Town of hammonton atlantic county
Provide for a variety of recreational opportunities in all areas of the Town
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- Plan for greenways and other trails/pathways linking parks, schools, neighborhoods and the shopping districts in the Town;
- Preserve the forested woodlots, street trees, and other components of a healthy, urban forest, one of Hammontons distinctive characteristics;
- Establish an interconnected system of bicycle and walking paths throughout the Town;
- Pursue the creation of an open space and recreation trust fund (and guiding committee);
- Establish priorities for open space and recreation needs;
- Site Descriptions – Existing Community Open Space Resources
- New Jersey Open Space and Outdoor Recreation Plan
Provide for a variety of recreational opportunities in all areas of the Town; Protect river and stream corridors, including Hammonton Creek, a tributary of the Mullica River Watershed and Penny Pot Stream, a tributary of the Great Egg Harbor River Watershed; Plan for greenways and other trails/pathways linking parks, schools, neighborhoods and the shopping districts in the Town; Expand and improve existing parks in the Town; Identify properties with potential for open space or recreation use which best serve the Town's overall needs; Preserve the forested woodlots, street trees, and other components of a healthy, urban forest, one of Hammonton's distinctive characteristics; Steward and protect existing natural areas, including the Smith Tract, Wharton State Forest, and municipal parks; Establish an interconnected system of bicycle and walking paths throughout the Town; Protect habitat for endangered species of plants and animals; Establish information centers to provide recreation and open space data for residents and visitors; Pursue the creation of an open space and recreation trust fund (and guiding committee); Coordinate recreation and open space planning at all levels of government and with private sector providers; Establish priorities for open space and recreation needs; As funds become available, acquire properties best suited for open space and recreation demands; Work on a formalized agreement with the Board of Education to encourage cross-utilization of active recreation facilities to optimize use and minimize duplication. The current plan builds on these objectives by clearly outlining how existing Open Space and Recreation areas within the Town have been organized in attempting to meet current needs while promoting a cooperative strategy to meet projected needs in both these critical areas relating directly to the quality of life experienced by citizens and visitors to Hammonton. Optimum access and enjoyment of publicly-owned and maintained green spaces whether for passive pursuits such as walking, picnicking, family gatherings, etc. or for organized team sports is the implementing principle of this plan. It seeks to balance planning and implementation to meet both long and short term needs. This OSRP attempts to balance established formulas for the provision of open space and recreation amenities promulgated by the State of New Jersey with the Town's unique situation in considering existing physical constraints/opportunities found within the community in 2008. 4.0 OPEN SPACE / RECREATION FACILITY INVENTORY: Documentation of existing public and private open space and recreation resources and opportunities. The inventory is to include the size, location, ownership and usage. The following list represents an inventory of existing open space/recreation areas within the Community, along with a reference key. The specific areas/facilities keyed below are displayed graphically on the community Open Space/Recreation Plan Map – Existing Conditions included as Appendix A of this report. Each facility's status with regard to inclusion of the officially adopted Recreational and Open Space Inventory (ROSI) has also been noted. As clearly depicted in the locational graphic included in Appendix A, the Town currently contains a variety of open space resources suitable for diverse uses. Below, the specific parcels have been listed along with each one's location, approximate area, current condition, uses accommodated, along with parcel ownership data. A physical description of each site has also been included in the subsequent report section.
* HMS/Cedar Branch Tennis Courts – The two (2) tennis courts with lights are exclusively part of Cedar Branch Park; the Town owns the courts and Hammonton Middle School holds a lease agreement with the Town for the two (2) courts with lights. † Included on Official Municipal ROSI. Site Descriptions – Existing Community Open Space Resources The following narratives provide a descriptive overview of each of the listed sites, note significant site issues and/or constraints from an environmental or operational standpoint and include a preliminary assessment of each one's enhancement or development potential. As a reminder, the relative location and spatial extent of each of these sites is keyed on the Community-Wide Geographic Information System (GIS) Map included in Appendix A of this report. Veteran's Park This facility is situated in the Town's urbanized downtown and serves the classic functions of an urban park. It comprises a managed, landscaped setting with walkways, benches and several monuments. Recently, with the construction of the Town's new Municipal Building at Central Avenue and Vine Street, approximately one-quarter (±¼) mile away, the Town's Historic Municipal Building, a single story, plank wooden structure was relocated and restored on this site. It functions as the repository of the Town's historic information, including photographs, news articles, artifacts, etc. Hammonton Lake Park This facility, comprising approximately thirty-five (±35) acres, has historically and continues to be the primary active recreation site for team, as well as individual activities within the community. As noted in the listed inventory, it accommodates a variety of team-oriented activities for children, as well as adults, involving primarily baseball, softball and football. An ambitious project aimed at formalizing existing site parking, enhancing vehicular and pedestrian access, as well as providing a series of user-directed amenities inclusive of a new lakeside Senior Center, has been designed and approved by the Pinelands Commission. A funding request covering a portion of the estimated $1.2 million associated project construction cost has also recently been approved for this Facility by the Atlantic County Freeholder Board in the amount of $400,000.00 as a component of the County's 2008 Municipal Open Space Assistance Program. Appendix B of this report includes both a 2007 aerial photograph of the site depicting existing conditions along with a concept sketch of the proposed site development scope. William Smith Conservation Area The Smith Conservation Area is situated directly adjacent to and is contiguous with Hammonton Lake and Hammonton Lake Park. State-owned, the site is managed through NJDEP's Division of Parks