Politics & Government

Master Plan Looks to Consolidate Zoning System

The next master plan meeting will take place on September 30.

For the first time in 30 years, Cranford has a new master plan.

Cranford’s planning board met Wednesday night for the first of two scheduled public meetings on the town’s new plan for land use and conservation.

Stan Slachetka of T&M Associates presented the key points of the 99-page document to the planning board members and the five Cranford residents in attendance.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While Slachetka and other members of the planning board were careful to emphasize that the master plan changes very little how the town functions operationally, the major differences between land use now and after implementing the plan will be in the organization of the zoning districts.

The master plan suggests reorganizing the districts and zoning ordinances throughout the town to reflect their current purpose and intended use. The plan itself does not change any zoning ordinances, but functions as a necessary first step in achieving those goals.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As a part of the reorganization, the master plan proposes that the downtown be organized into “Downtown Core,” “Downtown Business” and “Downtown Transition” districts.

Each new district would be subject to the same zoning ordinances, tailored to the specific needs of the area. The Downtown Core would be the highest density area in the center of Cranford’s downtown. It would also continue to function as Cranford’s central business, shopping and entertainment district. The Downtown Business and Downtown Transition districts would surround the Downtown Core, spreading outward with each representing a progressively lower density zone.

The master plan would replace the current zoning system that breaks the downtown into several scattered districts with varying zoning ordinances. The new plan intends to consolidate and simplify the districts to reflect their intended and current use.

The same strategy is also employed for Cranford’s commercial districts and for public use areas. The master plan suggests that new districts are created to correctly label the use of the land in the district.

For instance, some school property is currently designated as residential use land, whereas after the master plan is implemented that property could be specifically designated as a new Public Use – Education district.

After the presentation, those in attendance voiced both positive and negative feedback about the plan.

Gary Goodman, an attorney living on Willow Street, voiced his concern on what he thought were too narrow restrictions on the types of businesses that could occupy the first floor of buildings.

“[The master plan] talks about an idealistic time when there were mom and pop retail shops… but that time has past,” Goodman said. Instead Goodman suggested promoting multiple types of uses for the property owned downtown and at places like Cranford Crossing.

Cranford resident Matt Polsky also had concerns about the master plan. Polsky, an adjunct professor on sustainability at Fairleigh Dickinson urged the panel to include specific provisions in the master plan for dealing with a changing environmental climate.

“We’re moving into a carbon-constrained world,” Polsky said. “That’s our future, and I think we need to get ready for it.”

The master plan does include the town’s first ever comprehensive conservation plan. The conservation portion of the plan will be presented to the public on Wednesday, September 30 in the second public meeting on the master plan. Nelson Dittmar, Chair of the Cranford Environmental Commission will explain the details of the proposed conservation plan.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here