Wantage residents oppose land-use plan

WANTAGE-The Land Use Board of Wantage Township has a plan for Wantage, and many residents n including U.S. Congressman Scott Garrett - are up in arms about it. Those opposed say they refuse to sacrifice their way of life and the neighborhood they love. Their battle cry is "We live here for a reason and we will fight to preserve our way of life." Those likely to be most affected more live on Cemetery, Clark, Compton, Lewisburg or Pond School roads. There was standing room only in the Wantage School auditorium when the Land Use board held a public hearing last Thursday. The crowd was quiet, but appeared restless. Many scrutinized a topographical map of Wantage to identify the areas slated for development if the mayor and committee approve the revision to the town's master plan. The plan calls for what the board terms "revitalization" of the corridor along Route 23. Envisioned are a series of mixed-use, commercial and residential developments, loosely based on a European hamlet model. The development will not take place all at once: The idea is to allow it to span a number of years. The concept behind the plan is to preserve farmland and open space by allowing developers to purchase development rights and then transfer those rights to the area proposed for high-density construction. The mechanism is called "transfer of development rights," or, in the shorthand of planning agencies, "TDRs." TDRs allow a community to recognize an area within its boundaries that should be sheltered from development, and another area where urban-style development could go on. Landowners are given allocations of development credits, which they can sell to developers, speculators, or the community itself. In response, landowners commit to placing a permanent conservation easement on their land. The purchaser of the development credits can use them to develop more densely than otherwise would be allowed on property in the area specified. The board members say they are trying to discourage the kind of development typical of rural areas n big houses, or "McMansions," swallowing up the countryside on five-acre lots. The planners say they want to establish villages and hamlets, with a variety of housing types for the young, the old, and the middle aged. Land Use Board Chairman Jim Smith said the meeting would allow the board to hear "from people who may have a different vision is part of the process, and we welcome it. We need to start out with the understanding that this part of Wantage Township will, inevitably, be developed.  The questions before us are when will it be developed, to what extent and for what uses will it be developed. Give us your vision if you do not like ours. "The Highlands Act, with which I happened to agree, also affects how we develop and build," he went on. "We now have 45 percent of our land devoted to open space. We've had a 35 percent increase in building applications over the past five years. We can't close the gates to Wantage. Property owners have the right to use their property." Smith said the board wants "to discourage strip malls, and encourage growth in centers that already are highly populated. We'd like to see commercial development away from highways, and retail centers with parking in the back. We want communities where people can walk to services and stores. Our core value is to protect the vast majority of the township, and to create a balance between residential and commercial development." U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, who lives near the affected area and whose family has deep roots in its family farm, said that he always had been strongly in favor of preserving open space in New Jersey and has cosponsored legislation to protect the Highlands region and ensure that the quality of life continues to improve people who live and work there. But he questioned the board's plan, asking if the time is right for such a venture and if the venture is right for Wantage. Those opposing the plan say that if they wanted to walk to the store, they'd live in the city. If the plan is put into action, they claim, it will destroy their neighborhoods and their way of life. A new road would be constructed parallel to Route 23 and would connect Blair Road with Cemetery Road. Existing backyards then would look out upon an urban panorama of 115 single family houses, 178 town houses, 341 senior citizen units, 192 duplexes, an apartment building with 40 apartments, 67 commercial buildings with overhead apartments n a total of 933 units. Will Havens, a property owner on Cemetery Road, said that his family had lived in Wantage for six generations. "Development can be a good thing, but it must be done right. Wantage simply doesn't have the infrastructure to accommodate development at this level. Routes 23 and 94 already are a zoo, and the new development will only make the situation worse. In addition, the development is likely to add as many as 2,000 children to the schools, which now are in dire straits with regard to space. How will sufficient water be supplied to a future development?" Sandra Babcock, who lives on Ponds School Road, is at the fore of a group calling itself "Save Rural Wantage." She said she moved to Wantage two years ago specifically to rear her son in a rural area away from urban noise and crime. "Today I can see cows when I look out my window, and I want to keep it that way," she told the board. "There is no police department, no fire department, no first aid squad." "The people won't have a chance to vote on this," she went on, "and we don't want our neighborhood to serve as the sacrificial lamb." Not only does Babcock fear that property values will go down and taxes will up, she also dreads the assaults of increased traffic along Route 23. "We're not going to take this without a fight," she vowed. William Gettler, a community activist and frequent critic of township officials, echoed Babcock's sentiments, but says that the planning board is between a rock and a hard place, with the Coalition for Affordable Housing being one of the drivers. The state-mandated coalition requires that municipalities ensure that developers build a certain number of "affordable" houses for families earning $60,000 a year or less. A municipality can satisfy the requirement in part by building houses condominiums, townhouses or apartments for senior citizens. One of Gettler's concerns is that the people have little voice in this matter, which appears to him to affect the ownership of private property. "The planning board has been holding meetings at times few people can attend. Mayor Parker Space and Committeemen William DeBoer also sit on the planning board, and it is obvious they favor the plan." Gettler thinks that the plan is going to be presented to the people as a "done deal." But Smith reiterated that the plan will enable Wantage to control development, thereby producing new neighborhoods that are attractive, efficient, and functional.