Branch Consulting 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109
MEMORANDUM To: From: Date: Re:
Glenn Wynn, Planning Director, Charter Township of Shelby Andrew Broderick, Branch Consulting February 26, 2010 West Windsor Township Case Study
This memo presents a case study of a township’s green development plan that serves as a model for Shelby Township. Case studies are a useful way for a new project to learn from past or current projects that are similarly situated. West Windsor Township, New Jersey, located 35 miles northeast of Philadelphia, is an appropriate case study for Shelby Township. West Windsor has a similar government structure and status, development and land use history, and demographic character to Shelby. Over the past several years, West Windsor took the initiative and implemented a green development plan for the township that goes above-and-beyond the status quo of township planning. Specifically, West Windsor’s plan fosters green development through three specific ways: the masterplan, a green development checklist, and the zoning code. All of these elements are relevant to your quest of developing a similar plan for Shelby. This memo will first tackle the nature of the problem by comparing the development and demographic character of the two townships. Second, it will focus on the impetus for change in West Windsor. Then, it will detail the steps West Windsor took to implement green development practices, and, finally, it will conclude by listing several lessons and challenges. Development Character and Demographics West Windsor is a suburban community situated four miles northeast of Trenton, New Jersey, and is along the main rail line between Philadelphia and New York City. The township is adjacent to the City of Princeton, home to the Ivy League school of the same name. The township developed over the past 150 years in three distinct phases: rural farming community, railroad junction, and postwar suburb. This development history parallels Shelby’s in that West Windsor’s rural past transformed via the railroad and early-automobile street into a corridor of commerce and districts of housing like the old rail line and Van Dyke Road areas in Shelby. By the mid-1950s highways connected both townships to their nearby major cities. Since that period, both townships rapidly grew into communities of predominately single family, detached housing with separate commercial and industrial areas. In fact, according to the American Community Survey Narrative, both townships’ housing stock consist of 76% single family — the vast majority of which is comprised of married couples with families.1,2 The majority (about 40%) of the housing stock in both townships was constructed since 1990.1,2 The new residential construction features larger homes on larger lots in both townships. The result is a low-density, spread out development pattern that relies on single-use buildings and the automobile. In fact, the vast majority of both townships’ residents commute to work via the automobile.1,2 Both townships also feature greenbelts along key waterways, a strong public school system, and lots of recreational open space. In many ways Shelby and West Windsor are very similar. However, there are also a few key differences that are important to point out. Differences in employment sector, total population, and median income all differentiate West Windsor and Shelby. This is important to consider when analyzing the case study, 1
Branch Consulting 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109
as demographics Shelby West Windsor help form a basis for Total Population 71,404 26,279 change. Princeton Median Age 40 38 $ 90,402 $ 137,179 Median Household Income* University, which is very close to West Housing % Family 82 71 Windsor, is a major % Owner Occupied 81 77 employer in the area, % Married Couples 61 70 and many residents % Single Family Detached 76 76 in West Windsor are % Built Since 1990 40 41 faculty or staff members at the university. Transportation % Commute via Auto 66 87 The result is a highly Education educated township % Bachelors Degree or Higher 30 73 population – 73 % Metro Area Detroit Philadelphia of West Windsor 1,2 Table 1: Township Quick Facts residents have a bachelor’s degree or better compared to 30% in Shelby.1,2 The large amount of high-paying university jobs as well as significant finance and technology sectors yield a high median household income of $137,179 compared to $90,402* in Shelby.1,2 Finally, West Windsor’s total population is less than half of Shelby’s even though the land area is roughly the same.1,2 All of these differences are crucial to understand up-front as no one place is exactly like the other. Impetus for Change The seeds of green development planning in West Windsor were planted in the 1970s, but they took several decades to grow into a green development plan. The majority of green development planning efforts took shape over the past five years. The efforts moved forward thanks to a mixture of four important elements: concerned citizens, an environmentfocused planning board sub-committee, university assistance, and two state-sponsored financial grants. In the early 1970s West Windsor formed an environmental commission in compliance with New Jersey