Howell will consider riparian buffer ordinance
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

HOWELL - In an effort to protect Howell's stream corridors and the drinking water supply, the Township Council has reintroduced an ordinance that deals with riparian buffer regulations and stream corridor preservation.

The revised ordinance redefines the meaning of a riparian buffer, is more stringent on the encroachment of the town's waterways and is now in compliance with state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations, according to municipal officials.

According to the ordinance, a riparian buffer is now defined as "a special resource protection area established along all water designated Category 1 by the DEP and perennial or intermittent streams that drain into or are upstream of the Category 1 water."

Category 1 waterways are bodies of water that the DEP has determined are New Jersey's most significant lakes, rivers etc., requiring the most protection from nearby development.

In regard to riparian buffer encroachment (i.e. encroachment on a specific body of water), the ordinance states, "Encroachment within the buffer shall only be allowed where previous development or disturbance has occurred (for example, agricultural use, parking area or maintained lawn area)."

Although this draft of the riparian buffer ordinance would bring Howell into compliance with state guidelines, some people view it to be inconsistent with the municipality's master plan and coercion by the state.

The master plan is the document that defines how a community will develop.

Before the riparian buffer ordinance was recommended to the council, Planning Board member Russell Bohlin voiced concern about the proposed law during a Planning Board meeting.

"I do not feel this is consistent with the master plan. The first thing that struck me reading this ordinance was the elimination of any reference to the 100-year flood plain buffers. By striking that language from this ordinance, I submit that opens up a tremendous amount of acreage for development," Bohlin said. "It is a contrary to the expressed goals of our master plan to protect environmental resources. It is a diminution of the protection we already have."

Planning Board member Curtis Vislocky shared the same sentiment, but noted, "The state has tied our hands in this instance. If there are any concerned citizens, it is time for them to write to their legislators to make sure that these cookie-cutter regulations don't continue within the state."

Planning Board attorney Ronald Cucchiaro said, "These ordinances are consistent with our environmental and smart growth policies. They accommodate the topography and the constraints of our landscape here in Howell."

He said the ordinance is "based upon that environmental factor, not killing development in and of itself. It's limiting the intensity where that unique environmental constraint exists."

The riparian buffer ordinance is scheduled to have a public hearing, second reading and possible vote for adoption at the March 18 Township Council meeting.