COURT HOUSE – At an April 17 work session meeting, Middle Township Committee heard a presentation by township engineer Vince Orlando on the upcoming meeting of the State Planning Commission May 3. At that meeting, the township expects approval of its center designations, which have expired and are in need of reauthorization.
Designated centers within municipalities are part of the state planning process. They represent different types of mixed-use development which, if properly designated and recognized by the state, can receive priorities in certain types of funding and permitting.
The state looks to these centers as areas of potential growth and revitalization within boundaries that offer housing, job opportunities, and the provision of public services. The centers are also designated as areas that offer protection to surrounding natural resources.
There are multiple types of centers ranging from larger regional centers to small villages and hamlets. Middle Township is seeking to redesignate seven centers, including two regional centers in Court House and Rio Grande-Whitesboro-Burleigh. There are five smaller centers in Del Haven, Goshen, Green Creek, Hildreth, and Swainton. The nonregional centers have unique characteristics with more limited redevelopment potential.
The process of center designation is coordinated through the Office of State Planning and decisions are made by the 17-member State Planning Commission.
The commission is composed of specified state agencies and local and public members appointed by the governor. At least one public member of the commission knows Middle Township well, Elizabeth Terenik. Terenik served as business administrator of the township from May 2017 to January 2019 when she was removed as the Township Committee shifted from Democratic control under former Mayor Michael Clark to Republican control under current Mayor Timothy Donohue.
A problem identified by Orlando was a lack of consensus on the proposed center designations between the majority of the commission members and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP has final say on what the state terms as Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA centers). CAFRA consolidates coastal development rules and permitting processes for coastal, freshwater, and flood hazard programs.
As Orlando described it, the previous center designations in Middle Township have an overlap of state and CAFRA designated centers. He said this time around, the DEP may not fully accept the township proposed designations at the May 3 meeting, given changes that have occurred over time in the hazard mapping.
If the DEP rules out certain areas of the proposed centers at the May 3 meeting, it may mean that going forward, the township will not have a one-for-one overlap in planning and CAFRA centers, a fact that could complicate life with certain development opportunities where CAFRA permits are required.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
