Beachwood Borough Master Plan, Part VI

Portion of the original map survey by A.D. Nickerson.

LAND USE PLAN ELEMENT

The Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28 et seq. It is based upon existing land development patterns and types; natural resources and sensitive environmental features including stream corridors, floodplains, freshwater wetlands, vegetation, and subsurface hydrology; existing roadways; existing and proposed utilities; historical subdivision plats; and conformance with the Pineland Comprehensive Management Plan. Future development within Beachwood Borough will be affected by regulations on land development imposed by the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan within the Pinelands area of the borough west of the Garden State Parkway, and by the policies and regulations of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Coastal Management Program within the portion of the borough under the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) jurisdiction east of the parkway. The Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan Map has been prepared in recognition of the development and environmental regulations of the New Jersey Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan and the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act. The Master Plan will be submitted to the Pinelands Commission for certification for the area west of the Garden State Parkway in accordance with the New Jersey Pinelands Act, 12:18A-1, and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, N.J.A.C. 7:50-1 et seq.

OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

Development in Beachwood Borough is predominately single family homes. Approximately 58.1 percent of the 1,207 acres of developed land in Beachwood Borough is residential. Most of the residential structures in Beachwood were constructed during the period 1950 – 1990.

In the central portion of the borough, Atlantic City Boulevard (N.J. Route 166 and N.J. Route 9) serves as the commercial “Main Street” of Beachwood. This area includes retail, service and wholesale commercial establishments. At the northern border of the borough are the Toms River shoreline, a marina, and 3.5 acres of parkland and shoreline access points. Both east and west of Atlantic City Boulevard are residential neighborhoods laid out in a gridiron pattern. At the southern end of the borough, along Pinewald Road, is a small area of commercial, office and industrial development. No large single private ownership parcels of developable vacant land exist in Beachwood Borough. Undeveloped tracts with multiple owners occur along Pinewald Road between Chestnut and Poplar Streets. This area is planned for non-residential development and public and school uses. Future residential development will occur through infill of scattered lots, most of which are non-conforming, undersized lots of 4,000 to 6,000 square feet.

PROPOSED LAND USE

Land development in Beachwood can be categorized into three groups: residential development, non-residential development, and recreation/conservation. The proposed Land Use Plan Element for Beachwood Borough reflects zone districts from the current and previous land development ordinances, existing and planned borough facilities, and the Ocean County active and passive recreation and open space at Beachwood West.

The Land Use Plan proposes two residential districts, the R-B Single Family Residential and R-D Single Family Residential. The former R-A Single Family Residential and R-M Medium Density Residential areas are not included in this Land Use Plan. The R-A Single Family Residential zone was eliminated from the borough zoning ordinance in 1997 and replaced with AR Active Recreation to reflect the borough and county plans to develop the area west of the parkway for active and passive recreation and open space. The R-M Multi-Family Residential area is deleted from the previous Master Plan since the area has been developed for a construction company office and equipment storage facility for more than five years. The boundaries of non-residential development reflect existing land use patterns and the active and passive recreation and open space area acquired by Ocean County at Beachwood West. Proposed land use development areas are shown on Figure 8-1, Master Plan.

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

The Master Plan identifies existing and proposed residential development areas. These residential areas are designed to reflect the prevailing housing development patterns within the borough.

R-B Single Family Residential – The R-B single family residential areas comprise a total of 1003.8 acres. These areas encompass the two largest existing residential areas in the borough east and west of Atlantic City Boulevard. Residential R-B areas are planned and zoned to have a minimum lot size of 8,000 square feet, the size of four of the original 20 x 100 foot lots as platted in 1914 prior to the formation of the borough in 1917. The R-B areas have been developed through the years except for scattered individual lots. Permitted accessory uses in the R-B areas as zoned include a garage space for the storage of a motor vehicle, fences, recreational facilities such as pools, and structures not used for profit such as storage sheds.

