Former mayor Logan asks council for ‘firewall against sprawl'

Vernon - Former mayor and current planning board member John Logan appeared before the Vernon Township Council as a private citizen on Monday to propose an unexpected idea to the Town Council: "Let's set up a firewall against sprawl." He proposes that the areas surrounding the area designated as "town center" be protected and preserved as much as possible. In particular, Logan mentioned a concept plan that was presented to the Planning Board on Feb. 23 by Andrew Mulvihill. Mulvihill's plan involves the construction of two hotels on either side of Route 94 on the current Sammis Farm property. "This plan resides right outside of the Town Center zoning," said Logan. "Why not preserve the rural character of Vernon and protect open space and farmland by building in a buffer?" He recommended that the council begin the process of designating the Sammis' Farm property as Farmland and Open Space. According to the Department of Environmental Protection's website, the Open Space preservation program offers towns the ability to plan for future land use that will preserve greenways within a community as part of an overall plan for town development. Poor planning of communities can lead to problems of sprawl and depletion of natural resources. The council has spent several years applying for and receiving the designation for a town center and is currently in the process of drafting ordinances to protect the town from miscalculated over-development. "The Town Center should be the onus to make this happen," Logan said. Combating sprawl is one of the reasons that the State has severely restricted where towns can grow in recent years. Logan, often associated in his term as mayor and councilman with bringing in large-scale development, particularly Mountain Creek, insists there is a smart way to grow in Vernon while still maintaining the balance between the bucolic town from yesterday and the resort destination it will be in the future. "We need to be careful of piggy-backers, those developments that occur outside the designated areas," he said. The council questioned whether or not he had contacted the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Committee regarding the Open Space designation. "Is the landowner even willing?" asked Councilwoman Janet Morrison. Logan said he hoped the council would begin the process. On Feb. 23 at the planning board meeting Logan had cautioned the board, saying that "we should limit the amount of other development and go slow." To preserve the Sammis farm, the town's Farmland and Open Space Preservation Committee would have to recommend that the township buy the land.