Pinelands Commission certifies Manchester Township ordinances tied to amended housing plan

The Pinelands Commission on July 10 certified three Manchester Township ordinances amending the municipality's housing element and rezoning an 83‑acre area to a new Highlands affordable housing zone, staff said.

Staff presenter John summarized the changes, saying one newly added site would accommodate 40 townhomes with ground‑floor commercial space, a second would allow 52 townhomes plus a three‑story mixed‑use building, and two Ridgeway Boulevard properties together are estimated to yield about 530 residential units, including about 107 affordable units. John told commissioners the rezoning would allow multifamily dwellings and townhouses at a maximum gross density of about 8.65 units per acre and would require a 20 percent affordable set‑aside and the redemption of preservation development credits (PDCs) for 30 percent of market units.

Staff also flagged the Heritage Minerals site (outside the Pinelands area but inside the Pinelands National Reserve), noting an existing settlement between the state Department of Environmental Protection and the property owner that allows up to 2,450 residential units in a delineated development area; the housing plan as presented remains consistent with that settlement, John said. The commission received no written or public comments during the hearing and staff recommended certification.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about where townhouse and garden‑apartment uses would remain permitted and how the new PAF‑2 zone offsets development potential removed from other districts. John said the new zone is intended to balance net residential capacity and PDC potential across the township’s regional growth area. After discussion, commissioners moved to certify the ordinances; the motion passed.

The commission will monitor subsequent rezoning and site‑specific applications to ensure conformity with the certified ordinances and noted that any zoning amendments adopted later by the township will require review before taking effect.