R-D Single Family Residential – The R-D single family residential areas comprises a total of 3.5 acres. This small area encompass a strip of land along the southeastern Beachwood border with Berkeley Township, east of Berkeley Avenue, where lots are only 60 feet deep. The planned and zoned minimum lot size is 8,000 feet. Permitted accessory uses can include a garage space for storage of a motor vehicle, fences, recreational facilities such as pools, and structures not used for profit such as storage sheds.

NON-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

Commercial development in Beachwood Borough is presently located in two main areas. Property along Atlantic City Boulevard contains the majority of the commercial development in the borough. The second general area is at the northern end of Pinewald Road in the west central portion of the borough east of the parkway. Varieties of retail, wholesale, service, and manufacturing commercial uses currently exist in the borough. The Land Use Plan provides for a new, small B-1 Planned Commercial Area on the east side of Double Trouble Road south of Birch Street west of the Garden State Parkway. This area was designated for business use in previous Master Plans.

B-1 – General Business – The B-1 General Business area along both sides of Atlantic City Boulevard is planned and zoned to allow general business uses oriented toward consumers and small business users. The existing B-1 General Business area located along Atlantic City Boulevard is nearly fully developed. The proposed B-1 area on Double Trouble Road south of Birch Street is owned by the borough. It is undeveloped and consists of approximately 4.2 acres. The area has 1,000 feet of frontage and is 50 to 200 feet in depth. This area can provide for limited neighborhood commercial uses across from Beachwood West on Double Trouble Road at Birch Street.

B-2 Planned Commercial – Two B-2 Planned Commercial areas contain 34.6 acres and are intended for planned business and commercial development. The B-2 areas consist of portions of nine tax blocks between Walnut Street and Pine Street on the west side of Pinewald Road and portions of eight tax blocks between Hickory Street and the southern municipal boundary east of Pinewald Road. Planned commercial developments can include a variety of commercial developments, with less emphasis on development based on traffic volume. Provisions are in place for regulating access to the developments. The B-2 Zoning District regulations currently require a minimum lot size of 220,000 square feet. Consideration should be given to reducing the minimum lot size to 120,000 square feet.

The B-2 areas are also suitable for public uses including schools, vocational facilities, park and recreation facilities and quasi-public uses such as churches and other houses of worship.

B-3 Neighborhood Business – The B-3 Neighborhood Business area is a 33.3 acre area consisting portions of five tax blocks along the east side of Pinewald Road between Chestnut Street and Walnut Street, 15 tax blocks along the west side of Pinewald Road between Pine Street and Hickory Street, and two tax blocks between Hickory Street and Cherry Street along the east side of Pinewald Road. The area is intended for offices and warehouses for contractors as well as other manufacturing uses. These areas are located along Pinewald Road.

The B-3 areas are also suitable for public uses including schools, vocational facilities, park, and recreational facilities and quasi-public uses such as churches and other houses of worship.

B-3A – Neighborhood Business – The B-3A Neighborhood Business area is a 6.6 acre area consisting of portions of five tax blocks located along the western side of Pinewald Road between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street. The area allows the same businesses as the B-3 Neighborhood Business area in addition to many of the same businesses allowed in the B-1 General Business area. The B-3A areas are also suitable for public uses including schools, vocational facilities, park and recreation facilities and quasi-public uses such as churches and other houses of worship.

RECREATION/CONSERVATION

RC – Recreation/Conservation – RC Recreation/Conservation was created for passive and active recreation, and conservation of sensitive lands. These areas, totaling 81.2 acres, are located in the eastern portion of the borough, east of the Garden State Parkway. Major recreation areas are located along the Toms River at the borough beach and Mayo Park, in the southern portion of the borough at the Berkeley Street Soccer Fields, and at Birch and Surf Park in the west central area of the borough at Birch Street and Surf Street. The plan also designates the former borough landfill west of Pinewald Road between Hickory Street and the southern municipal boundary for future recreation/conservation following formal closure by the NJDEP. Uses include athletic fields, parks and recreation sites, small open space areas, and conservation areas, and the continuing operation of an existing composting facility on a limited portion of the zone.

