Galloway - Main Campus, Engineering Study

Land Use Zoning

Zoning is the legislative method of controlling land use by regulating such considerations as the type of buildings (e.g., commercial or residential) that may be erected and the population density. It is accomplished by dividing land area into zoning districts, each having specific conditions under which land and buildings may be legally developed and used. In combination with other planning techniques, zoning is a major instrument for gaining greater physical order in the built environment.

Zoning Evolution

Richard ºÚÁÏÉç College of New Jersey (ºÚÁÏÉç) opened its main campus in Galloway Township in 1971, prior to the adoption of the New Jersey Pinelands Protection Act. When the Act was adopted in 1979, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission was formed and delegated the responsibility for the implementation of the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) which provided the standards, rules and regulations to guide development within the Pinelands Protection Area in accordance with growth management areas that were adopted as part of that plan.

At the time of the adoption of the CMP in 1979, the entire ºÚÁÏÉç campus within Galloway Township was zoned as Rural Development (RD). At that time, the designation of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus as an RD zone did not pose a problem to future growth because public sewage infrastructure was in place within the campus and the rules and regulations of the CMP did not have limitations for projects that had direct access to sewage utility infrastructure.

In 1990, the standards of the CMP, that pertain to facilities within the RD zone and were to be served by public sewage collection and treatment system, were significantly revised. This change to the CMP severely restricted future expansion of the campus. In recognition of this hardship, the Pinelands Commission supported ºÚÁÏÉç via Galloway Township to apply for a rezoning of the campus in accordance with the 1990 Master Plan. As a result of this effort, the Regional Growth (RG) areas around the core of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus were established. As part of the process, the wetlands that were adjacent to the core area of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus were delineated and verified by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. Wetlands buffers within the core areas were reduced to 175 feet, based on the Wetland Reduction Buffer Model.

In 2005, it became apparent to ºÚÁÏÉç that to meet the growth projections over the next ten years, the campus would have to expand beyond the core areas. ºÚÁÏÉç had been engagedin an ongoing dialogue with the Pinelands Commission to rezone portions of the RD area to become RG. ºÚÁÏÉç also determined that it would be prudent to utilize a global and holistic approach to the future development within its campus. Until the development of this current plan, each project was done as an individual standalone project; not part of a greater whole. This meant each project had its own topographic survey, wetlands delineation, threatened and endangered species survey, and stormwater management study.

ºÚÁÏÉç, and its consultants, performed lengthy and detailed studies related to wetland delineations and threatened and endangered species, each to identify and evaluate the environmentally sensitive areas of ºÚÁÏÉç-owned land. While these environmental studies were being performed, the Pinelands Commission undertook a reevaluation of the entire Pinelands Protection Area, based on an Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) model that sought to zone areas of the Pinelands based on their EIA index. We were informed by the Pinelands Commission that portions of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus to the east of the core areas had a high index and the Pinelands Commission desired to downzone this area from Rural Development to Forest. For the portion of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus south and west of the core areas, the index was not as high and warranted a change to Regional Growth. Due to several reasons, the change of zoning through the EIA model at ºÚÁÏÉç was not approved by the Policy and Implementation Committee of the Pinelands Commission. ºÚÁÏÉç was then advised to pursue a traditional rezoning of the campus by having Galloway Township as the lead entity for requesting the rezoning. Although the zoning change was not approved by the P&I Committee, ºÚÁÏÉç was willing to put forth a good faith plan for sensitive threatened and endangered species areas and do so by supporting the original desires of the Pinelands Commission to preserve and deed restrict that particular area of interest.

The rezoning of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus was generally, for 472 acres of the ºÚÁÏÉç property previously zoned RD fronting Jimmie Leeds Road, Duerer Street and Pomona Road. Areas south of the Academic Core Area were rezoned as RG, and the remaining 583 acres of the main ºÚÁÏÉç campus, along with 227 acres of offsite parcels north of the main campus (for a total of 810 acres) were deed restricted to preserve the land in perpetuity. The 810 acres of land deed restricted contains the forested area the Pinelands EIA originally proposed as Forest Management Area and effectively creates greater protection for the land than rezoning would have. The area of the ºÚÁÏÉç campus rezoned RG contains the same areas that the Pinelands EIA originally proposed as RG, with the environmentally sensitive areas within the proposed RG zone to be protected from development due to Pinelands CMP standards for wetlands, buffers and threatened and endangered species critical habitat.

Current Zoning

The current