The township’s Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October 14, on a new sustainability element for the township’s Master Plan.
The sustainability element offers goals, objectives, strategies, and targets to direct township operations toward more sustainable practices. 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.
The 128-page document also looks into other areas, including township operations, and social, economic and financial factors. 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 also suggests.
Officials have been working on the draft for more than two years. The sustainability element draft comes as a direct result of the Sustainable West Windsor Plan that was developed by the Environmental Commission in August, 2007.
“Well in advance of even considering this element, when site plan applications came in along Route 1, we provided for bus pick-up and drop-off points and shelters in contemplation of a possible Bus Rapid Transit, system being established,” said Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner.
“We’ve also attempted to stimulate interest in the area of LEED certification in an effort to encourage developers to meet some of the silver or gold certification standards,” Gardner said. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
An electronic copy of the sustainability element can be found on West Windsor’s website, under the boards and committees link, and then under the link to the Environmental Commission. The direct URL link is https://www.westwindsornj.org/EC-sustainability.html.
