180 Longswamp, New Egypt, NJ 08533

Rural Agricultural Zone

To conserve open land, including those areas containing unique and sensitive natural features such as woodlands, steep slopes, streams, floodplains and wetlands, by setting them aside from development; To provide greater design flexibility and efficiency in the siting of services and infrastructure, including the opportunity to reduce length of roads, utility runs, and the amount of paving required for residential development; To reduce erosion and sedimentation by the retention of existing vegetation, and the minimization of development on steep slopes; To provide for a diversity of lot sizes, building densities, and housing choices to accommodate a variety of age and income groups, and residential preferences; To implement adopted municipal policies to conserve a variety of irreplaceable and environmentally sensitive resource lands as set forth in the municipality's Conservation Element to the Plumsted Township Master Plan, including provisions for reasonable incentives to create a greenway system for the benefit of present and future residents; To implement adopted land use, transportation, and community policies, as identified in the municipality's Master Plan; To protect areas of the municipality with productive agricultural soils for continued or future agricultural use, by conserving blocks of land large enough to allow for efficient farm operations; To create neighborhoods with direct visual access to open land, with amenities in the form of neighborhood open space, and with a strong neighborhood identity; To provide for the conservation and maintenance of open land within the municipality to achieve the above-mentioned goals and for active or passive recreational use by residents; To provide multiple options for landowners in order to minimize impacts on environmental resources (sensitive lands such as wetlands, floodplain, and steep slopes and disturbance of natural or cultural features such as mature woodlands, hedgerows and tree lines, critical wildlife habitats, historic buildings, and fieldstone walls); To provide standards reflecting the varying circumstances and interests of individual landowners, and the individual characteristics of their properties; and To conserve scenic views and elements of the municipality's rural character, and to minimize perceived density, by minimizing views of new development from existing roads.