TRENTON, NJ - The Township of Chesterfield is a sparsely developed agricultural community situated in the northwest portion of Burlington County. In 2000, the Township had 924 dwelling units and a population of 2,614 residents. Residential growth in Chesterfield has averaged only 14 units annually over the last decade. The Township covers 21.61 square miles and the entire land area of the Township is designated in the NJ SDRP as Planning Area 4 -- Rural.

Farmland preservation has been a priority within the Township since the 1970's. The Township has permanently preserved 4,261 acres of farmland to date (31% of the total land area) under a variety of local, County and State programs. The Township has spent many years planning for a transfer of development credits program to direct future growth to a designated "receiving area" while limiting development in the rural environs of Chesterfield. This planning effort culminated in the adoption of the Township's 1997 Master Plan which outlines a vision of a neo-traditional town to be developed in the receiving area that would incorporate a variety of housing types, neighborhood commercial facilities, civic uses, and active and passive open space areas. Preserved agricultural land is intended to surround this planned village and the three existing historic hamlets in the Township.

The Township then entirely redrafted its Land Development Ordinance to implement the program, secured sewer capacity from the NJ Department of Corrections and constructed the necessary force main and pump station to serve the Planned Village at Township expense.

Chesterfield Township's Transfer of Development Credits program is designed to implement the State Plan and "smart growth" planning principles by concentrating the Township's future growth in compact centers while discouraging new development and associated sprawl in the rural environs. Proposed residential development in the Planned Village District includes housing for low and moderate income households and thereby addresses the Township's affordable housing obligation as required under the NJ Fair Housing Act. Thus, the Township's Master Plan integrates two of the State's principal land use policies: preservation of agriculture and provision of affordable housing.

With funding through a Smart Growth Planning Grant from the NJ Department of Community Affairs, the Township commissioned the conceptual design of the Planned Village according to Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) principles -- the planning principles by which historic American settlements such as Crosswicks Village in Chesterfield evolved. This design is embodied in a Master Plan amendment adopted by the Planning Board on May 28, 2002.

This Master Plan Amendment will be instrumental in helping Chesterfield realize its Master Plan vision of creating a new village based on traditional settlement principles while preserving Chesterfield's agricultural heritage.