An ordinance to amend the Code of the Township of Middletown, New Jersey, reestablishing a Planning Board and a Zoning Board of Adjustment pursuant to the provisions of New Jersey Statutes Annotated N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.; providing for the powers and duties of said boards; fixing the procedures and standards governing development review applications to said boards and appeals therefrom; and providing for the adoption of planning and development regulations.

This Chapter shall hereafter be cited or referred to for purposes of amendment or otherwise as "Planning and Development Regulations of the Township of Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey."

This Chapter is enacted with the intent and purpose to:

A. Guide the appropriate use or development of all lands within Middletown Township in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, and general welfare;

B. Secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters;

C. Provide adequate light, air and open space;

D. Ensure that the development of Middletown Township does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the County and the State as a whole;

E. Promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and environment; preservation of the environment;

F. Encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;

G. Provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens;

H. Encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;

I. Promote and encourage the use and enhancement of mass transportation and other traffic control measures, thus reducing dependence on automobiles, particularly single occupancy vehicles used for commuting;

J. Promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangement;

K. Promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the State and to curtail suburban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper and inefficient use of land;

L. Encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development to the particular site;

M. Encourage senior citizen community housing construction and the development of non-senior, moderate priced housing;

N. Encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land; and

O. Promote utilization of renewable energy sources.