverse mix of housing types and locations; incorporate green design into municipal buildings; among others.
The second resolution pledges that the township will implement a green building policy that will consider opportunities to incorporate green building measures into the design, construction, operation and maintenance of municipal buildings and facilities and will encourage green design for commercial, quasi-public, and residential buildings.
Michael Hornsby, chairman of West Windsor’s Environmental Commission, said the deadline to apply for certification to the program is September 15.
The resolutions are elements of the Sustainable West Windsor plan that was already adopted in 2009. In addition to the resolutions, members of the Environmental Commission are currently working on anti-idling and “complete streets” (in conjunction with the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance) resolutions to bring before council, said Hornsby.
In October, 2009, West Windsor became one of the towns in the state with a sustainability element as part of its Master Plan aimed at incorporating more environmentally-friendly initiatives into future township development. The sustainability element, offers goals, objectives, strategies, and targets to direct township operations toward more sustainable practices.
The sustainability element helps define what is meant by “sustainable,” identifies specific strategies and actions, and enables the township to have the authority to implement the initiatives through ordinances. The plan also devises progress by using a tracking system, in order to monitor which initiatives the township undertakes as it moves along. The plan also identifies “responsible parties” for each initiative that officials thought would be charged with studying and undertaking each of the individual initiatives.
Officials began working on the plan in August, 2007. The sustainability element comes as a direct result of the Sustainable West Windsor Plan that was developed by Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, in coordination with the Environmental Commission, in August, 2007. The township received funding for the work through the state Department of Community Affairs’ Office of Smart Growth’s Smart Future grant program.
In August, 2008, the legislature passed a law allowing local planning boards to include sustainability elements in their master plans, which was not allowed at the time West Windsor’s Plan was being drafted.
“There’s nothing in either of these resolutions that the township hasn’t committed to previously,” said Marty Rosen, a member of both the Planning Board and Environmental Commission. Rather, the resolutions formalize council’s agreement as officials apply for certification.
Councilwoman Diane Ciccone said the resolutions would help the township “continue to be leaders in the state in sustainability.”