State statute.3 The commission produced water management reports and developed the township’s central greenbelt through the 1990s. In the early 2000s, the commission turned towards green development planning because it recognized a public need “to evolve a more environmentally sustainable community.”3 The commission obtained two financial grants from the state and was assisted by students and faculty of the Rutgers University School of Planning and Public Policy.3 The additional funding combined with increased knowledge formed the baseline that ultimately led to the township’s Sustainable West Windsor Plan 2007. This plan included the results of a 2005 community input session that helped create “sustainable practices, goals, and targets.”3 This plan was endorsed by the environmental commission and the planning board in May of 2009. The recent success of the township’s green development plan can be attributed to a mixture of important elements – foremost of which was the recognition that it is in the public’s best interest to build a green community. *Value converted from $69,497 to $90,402 to reflect increased cost of living in West Windsor. Source: www.costofliving.org
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Branch Consulting 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Implementation Products and Early Results The initial and most influential product of the township’s efforts is the aforementioned Sustainable West Windsor Plan 2007. This plan, which was recently adopted into the township’s masterplan, is the most recent hallmark of the township’s environmental commission work, and it sets the framework, goals, objectives, and action items for green development in the township. First, the plan embraces the township residents’ definition of “sustainability.”# Second, it lists five central goals (or categories): sustainable land use, sustainable circulation, sustainable society, sustainable natural resource use, and sustainable government.3 The five goals are comprised of several objectives (see Appendix A). For example, “green building practices in private development” is an objective under sustainable land use, and controlling “groundwater nitrogen levels” is an objective under sustainable natural resource use.3 The plan also uses an “action matrix” to outline implementation steps – or action items -- for each goal. It categorizes each action item into three categories: act, evaluate, and contemplate. Each category refers to a time period and priority for the action item. “Act” action items are short term things that can easily be accomplished whereas “contemplate” action items are ideas that the township will hold on to until the “right resources and opportunities become available.”3 For example, providing a workshop for residents to learn how to use native landscaping for passive cooling and stormwater retention is an “act” action item while provided grants for green single-family development projects to apply for LEED certification is a “contemplate” action item.3 Finally, the action items are developed in more detail. Measurable indicators were developed for each action item, and practical strategies were formed for how to best accomplish each item. In the end, the sustainability plan presents a comprehensive vision of where future development in the township is heading by establishing several over-arching goals, and then implementing those goals based on practical, measurable steps. Stemming from the sustainability plan is the Green Development Practices Checklist, which was adopted by the planning board in March of 2009 as a voluntary form developers are asked to fill out when applying for a permit. The checklist is a ten page form that provides “guiding principles” for green development best practices.4 The checklist consists of best practice statements followed by questions for the developer, and the checklist is divided into eight different categories ranging from landscape planting and ecosystem management to air quality restoration. For example, one statement requests that a developer design a parking lot with 10 to 30% pervious pavement or consider a hybrid parking lot with pervious pavers for parking stalls and impervious pavement for driving aisles in order to achieve Ingredients Environmental Commission Planning Board
Active Agents: Will Power Grant Money Brains
Products Sustainable West Windsor Plan 2007 Adopted into township masterplan (2009)
Concerned Citizen Input
Green Development Checklist (2009)
University Resources
Incremental Building and Zoning Code Influence
Active Agents: Planners Developers Residents
Early Results Princeton Theological Seminary
Figure 1: Recipe for West Windsor Township Green Development Plan. #
West Windsor township defines sustainability as “adopting practices for living, today, that will complement and enhance, without depleting, the opportunity and quality of life tomorrow.”2
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Branch Consulting 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109
