The Future Plan for Millville


On Monday, February 10, 2020 the Planning Board will be discussing the new Zoning ordinance for the city of Millville. This should be a concern for every citizen in Millville as it will determine what type of houses and businesses will be allowed in the city and where. The original purpose to change the ordinance was to simplify the rules and regulations that govern the city. By simplifying the process and making everything more straight forward, it would attract more businesses to the city.

This ordinance does the opposite.  The new ordinance is convoluted and restrictive and for some reason it is modeled after Lawrence Township’s regulations. Why?

Here are just a few examples of what is in the new ordinance:

1.     Single family homes will no longer be allowed in the Union Lake Wawa Tract area however townhouses and apartments will be.

2.     Drug rehabilitation centers will be allowed in the Union Lake area and also along Cedarville, Carmel, Fairton, and Buckshutem Roads and West Main St.reet. A drug rehab will also be allowed at the old Wheaton factory property at the entrance to town.

3.     Many of the rules will be enforced base on “the opinion of the zoning officer”. This is arbitrary and leaves room for favors and worse.

4.     If your home is in an area that no longer allows single family homes you will have one year to get an exclusionary letter otherwise you cannot sell your home as a house because no bank will finance the sale of a property that does not comply with the law.

The ordinance is available on line for anyone interested in reading it however it is over 400 pages long so good luck. What business thinking about coming to town would want to pay a lawyer to read 400 pages to decide if, where and how they can do their project.

Go to the planning board meeting on February 10th at 6:30 in city hall and voice your concerns.  This ordinance is not a step forward to attract more businesses but rather a step backward to more rules and regulations and arbitrary decisions.

Comments

Wolftones said…
The last thing they should do is model it after Lawrence Township. Taxes tripled, mostly farm land, virtually no


industry, SAME FOUR PEOPLE RUNNING THE TWNSP FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, population not even close to what Millvilles is or what their needs are. Your going to ruin Union Lake to
increase housing????? This sounds like re-zoning to line someone's pockets in the end.
February 10, 2020 at 12:29 PM
Millville Insider said…
The planning board meeting was last night and several citizens attended and spoke. The planning board listened and is sending a recommendation to Team Santiago to table this ordinance so it can be rewritten. Now we will have to see if the commissioners listen.
February 11, 2020 at 9:50 AM
Unknown said…
Why is there any discussion of this to begin with? The same proposal was voted down years ago and the primary reason was that A) the sewage treatment would require multi-million dollar upgrades and EPA grants are no longer around. B) the schools are about at the busting point and the city would need to float another bond to build another school which translates into higher property taxes. C) people only move to areas where jobs exist and Cumberland County has no new jobs to offer especially Millville, a completely blighted city on the verge of collapse. The one thing that Millville needs most is the availability of good paying jobs and since the collapse of the glass industry that has packed up and left town. D) drug centers are more than likely necessary due to the availability of drugs on the street but treatment centers are another blight on any neighborhood and would in turn destroy the livability of any new neighborhood created anywhere. Hopefully the residents will rise up and fight this proposed development and end the lunatic proposal once and forever.
February 14, 2020 at 8:27 AM
Anonymous said…
So true Unknown. Couldn't have said it better. Tax and spend is the only thing this current administration knows how to do.
March 14, 2020 at 2:08 PM
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