5346 Berkshire Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, NJ 07438-9749

Rural Conservation District

The purpose of the Rural Conservation District is: To protect the valuable and environmentally sensitive areas of the Township of Jefferson from the adverse impacts of development.; To provide a regulatory mechanism through which appropriate development can occur, considering the exceptional, unique, irreplaceable and delicately balanced physical and biologically acting and interacting natural environment.; To provide an equitable, understandable development mechanism that establishes clearly definable goals and advances the public interest by balancing the aforementioned environmental interests with the rights of persons owning property in this District, through the encouragement of development of compatible land uses in order to improve the overall environment and economic basis of the area.; To recognize the legitimate aspirations of the property owners of the District and to encourage development of compatible land uses in order to improve the overall economic position of the inhabitants of the area within the framework of a comprehensive environmental design strategy which preserves the most ecologically sensitive and fragile area from inappropriate development and provides adequate environmental safeguards for the construction of any facilities in the District.; To provide for the orderly development and effective preservation of the environment of the Rural Conservation District in order to ensure that the development is regulated in a manner that is fair, efficient and effective as to those people owning property affected by this section.