effective stormwater management practices.6 The statement is followed by a simple yes/no question and some space for further description. According to Dan Dobromilsky, a licensed landscape architect and urban planner for the township, the checklist is a way “to start the dialogue” with developers about building green.4 Mr. Dobromilsky, who has worked for the township for 24 years, says that the checklist is a way to push the envelope for green development, yet balance the concerns of the developers, who are concerned about market demand and their bottom line. He emphasizes that the checklist is informal in its current operation, but he hopes that one day it becomes of the formal application for building in the township.4 One example where the checklist is being used as a successful bargaining devise is for the Princeton Theological Seminary. The seminary is building a recreational soccer field near its housing center, and needs to cut down a large amount of trees in order to do so. Mr. Dobromilsky used the checklist as a compromise tool, and the township will allow the seminary to cut down the extra trees as long as the seminary installs a geothermal energy system underneath the soccer field. This development is still in progress.4 Finally, Mr. Dobromilsky pointed out that the township’s code is beginning to adopt some green development measures. For example, the township recently tweaked its parking requirements force developers to reduce the overall amount of spaces in a parking lot or install pervious surfaces for anything over the maximum number of spaces.5 Also, the township is playing closer attention to a 1980 ordinance that requires developers to consider building orientation in order to obtain energy efficiency.5 Mr. Dobromilsky emphasizes that these are small changes over time and do not outpace the township’s residents or developers. Lessons and Challenges Mr. Dobromilsky emphasizes “evolution, not revolution” for implementing green development practices in the township.4 He developed a list of two lessons and two challenges of the township’s green development initiative. 1. Patience
Trying to push people that fear change to consider new ideas too quickly can backfire.
2. Open Mind Sometimes things that seem to make a lot of sense may actually be impractical and vice versa. 3. The Future Trying to read the crystal ball and determine what initiatives will work and what ones will not is very challenging. 4. Resources Finding the right amount of time and money is especially challenging for small suburban communities. The lessons and challenges speak to the tall task of initiating a green development plan in West Windsor. The township utilized its resources to develop its vision – a suburban township that fosters green development. Branch Consulting believes that this case study can be a useful tool for Shelby to use in developing and implementing its own green development plan.
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Branch Consulting 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Appendix A
Land Use
Circulation
Society
Natural Resources Government
The Sustainable Goal/Indicator Matrix lists all the Indicators from each Sustainable Goal category down the left side and the five Sustainable Goals across the top. While each indicator was developed to measure progress towards meeting goals in one area, this matrix shows that many of the indicators measure the conditions, impacts or effectiveness of actions in several overlapping goal areas. This demonstrates the linkages between each of the goal areas and the impact of West Windsor’s decisions across environmental, economic and social parameters.
1.1.1 Residents Employed Locally
x
x
x
x
1.1.2 Proximity of Residents to transit nodes
x
x
1.2.1 Jobs-to-housing balance
x
x
1.2.2 Livable Housing
x
x
x
1.3.1 Population adjacent to parks
x
x
x
1.3.2 Progress toward completion of green belt and farmland preservation per Master Plan goals
x
1.4.1 Green Building Practices in Private Development
x
x
x
x
1.4.2 Green Home Building & Remodeling Practices
x
x
x
x
Sustainable Circulation (SC) Indicators
LU SC SS NR
Sustainable Land Use (LU) Indicators
x x
2.1.1 Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) Growth Rate
x
x
2.1.2 Vehicle Hours Traveled (VHT)
x
x
SG
Appendix A: The Sustainable Goal / Indicator Matrix. Excerpt from West Windsor’s masterplan.3
1. U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). West Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. American Community Survey Narrative. Washington, DC:U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from www.factfinder.census.gov 2. U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). Shelby Township, Macomb County, Michigan. American Community Survey Narrative. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from www.factfinder.census.gov 3. West Windsor Township. (2009). Section XIII: Sustainability Plan Element” In West Windsor Township Masterplan. Retreived February 13, 2010 from www.westwindsornj.org/MasterPlan 4. Dobromalski, Dan. Phone interview with author. Conducted February 23, 2010. 5. West Windsor Township. (2010). Design Details: Section 200:27(b) and 200:36(b). In Township of West Windsor Ordinance. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from http://www.ecode360.com/?custId=WE1666 6. West Windsor Township. (2009). Green Development Checklist. Retrieved February 13, 2010 from www.westwindsornj.org/ commdevmain.html#lu
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