Herald & Lantern 27 February, 1985 37

Sewage — Growth Link On Agenda Tomorrow

VILLAS — Would the proposed expansion of Lower's sewage treatment plant here encourage development that county planners want to curtail in the township? County Planning Director Elwood Jarmer meets tomorrow with Township Manager James R. Stump to discuss that and related questions Pollution in the Delaware Bay off Cox Hall Creek last summer led the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to order improvements at the township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) off Bayshore Road which discharges treated sewage into the creek headwaters. MUA engineers told Lower's councilmen last week that the mandated improvements would cost an estimated $3 million if bonded and add another 250,000 gallons a day to the plant's three million gallon daily treatment capacity. During the peak summer days, 2.2 million gallons a day are treated, according to the MUA consulting engineer from Van Note Harvey Associates But. he add ed. the MUA has yet to act on applications for some 400.000 gallons of daily capacity in the plant and 700,000 daily gallons are committed through the end of the decade TOWNSHIP COUNCILMEN would have to approve bonding for the proposed MUA plant improvements but, reviewing the figures engineer Richard Gauck presented. Mayor Robert Eothergill told him. "You have the authority to proceed with some sorl of preliminary study on expansion " Lower Township. Eothergill said, has an obligation to provide capacity in the MUA plant for the Middle Township communities of Green Creek and Del Haven Sewer lines in Lower are large enough to handle some 400.000 gallons a day from those towns if sanitary sewers are installed in them. Gauck said If the plant were upgraded and expand ed by another 500.000 daily gallons, the engineer estimated, "you're talking $4 million to $4'? million Council's consensus for expanding the sewage plant came close on the heels of a county Planning Board alert that popula tion growth is getting out of hand in several municipalities, particularly in Lower Towaship (fee "Toners' in Lower , News Notes > ACCORDING TO THE COUNTY'S 1975 Comprehensive Plan. l/iwer's recom mended growth limit should be 11,451 dwelling units Preliminary reports for the 19S5 Comprehensive Plan show that there were 12.187 dwelling units in I-ower last year and. under existing municipal zoning codes, the number of units could increase to a minimum of 14,412 or. a 39.799 maximum If the township changes its zoning based on the county planners recommendation, the number of dwelling units could be limited to a minimum of 11,744 and a max tmum of 23.141. Richard Pemiciaro. township planning director, said last week he didn't think township officials would be too keen on revising local zoning codes They did so in 1977 after the last Comprehensive Plan, he added The latest county Planing Board recom mendations call on lower to reduce or eliminate, motels and hotels in R A and MirH zones, motels, hotels and boatels as a permitted use In the MGB zone, all residential use* in the MD zone a twodwelling unit per acre option in R 2 tones . ilri iMMms (J \Vv ntJlL w *hwi ' 4 v w i , * I 1 fl a > u w r — — — — - \ ^

garden apartments and townhouses in the R-4 zone County planners also recommended that Lower: increase the R-l zone required lot size to three acres and permit clusters of housing to conserve farmland; and to rezone the R-2 zone to R-l between Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway ASKED FOR HIS REACTION to the pro^ posed zoning changes. Manager Stump repBhd: "First of all. this is a study that was done by somebody else." He said he wants township officials to review it. "Lower Township is definitely for order ly growth." Stump added "According to the projections by the county," he said earlier, "if Lower Township develops according to its current zoning, we would go from 12,197 to 38,768 (dwelling units)." That would mean an estimated township population of 78,000. Stump calculated "However, they really don't say what type of time frame that would be in." The only future date mentioned in the

Planning Board report, the year 2020. concerns barrier island communities like Lower's Diamond Beach That's where the township is expecting big bucks in tax ra tables from some 3.000 proposed dwell ing units That's also where the impact of the county planners' zoning changes in Lower would hit hardest "But it's hased on the sewer plants' (capacity in 2020)." observed Stump, who also serves as executive director of the township MUA "The point is," he continued, "even if we did that (curtail housing density in Lower), they say we would go to the max imum of 23,141 (dwelling units)" with Lower's population climbing from the current level of some 18.000 people to around 50.000 But when? Stump repeated "They (county planners) don't have a time frame "IRREGARDLESS." HE SAID, recall ing their recommended housing density and its projected population, "the county

plan indicates that the township will continue growing " Planning Director Jarmer linked the proposed expansion of Lower's sewage plant directly to the issue of population growth "We will be discussing that i expansion ) with Lower Township and making a number of suggestions, as we have over the years, on densities.' he said of Thurs day's meeting Expanding the plant will require state permits. Jarmer added, and "the county does have some authority in review of per mits that go to the DEP "We'll insist that certain things be done. " he said "They (Lower residents) will need a plant expansion, as will many of the other plants in the county." Jarmer cbhceded "( But ) the real issue is — the towns should be doing something about the densi ty even though they need ^treatment) capacity " ' The sky is not the limit." he concluded

