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THE TOWNSHIP
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Chesterfield
Township, a sparsely developed rural community in northern Burlington
County, NJ has enacted an innovative Master Plan and Land Development
Ordinance which will channel future growth into a new village designed
according to neo-traditional planning principles.
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AGRICULTURE
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Agriculture and
horse farming are the predominant land uses in Chesterfield. The
preservation of this agricultural heritage is one of the fundamental tenets
of the Township Master Plan. Nearly one-third of the Township's land
area has been permanently deed restricted for agricultural use.
Chesterfield Township ranks second among New Jersey's 566 municipalities in
farmland preservation with 4,575 acres preserved to date through a variety
of local, county and state programs. |
SETTLEMENTS
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Chesterfield is sparsely
settled, with only 924 dwelling units among its 21 square miles. The
township's traditional development pattern consists of farms surrounding the
historic village of Crosswicks and hamlets of Chesterfield and Sykesville.
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Fortunately, the pace of
new housing construction has been slow - averaging 13 units per year since 1990.
However, a number of conventional subdivisions have been developed in recent
years which interrupt the continuity of agricultural uses. Moreover,
residential market pressure is mounting in response to continuing commercial
growth within Central New Jersey.
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ZONING
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In 1997, after devoting years to
evaluation and consensus-building, the Chesterfield Township Planning Board
adopted a master plan which sets forth a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
strategy for future land use in the township. Through zoning changes
adopted by the Township Committee in 1998 the development capacity of all of the
vacant, residentially-zoned land in the rural environs (the "sending area") is
to be transferred into a 560 acre "receiving area" in a new settlement known as
Old York Village. Chesterfield is one of two municipalities in New Jersey
to have implemented a comprehensive TDR zone plan.
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RECEIVING AREA
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Chesterfield has master-planned
development within the receiving area according to traditional neighborhood
design (TND) concepts - the planning principles by which historic American
settlements such as Crosswicks Village evolved. Consequently, although the
receiving area will be developed by different homebuilders, the plans for each
tract must conform to the Township's concept plan in certain key respects,
including the design of collector roads, recreation facilities, the open space
network and stormwater management. |
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VILLAGE PLAN
The
Old York Village Plan
provides for over 1,200 housing units in a variety of attached and detached
single family housing types, a new elementary school adjacent to centralized
active recreation facilities, a network of neighborhood parks, a mixed-use
village center with retail, office and convenience uses to serve local market
needs and preserved stream corridors with walking paths which will connect the
respective neighborhoods and extend north to Crosswicks Village.
SITE DESIGN STANDARDS
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village will be guided by site planning and architectural design standards which
have been incorporated within the Township's zoning ordinance. The site
planning standards address the spatial relationships between buildings and the
roadways, streetscape elements and open spaces which form their context.
The architectural design standards will ensure that the residential and
commercial buildings echo the architectural styles and details, building
materials and colors that are characteristic of buildings within Chesterfield's
historic villages. |
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NJ STATE PLAN
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Chesterfield
Township's TDR program and village plan are consistent with New Jersey's
State Plan and "Smart Growth" policies. The State Plan calls for
growth within "rural planning areas" to be channeled into "centers" while
leaving the surrounding environs available for agriculture and natural open
space. In 2000 the NJ State Planning Commission officially granted
Chesterfield's receiving area "center designation" and awarded the township
a Smart Growth grant to advance the planning of Old York Village.
Chesterfield Township's master plan integrates two of the state's principal
land use policies: preservation of agricultural land through TDR and
provision of the Township's fair share of housing affordable to low and
moderate income households.
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MOVING FORWARD
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Old York Village is not just a
plan on paper. Nearly 90% of the land in the receiving area is under
contract to or owned by residential developers. Sewer and water utilities
have been brought to the receiving area. Applications for subdivision
approval for the majority of the land in the planned village are being processed
by the Planning Board. Most importantly, construction has commenced on the
first residential subdivision. |
SMART GROWTH
| In Chesterfield Township the
interests of the landowners, farmers, homebuilders and open space
preservationists share common ground. Every house which is constructed in
Old York Village represents the retirement of a development credit and the
preservation of land in the balance of the Township. When the village is
fully developed, the preservation of the environs around it will also be
complete. Much like the historic settlements of Crosswicks, Chesterfield
and Sykesville, the planned village will be surrounded by agricultural lands and
open space. A new village designed according
to traditional planning and design principles which preserves Chesterfield
Township's rural heritage. Smart Growth. |
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Chesterfield Township's Transfer of
Development Rights program and the neo-traditional plan for Old York Village
have been recognized with the following awards:
American Planning Association, NJ Chapter 2002
Outstanding Planning Implementation Award.
American Society of Landscape Architects, NJ
Chapter 2003 Landscaping Planning and Analysis Award.
New Jersey Future, 2003 Swart Growth Award.
See Award photo here.
Environmental Excellence Award for
Open Space Protection and Preservation for 2003.
2004 Outstanding Planning Award for a
Project for our TDR Program and Village Plan. (Chesterfield Township was
selected for this award out of over 190 entries by the National Planning Award
Jury.) This award was
presented at the American Planning Association's Conference in Washington DC on
April 27, 2004)
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