Master Plan Draft: An Overview

Maintaining Wyckoff's small-town character, promoting the Central Business District and managing growth are the main goals of the Master Plan draft, a document which exists to guide land use and development in the township.

The Planning Board will likely vote next month to adopt a re-examination of the plan that sets various goals for the township in the aforementioned areas, while including specific suggestions to accomplish them. Although the document's final conclusions won't have the weight of local ordinances, legislation could be adopted to further such goals.

A look at some of the key elements of the re-examination:

Small-town charm

An ad hoc committee of appointed township volunteers held several planning sessions this spring, two of which were open to public input, to take a look at the Master Plan, which is reviewed every six years. Those volunteers and residents settled on specific objectives that they feel would further preserve Wyckoff's small-town character.

Among those was a prohibition on shops open all night; camouflaging cell towers, as carriers look to establish new installations in the township; and granting the advisory Design Review Board with more power as well as specific aesthetic standards to guide development in the township.

The committee's work also produced calls to enlarge buffer zones to give greater space between a residential zone that abuts a non-residential zone, essentially homes close to retail. The draft also includes a request for an ordinance to further limit the size of homes allowed in the township. The committee felt applicants before the land-use boards should have to submit landscaping plans with greater detail, explicitly laying out plant species, sizes, etc.

The draft re-examination also includes a section promoting historic preservation, which could be included in the final document. Friends of Wyckoff member Mike Brienza, a Russell Avenue resident, has compiled an inventory of historic homes that could one day achieve such status, should the township move to support the idea.

Central Business District

Much of the committee's work also centered on enhancing and studying the Central Business District downtown, to "create a unified and more vibrant" district.

The draft identified several goals to achieve the objective:

• Redefine the boundaries of the district;
• Explore ways to link the district more effectively, providing easy access from the Main Street shops, to Boulder Run, to the former A&P on Greenwood Avenue. Footpaths and a pedestrian bridge were suggested as potential solutions;
• Explore methods to encourage shared parking in the district;
• Encourage new businesses to move downtown;
• Introduce limited outdoor dining;
• Establish design guidelines and criteria for development;
• Reduce the impact of non-residential buildings on nearby residential homes;
• Amend zoning to encourage a mix of uses downtown;
• Allow street fairs and markets on West Main Street, due to its relative width;
• Identify methods to reduce traffic.

Managing Growth

The draft, prepared by planning consultants Kauker & Kauker of Wyckoff, concludes that there are not areas of the township that should be designated as being in need of redevelopment. However, it does contain specific suggestions to better manage development as it occurs.

Much of the ad hoc committee's discussion centered on ways to preserve lands with environmental constraints as well as ways to limit the ecological impact of development. The draft calls for the encouragement of "green" building materials and techniques in new developments, while calling for the land use boards to mandate that new structures utilize energy-efficient systems, products and materials. Additionally, the committee would like the township to explore ways of reducing drainage resulting from construction on residential properties.

The township's sewerage infrastructure also is addressed, with calls to require new septic systems that would recycle wastewater on site. The committee recommends the township seek sewer grants from federal legislators, as well.

The draft also includes an open space and recreation plan, expected to be included in the Master Plan's recreation element. The goals of the plan are to maintain and improve upon existing recreational facilities, protect open space and to protect land with environmental constraints.

Pulis Field should be outfitted with lights and turf, the committee said, while identifying unused portions of its more than 24 acres as area that could be used for passive and active recreation. Generally, the township should work with the newly created Wyckoff Recreation and Parks Foundation and explore other private/public partnerships to raise funds to maintain recreational facilities.

The draft also encourages the acquisition of Russell Farms and Maple Lake for open space and/or recreational opportunities while urging the extension of the municipal Open Space tax, which expires at the end of 2011. Open space funds are currently slated to be applied toward the purchase of Russell Farms, combined with county grant money. Should the township acquire the property, the committee opined that it could be used for passive recreation and/or a farmer's market.

The open space and recreation plan also identifies 2.6 acres of land available on a parcel that sits west of the end of West Main Street, to the south of the railroad tracks. The draft said the land, if acquired, could be used for a youth football and/or soccer field.

Members of the public were able to offer their opinions on the draft this week in the final step before adoption. Kauker & Kauker will take those suggestions under advisement when producing a final draft, which the Planning Board will consider on July 14.

The Master Plan re-examination draft is available for review at the township Planning Office in Town Hall.