Mayor Dave Fried and members of the Township Council have reached agreement on the proposed Route 130 zoning ordinance that will pave the way for a long-awaited streamlining of highway zoning, in accordance with the 2006 Master Plan update and the wishes of Township voters.
“The agreement will allow Robbinsville to bring Route 130 into the modern era, which is what voters asked for when they selected new leadership in 2005,” Mayor Fried said. “The differences over a few parcels have masked the fact that Robbinsville residents overwhelmingly favor giving Route 130 a more updated look. Residents want modern services near their homes; they are tired of driving distances in heavy traffic.”

The proposed zoning ordinance, more than a year in the making, calls for eliminating the patchwork of zones along the length of Route 130 and making the corridor a singular highway commercial zone. The proposed ordinance permits current prohibited uses, such as drive-through restaurants, while encouraging high architectural standards and specifically discouraging franchise architecture.

Designed to address parcels along stretch of more than five miles of Route 130, the proposed ordinance has been endorsed by members of the business community and won support from the Township Planning Board. Only two parcels have prompted questions from residents: A parcel off Meadowbrook Road that previously received a zoning variance for multiple buildings, and a parcel off Windsor Road that overlays the intersection with Perrineville Road.

Mayor Fried and the Council have agreed to leave the Meadowbrook Road parcel in its current Office Commercial Zone, which will not affect a recent variance. In addition, the Mayor and Council have agreed to remove the parcel that crosses Perrineville Road.

At its meeting April 24, the Council continued the public hearing on the ordinance until May 8. Mayor Fried today encouraged the Council to pass a resolution to remove the Meadowbrook Road property from the ordinance at its May 8 meeting, and to adopt the ordinance at its May 22 meeting.

“No one who drives along Route 130 today can argue that Robbinsville is doing the best it can,” Mayor Fried said. “The time has come to do something about the condition of our major commercial corridor. I ask that our Township Council pass a revised ordinance at the earliest opportunity, so that investment in our community can continue.”

In addition, Mayor Fried recently asked the Planning Board to review how the 2006 Master Plan treats the Gateway areas at the Route 130 border with Hamilton and at the Route 526 border with Allentown. More zoning changes are expected from those discussions.

Source: http://www.robbinsville-twp.org/press_release_route_130_zoning_april_30_2008.pdf

Tags: Mayor, zoning