The Pennington Planning Board spent much of its Aug. 12 meeting reviewing proposed zoning changes tied to the borough’s recently adopted Master Plan while also discussing ways to improve communication among borough boards as new development projects move forward.
Much of the evening focused on refining zoning districts, clarifying permitted uses and discussing how the proposed McDonald’s redevelopment fits within the goals of the Master Plan. Board members also discussed coordination between borough committees after questions were raised about recent tree removals at The Pennington School.
Calls for better communication
Discussion began during comments from Eric Holtermann of the Historic Preservation Commission, who questioned whether recent changes at The Pennington School had been properly communicated to borough boards.
Holtermann said three trees had recently been removed from the west side of the campus, despite site documents not indicating they would be.
“It does not indicate removal of any trees, and we see now on the west side of the property that three trees have been removed,” Holtermann said. “I was wondering if the school has been in touch with the Planning Board.”
Borough Planner Jim Kyle said the school had submitted resolution compliance documents in August and plans to plant replacement trees as part of its site improvements. He acknowledged communication between borough boards could be strengthened.
“We can do a better job of coordinating,” Kyle said. “I think at one point we had applications coming in regularly and we haven’t had all that many lately. I doubt this will be an issue.”
Planning Board member Andy Jackson agreed, suggesting the borough may want to review how its various advisory boards and commissions participate in the planning process, particularly as development activity increases.
“Maybe we need to look at the role of all the various committees and commissions in the planning process,” Jackson said. “Particularly now that we have a number of new developments taking place. Maybe, not tonight, but at some point in the future, we should consider what the role of various advisory committees to the Planning Board should be and how they should be incorporated and maybe formalized. They should certainly be informed if nothing else.”
Proposed zoning updates
The discussion then shifted to proposed changes designed to better organize the borough’s zoning regulations as recommended in the Master Plan.
Kyle outlined several proposed changes, including eliminating the Office Residential, Office Building, Town Center Buffer, Professional Office and Route 31 Corridor Business Overlay districts.
He also proposed combining the existing MU-1 and MU-2 districts into a single mixed-use zone.
Another proposal would establish a new Education (E-3) zoning district encompassing The Pennington School, Toll Gate Grammar School and the district administration offices on South Main Street.
Kyle said the goal is to distinguish educational properties from parks and recreation areas while allowing customary secondary uses.
“This simply allows the administration offices and the schools for some permitted secondary uses,” Kyle said. “Again, not meant to be all inclusive, but covering things that we would typically see at the site and nothing more.”
He also proposed creating a separate Parks and Recreation district to include borough parks and cemeteries, including the historic African Cemetery.
Clarifying borough ordinances
Kyle also reviewed proposed ordinance revisions intended to clarify existing regulations.
Among them was the borough’s backyard chicken ordinance, which specifies that chickens are the only fowl permitted on residential properties. Roosters remain prohibited, and homeowners may keep no more than nine chickens, which must be housed in fenced enclosures.
“So this just permits residents to keep chickens and it puts requirements in place for their enclosure,” Kyle said. “They have to be fenced and they can’t move freely. We don’t allow roosters, and we can’t have more than nine chickens on any property.”
McDonald’s redevelopment
The Planning Board also discussed how the proposed McDonald’s redevelopment fits within the Master Plan despite including a drive-thru.
Kyle said the proposal differs from allowing drive-thrus more broadly because it is being considered as part of a specific redevelopment plan with detailed design standards.
“In the context of that plan and how that drive-thru is marginalized visually and pushed to the back of the property and not really visible, my guess is that people were more comfortable with that than just allowing any property in the Crossroads Business Zone to have a drive-thru and not really have the same control that we have through the redevelopment process,” Kyle said.
He added that any future approval would apply only to that redevelopment plan and would not automatically permit drive-thrus elsewhere in the district.
“So the differentiation is obviously that council may choose to allow that drive-thru and the redevelopment would reflect that,” he said. “But it would be only with very specific conditions and a specific configuration.”
The Planning Board’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
