781 Route 45, Pilesgrove, NJ 08098

Agricultural Retention District

The purposes of the AR Districts are as follows: To preserve large contiguous tracts of land and thereby establish a suitable context for a viable agricultural industry. While low-density residential development is permitted, it is clearly secondary to the intent of the AR Districts. Any residential development in the AR District must be designed to mitigate any impacts on adjacent farms.; To protect areas of the Township with productive agricultural soils for continued or future agricultural use by conserving blocks of land large enough to allow for efficient farm operations and to protect the viability of the agricultural industry in the Township; 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 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, so that the community's population diversity may be maintained; To implement adopted municipal policies to conserve a variety of irreplaceable and environmentally sensitive resource lands as set forth in the Township's Conservation and Open Space 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 Township's Master Plan; 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 Township's rural character, and to minimize perceived density by minimizing views of new development from existing roads.