Bordentown Township has begun a review of its master plan that could help shape where housing and development occur, what open space is preserved and what township roads, parks and public spaces look like for the next decade or more.
The township announced in August that it was beginning the process of revising the master plan, which serves as a broad guide for decisions involving housing, parks, traffic, development and open space.
In New Jersey, municipal master plans are generally reexamined about once a decade to determine whether they continue to reflect a community’s needs and long-term goals, according to the township.
The review will look beyond individual development applications and instead consider some of the larger questions facing Bordentown Township.
Among them are where new housing should be located and how much is appropriate, which historic areas and green spaces should be protected as development pressure increases, and what township roads, parks and public spaces should look like 10 to 20 years from now.
The township said the master plan is intended to tie together the smaller land-use decisions municipal officials and boards make over time. Those decisions can include where a sidewalk is installed, whether a property is rezoned or how much parking is required for a new building.
Without a broader plan, those individual decisions can become disconnected from one another. The master plan provides a larger framework so decisions involving development, transportation, recreation and preservation can be measured against the township’s long-term goals.
A master plan does not itself change zoning, approve development applications or authorize construction projects.
Those actions continue to move through their normal approval processes before the Planning Board or Zoning Board, including public hearings and votes. The plan instead provides guidance that can be considered when boards and township officials make those individual decisions.
That relationship between the master plan and zoning is important because the township generally does not decide which businesses or developments are constructed on privately owned property.
Property owners and developers make those decisions within the framework created by the township’s master plan and zoning regulations. If a particular use is permitted under existing zoning and meets the applicable requirements, a property owner can pursue that development through the required municipal approval process.
The township has previously pointed to that process in explaining why certain types of development, including housing, commercial uses or warehouses, may be proposed in particular areas.
At the same time, officials have said the township can use planning and zoning to make room for the kinds of development residents want to see. Those broader decisions are guided in part by the master plan and community feedback.
The reexamination provides an opportunity to consider that framework before future individual development decisions are made.
Township officials said the process will address questions involving development pressure and preservation, including which parts of Bordentown’s character should be protected as the community changes.
Historic areas, green space and the character of existing neighborhoods are among the issues that could be considered along with housing, traffic, parks and other public spaces.
The Planning Board is responsible for the development and review of the township’s master plan and its individual elements. Board members also review site plans, subdivisions and other land-use applications.
The board’s remaining October meetings are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8, and Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. at the Bordentown Township Municipal Building, 1 Municipal Drive. The township’s adopted 2026 meeting schedule also lists meetings for Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.
The township has not indicated that the master plan reexamination will be discussed at any particular October meeting, so residents interested in following the process should check posted Planning Board agendas before attending.
Public participation is expected to be a central part of the broader review.
When the township announced the reexamination, officials said public input rounds would follow and that residents would have opportunities to weigh in on questions affecting the community’s future.
The township has described those questions as ones without simple answers. Decisions about how much housing is appropriate, where development should occur, which areas should be preserved and how public spaces should evolve can affect the community for years after the master plan is adopted.