N ews

Digest (From Page I) Township and county lawmen confiscated 30 pounds of hashish valued at $50,000 just after midnight yesterday and ar rested Steven G Jones. 30, of Hohackef* N.C., at Route 109 and Wilson Drive here Jones, a crewman aboard the fishing vessel. Wilhemina Irene, was jailed for possesion with intent to distribute in lieu of $100,000 hail (10 percent), according to Lower Detective Bob Martin Neither the vessel nor its captian. William Peabody was involved. Martin said Knotrs the Turf COURT HOUSE - Upper Township Councilman George Betts has asked county freeholders to appoint him to an upcoming vacancy on the Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) Betts. owner of Tuckahoe Turf Farms, said he has construction and farming experience that should be useful to the authority He's the third person interviewed recently The freeholders have said they have another 20 prospects in their files from interviews for previous vacancies Position Open ERMA — The newly formed New Jersey Fisheries Development Commissi is looking for a Cape May County commercial fishing industry representative Jeffrey Reichle. vice president of lAtnd's Fisheries in Cold Spring, was appointed, hut he resigned rather than risk a conflict of interest since lAind's is financing construction of a freezer trawler via several of the state agencies on the commission Anyone interested in the post could contact A H (Rick) Oil Ids. executive director of the county Industrial and Economic Development Commission, at the airport industrial park % Developer Dominoes WII J>WOOD CREST Nothing like a boom in multi family dwellings to resurrect the 12 year dormant Wtldwood (Yest Civic Association It reorganized last Wednesday with the primary goal of pushing for zoning revisions to control growth Borough officials, citing the domino effect exemplified by replacing five homes with 30 dwelling units, indicated they share some of the same concerns * Ohmyfptsh WOODBINE - In the labyrinth known " as Woodbine The borough leases land to 7 a company called Foundations and 0 Structures, one of whose partners la Council President Theodore DeSantts FAS operates a landfill to which the borough takes Its trash The state DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has said the landfill Is full. 1 closed It, and threatened the borough m with a $25 nan a day fine if It uses it The state Rfl) (Board of Public Utilities) has

ordered the borough to keep using the landfill to help FAS scrape up an estimated $2.5 million to properly shut it. If FAS can't pay for it, the DEP says, the landowner will have to That's the borough, remember0 Net r Broom NORTH WTLDWOOD - WilliaftL Callahan finally got hack the $5.0nOa year fire subcode official post he resigned last year, claiming "political harassment by Mayor Anthony Catanoso Catanoso retired last month. Lewis Vinci was elected to replace him, and Catanoso appointee James McMillan got the hoot Vinci said both men were equally qualified, hut Callahan lives in the city and McMillan doesn't Vinci also replaced Catanoso appointee Robert Hall with Anthony Cavalier in the $5.954-a year seasonal job of beach supervisor TV Hearing Thursday CAPE MAY - State Board of Public Utilities (BPU) officials will hear complaints and inquiries from county cable television subscribers during an 3 p m hearing tomorrow in city hall. 643 Washington St Although the BPU recently approved cable TV rate hikes. Bernard R Morris, director of the BPV's office of Cable Television, said the hearing is supposed to provide 'a convenient and useful way for cable customers to voice their feelings and views on the service ^ey are receiving 30- Day Delay COURT HOUSE Middle Township Police Chief Edward Hansen's suspension hearing, scheduled for last Friday, was postponed then for 30 days Backed by the county Police Chiefs Association and lineal 99. Police Benevolent Association. Hansen is fighting two suspensions totaling eight days, which the township committee imposed on him last month because he allegedly failed to take disciplinary action against two patrolmen

Beating Inflation OCEAN CITY - About 75 school district employes, members of the New Jersey Education Association, will receive salary raises averaging about 7 5 percent this year The agreement, after 14 months of negotiations, affects custodians, secretaries, supervisory instructors and cafeteria workers Hoard Picks Prinriftal OCEAN CITY — Margaret Toner, principal of St Norbert elementary school. Paoli. Pa . will replace Berwvn N Hughes as principal of the primary school here when he retires this summer after 34 years with the district Toner was selected by the Board of Education last week from 37 applicants 16 semi finalists and three finalists for the $34,000 a year post Red Hall W1LDWOOD - Convention Hall s continuing financial problems will be addressed if not resolved during a March 7 meeting of Mayor Victor DiSylvester. city council, and the W'ildwood Parking Authority which operates th* facility For the past several years, the hall has been operating in the red Only once has it made enough to pay on the principal of its $1 3 million construction coat TV hall's debt Is now $2 05 million Some Bounced COURT MOUBK - A jury last Thursday convicted James J McDevitt J r of Tart Development Co . Mavville of tlx counts of issuing had checks and one count of theft of services, hut acquitted him of four counts of theft by deception and two counts of had checks McDevitt allegedly left a trail of had checks and ill feelings across the counts last summer as he sold modular homes and office condominiums that never got built

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