AR – Active Recreation – The AR Active Recreation area is an approximately 395 acre area created to provide for large-scale active recreation use in the Beachwood West area west of the Garden State Parkway. The permitted use on this parcel are golf courses and athletic fields. A permitted accessory use is parking. A canoe rental facility and one residence are also located in the AR area of the borough.

PINELANDS

In December 1978, Section 502 of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, (P.L. 95-625) was signed into law by President Carter creating the nation’s first National Reserve area in New Jersey. The creation of this National Reserve designated approximately 1.1 million acres of southern New Jersey as the “Pinelands National Reserve”. This area, which constitutes 23.17 percent of the state, extends west from Brigantine City in Atlantic County, to the Township of Medford in Burlington County, and from Dennisville in Cape May County in the southern portion of the state north to Route 527 in Jackson Township in Ocean County. In February 1980, Governor Brendan Byrne signed into law the Pinelands Protection Act, which created the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and established regulatory control over the New Jersey Pinelands Area. The New Jersey Pinelands Area is located within the Pinelands National Reserve but does not include all of the reserve area. The portions of the Pinelands National Reserve that are not in the Pinelands Area are regulated by the New Jersey Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) which was established in 1973.

Within the New Jersey Pinelands Area, development is regulated by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) which divides the Pinelands into two broad categories: the Pinelands Preservation Area and the Pinelands Protection Area. The Pinelands Preservation Area is the core of the Pinelands. The preservation area provides for stringent development and ownership of new residential development controls, the bulk of the cranberry operations within the state and vast tracts of state-owned forest and wildlife management areas. The Pinelands Protection Area provides for various categories of development, including Pinelands Forest Area, Regional Growth Areas, Agricultural Production Areas, Rural Development Areas, and Pinelands Towns and Villages.

In Beachwood Borough, approximately 414 acres are located within the Pinelands National Reserve Area and the New Jersey Pinelands Area, constituting approximately 23 percent of the borough land area. The entire 414 acres contained within the Pinelands is classified as a “Regional Growth Area” by the Pinelands Commission Comprehensive Management Plan.

The goals and objectives of the Regional Growth Areas, as defined in the CMP at N.J.A.C. 7:50-5.13(g), are:

“Regional Growth Areas are areas of existing growth or lands immediately adjacent thereto which are capable of accomodating regional growth influences while protecting the essential character and environment of the Pinelands provided that the environmental objectives of Subchapter 6 [Management Programs and Minimum Standards] are implemented through Municipal Master Plans and land use ordinances.”

Regional Growth Areas are designed to attract a greater proportion of the development within the Pinelands Area, albeit with conditions and restrictions. Allowable development includes residential development; “…any other development not otherwise limited pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-6 may be permitted in a Regional Growth Area…”

The Pinelands Area of the borough encompasses the Beachwood West area west of the Garden State Parkway and the small commercial area on Double Trouble Road at Birch Street. The area west of the Garden State Parkway is subject to Pinelands Commission regulations for protection of wetlands, floodplains, threatened and endangered species and other environmental standards. The freshwater wetlands and 150-foot wide wetlands transition areas required by the Pinelands Commission in Beachwood West restrict the amount of land that can be used for active recreation. The freshwater wetlands and associated transition areas will remain as permanent open space areas. A canoe rental facility that existed before Beachwood West was fully acquired by Beachwood Borough remains on the southern end of Beachwood West.

The Land Use Plan Element conforms with the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan (SDRP) adopted on June 16, 1992. The SDRP incorporates the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan by Interagency Agreement. The proposed Ocean County park, recreation and open space area at Beachwood West conforms with the SDRP.