Planning Board almost done with master plan
Hearing on housing plan component May 9
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS - The last piece in the master plan process before the Planning Board is about to fall into place.

A public hearing on the housing plan element of the master plan was to be held May 9. According to Joel Davies, Planning Board chairman, the housing plan element primarily deals with the affordable-housing component.

"It deals with the third round of COAH [Council on Affordable Housing]. They've done all of the calculations and it indicates we are OK. With the existing stock and proposed development, we're not required to provide any more affordable-housing units. The plan that we are approving completes our role," he said.

Davies said the hearing is a formality. He expects it to be approved that night.

A copy of the housing plan has been filed in the Tinton Falls Planning Board administrative office and may be inspected by the public between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the borough of Tinton Falls Municipal Building, 556 Tinton Ave.

The master plan itself was approved by the Planning Board on April 25 and now moves to the Borough Council for more public hearings and approvals.

"Once we approve the master plan, then we have to get the ordinances drawn up and approved to support the master plan," Davies said.

The question the council will have to consider is who it will hire to draw up the ordinances. Hyer & Gruel, the New Brunswick consulting firm that is handling the master plan work, has indicated that it can create the ordinances at a cost of $75,000.

Mayor Peter Maclearie said they do not know if that is the going rate.

"We will go out for proposals," he said last month.