Sussex County Councilman John Rieley’s statement regarding traffic congestion on Route 9 deserves comment. With all due respect to Rieley, that ship sailed a long time ago.
My wife and I have lived in a development off Route 9 for over 10 years. Every year, the traffic has gotten progressively worse. Traffic on Route 9 – and virtually all roads in Sussex County – has become a year-round issue. And it’s not just the gridlock that happens during the summer months.
The remedy is not to widen Route 9, but to stop what has become out-of-control development. Title 9, Sussex County, Chapter 69. Zoning, Subchapter II aka The Quality of Life Act continues to be ignored by the planning & zoning commission as developers receive variance after variance to build on smaller and smaller-sized lots. What is the value of having a comprehensive plan if it is not being followed?
The Northstar mixed-use and Cool Spring Crossing developments, if approved as proposed, will adversely affect the quality of life of every resident who resides on or near Route 9. In addition to the aforementioned issue of traffic, residents impacted by these proposed developments need to ask the following questions of their elected officials:
What will the environmental impact be if tens of thousands of square feet of impervious surface are added to an already-overbuilt Route 9 corridor? Stormwater needs someplace to go.
How will our aquifers and water quality be impacted when several thousand new homes and commercial businesses are built? Is water rationing in our future?
Will our sewer treatment plant be able to handle the effluent created by all this additional construction?
More construction means more police, more EMS, more schools, more teachers, and, yes, more taxes to pay for all this progress.
One thing that will slow down development is enacting a moratorium on expanding the sewer treatment facilities needed to accommodate these two developments. When I was an elected official for eight years in the Township of Medford, N.J., developers attempted to force Medford Township to expand our sewer treatment plant to allow more construction. The case went before the New Jersey Supreme Court, and we prevailed. Consequently, all new residential construction was required to be built on one-acre minimum lots with a septic system to handle effluent. The result was a significant reduction in the amount of new development.
Is the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission prepared to take similar steps? Widening Route 9 is not the solution and will only exacerbate a problem that is already out of control.
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