At first glance, it looks like a sleepy start to the summer for the Hardwick Land Use Board. With no new business to address, its regular June 11 meeting has been canceled.
But that doesn’t mean the board has been at rest. In its last meeting on May 14, the board met to discuss what one member called its most important task: a revisit of the township’s master plan.
The Master Plan: A Vision for One of the Last “Truly Rural” Places in NJ
What exactly is a master plan?
The master plan is a document that articulates a township’s approach to land use, including development and preservation. While it isn’t a law itself, it serves as the blueprint for zoning ordinances and land use decisions. In effect, the master plan serves as a planning board’s vision statement, providing the rationale for new ordinances and land use decision-making.
In the words of Chairman Jim McKim, “This is how we describe to the world what our vision for Hardwick is going forward.”
By New Jersey law, every municipality must revisit its master plan at least once every 10 years. Hardwick’s last systematic review of its master plan occurred in 2014, when it published the Township of Hardwick Master Plan Reexamination and Revision. That document didn’t change much from the previous Master Plan Revision in 2003.
The 2003 and 2014 documents share the same emphasis. Both documents point to Hardwick’s size and rural character. It’s the largest municipality in Warren County by land area, standing at 36.6 square miles. It also has the lowest population density in the county, with 46.3 people per square mile.
A map of the land use plan indicates that about 75% of the township can’t be developed, falling into the categories of federal land, state forest, open space or preserved farmland. The remaining 25% is marked for low-density residential use, with the master plan recommending a minimum lot size of three acres.
This spaciousness stands out in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the nation. The master plan names Hardwick as “one of the few remaining examples of a truly rural, very low density township,” leading naturally to one of the plan’s strongest goals: “The preservation of Hardwick’s essential character is a high priority of this master plan.”
In both the 2003 and 2014 documents, this overarching emphasis is then broken down into six main categories of goals, each in turn broken down into more concrete sub-goals.
1. To preserve the rural character of Hardwick Township.
2. To preserve and enhance the environmental characteristics of the township.
3. To preserve the visual character of Hardwick and to minimize the visual impact of development.
4. To provide for Hardwick Township’s affordable housing obligation.
5. To provide community services that are reasonably necessary to service Hardwick’s population.
6. To implement these master plan objectives through minimized improvement standards.
Balancing Change and Preservation in the Master Plan
The board members recognized that the 2014 document was largely a reiteration of the 2003 document, down to the same goals and wording. That means Hardwick’s master plan has remained essentially unchanged for over 20 years.
Board members reflected that on the one hand, this represents a continuity in Hardwick’s values.
“My take is that the basic thrust of what people in Hardwick want at a very high level has not changed,” said Chairman McKim. “People like the fact that Hardwick is rural, and they want it to stay that way.”
Board members also acknowledged that a lot can change in 20 years, and the master plan should reflect these changes.
For instance, a new state law passed in 2021 requires all master plans to include a section on climate risk, a section that does not exist in the 2014 plan.
Board members debated the relevance of ordinances that reflected concerns from bygone years, including many bullet points about tree-cutting. Some material was also written in reaction against state pressure to create a town center, an insistence that no longer exists.
2026 presents its own new challenges as well. Board member Bob Hann raised concerns about the tax rates in Hardwick. With 75% of the township classified as preserved land, there’s little room to bring in new ratables to ease the tax burden on residents.
“I thought I’d die here,” said Hann, who has lived in Hardwick for 46 years. “And I’m not going to die here… I can imagine what the tax bill is going to become.”
Board member Jon Liegner acknowledged his concerns while praising the township’s preserved state. “What we have now is a jewel. A diamond,” Liegner said. “We know each other out here, and I can’t say that about a lot of places in New Jersey.”
Chairman McKim encouraged the board members to go through the master plan line by line, with further in-depth conversations to come. Ideally, he said, the board would have a draft by the end of the summer, with at least two formal public hearings before final approval of the master plan reexamination.
The board also held a moment of silence to mourn the passing of board member Christina Suyker, who passed away from cancer on May 8.
The next meeting of the Land Use Board is currently scheduled for Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m.
Chip O'Chang is an educator, fiction writer, and lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has also written for My Life Publications and NJ Indy. He lives in the NJ Skylands with his partner, two cats, and and a bearded dragon.
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
