Union Township, Hunterdon County Continues to Preserve, Protect and Enhance the Environment through Progressive Land Use Planning

The Spruce Run Reservoir, and most of the Mulhockaway Creek watershed, which drains into its western side, is located in Union Township. I-78 also passes through Union Township and has experienced significant growth pressure over the last twenty years. Recently, the Union Township Committee took a number of steps to protect critical natural resources throughout the township and limit growth to uses that are most complementary to the needs of local residents.

In 2003, following the development of a new Wastewater Management Plan, an advisory committee made up of members of the Township Committee, Planning Board, Environmental Commission, and citizens-at-large worked with township planner Carl Hintz and township engineer Robert Bogart to examine the township’s environmental factors and land use needs. In 2004 the township was active in the Spruce Run Initiative’s Highway Corridor Study, which explored ways to protect the Spruce Run Reservoir while encouraging smart growth principles along I-78/Rt.173 and Route 31. In 2005 the township participated in a Municipal Assessment program conducted as part of an EPA sponsored Targeted Watershed Initiative grant for the Raritan River Basin. As a result of these studies, the Planning Board adopted an amended Master Plan and began a yearlong effort, funded through a grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) and assisted by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA), to recommend comprehensive revisions to the townships various implementing ordinances.

The new land use regulations and zoning map revisions adopted as Ord#2006-3 on March 1, 2006 places an additional 577+/- acres in the Watershed Management Zone and limits land use in the I-78/Rt.173 corridor to small scale retail and professional uses. The ordinance also significantly reduces impervious surface ratios to as little as 3% in most zoning districts. Also that night, the Committee introduced a Stormwater Management Ordinance modeled from Hunterdon County’s Environmental Tool Box and committed to the introduction of a Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance to strengthen the township’s ability to mitigate environmental impacts associated with development.

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