and Forestry. The one hundred and three (103) acre site comprises a variety of natural, Pinelands habitats ranging from Atlantic White Cedar Swamp to Oak-Pine dominated uplands. Its deed-restricted status provides for the perpetual protection of these habitats and limits human activities to use of the existing ±1.5 miles of sand trails through the site to walking, jogging, bird watching, etc. Several open shoreline areas along Hammonton Lake are also utilized seasonally for fishing. Wharton State Forest This State-owned Forest occupies ±6,600 acres or approximately 26% of the entire Town area and essentially comprises the entire northern portion of the community. The portion of this forest complex within the Town is contiguous with extensions into Camden and Burlington Counties and serves as a natural ecological setting, incorporating a complete range of indigenous Pinelands habitats. Managed by NJDEP's Division of Parks and Forestry, this forest complex supports hunting, hiking, canoeing and similar outdoor activities. Hammonton Little League Project This approximately twenty (±20) acre site is situated peripheral to the Town's existing/proposed development areas and was initially added to the inventory as a potential site for development of a little league baseball complex. Its remote location discouraged its development in favor of the continued use of Hammonton Lake Park and several Board of Education owned school sites situated within the developed Pinelands Town portion of the community, significantly closer to users. As an ecologically significant site comprised of a variety of habitats, it continues to serve as valuable, natural functions as a setting for indigenous floral fauna and groundwater recharge. Cedar Branch Park This site constitutes a passive "linear park" situated along both sides of Cedar Branch, a perennial drainageway flowing northward through the urbanized portion of the community comprising a major headwater of the Mullica River. This site serves to preserve and protect indigenous, riverine habitat within an otherwise developed, urban setting. The developed portion of the site adjacent to the stream includes two (2) regulation tennis courts heavily utilized by adults and youth. Ninth Street Site This approximate forty (±40) acre, Town-owned site is currently undeveloped and represents an uplands Oak-dominated complex. This site had previously been considered for development as a team-oriented active recreation site by a previous municipal administration approximately fifteen (15) years ago. Today it remains on the municipal open space inventory and currently serves passive habitat-related functions, with no public access. Hammonton High School This recently constructed facility accommodates formalized indoor and outdoor active recreation amenities utilized primarily for varsity, junior varsity team sports, as well as informal recreational uses by students. Hammonton Middle School The Middle School site provides for a variety of informal indoor/outdoor active recreation activities for students, as well as practice sites for children's baseball and soccer teams. Hammonton Elementary School This Elementary School facility provides for a variety of informal active recreation pursuits for students, as well as practice and game opportunities for younger children's organized baseball/softball teams. Eleventh Street Site This Town-owned site currently accommodates several team-oriented active recreation facilities that are currently being replaced by existing/planned facilities at the new Boyer Avenue Recreation Complex (see below). Directly contiguous to the partially developed Municipal Business Park, Council's plan is to relocate the balance of the active recreation facilities currently on-site leading to the potential for site redevelopment with larger scale commercial facilities, consistent with the Town's current zoning plan. Boyer Avenue The site represents the Town's optimum short-term site for the expansion of active recreation facilities. Partially developed with a series of soccer and baseball/softball facilities, Town Council has authorized design for "build out" of this facility, inclusive of: four (4) new junior/intermediate level soccer fields situated in proximity to Moss Mill Road; two (2) new baseball/softball fields situated closer to the center of the site, and a new street hockey rink situated on the northern side of the area to be developed; formalized paved parking spaces to accommodate concurrent team and individual use of field areas, as is often the case; extension and repaving of the existing primary access/egress loop road to allow safer vehicular circulation and access to new parking areas; Internal loop roads have been designed to provide secondary access/egress to both Boyer Avenue, as well as Moss Mill Road (necessitating future project review/approval by the Atlantic County Planning Board); approximately three thousand (±3,000) linear feet of six foot (6') wide bituminous looped pedestrian/bikeway; a series of five (5) masonry concession/equipment storage/restroom buildings to be situated across the site for the convenience of recreation staff, competitors, as well as spectators; All structures having water service will be served by an extension of the Town's sanitary sewerage system; a series of ten (10) new stormwater management/infiltration facilities spread out across the site and designed to accommodate new project-generated drainage consistent with the technical provisions of the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) and Hammonton's compliant Land Development Code. While these elements comprise the majority of site-related improvements, as noted on this plan, a series of additional ancillary projects are concurrently being proposed to facilitate public use of this facility. These include: erosion control fencing (during construction); players benches, soccer goals, backstops, etc.; basin fencing/access gates; split rail fencing segregating parking areas; safety signage/traffic pavement striping; utility services, inclusive of sanitary sewerage, potable water and storm sewer infrastructure; site landscaping, site lighting and project identification signage. Appendix C of this report includes a 2007 aerial photograph of the Boyer Avenue Complex depicting existing conditions along with an overall conceptual schematic plan displaying the type and extent of site improvements aimed at "building out" or completing this complex over the next 3 – 5 years. Kiwanis Park This site comprises a "postage stamp" downtown urban park. It represents a small landscaped green space within the intensively developed downtown area complete with typical amenities inclusive of lighting, a walking path and benches. 5.0 MUNICIPAL NEEDS ANALYSIS: This section includes a cumulative analysis of the adequacy of the current municipal open space and recreation system, as documented in the completed inventory, to satisfy present and future needs. This OSRP attempts to project Community needs based on a number of interrelated factors, inclusive of: Community recreation history, inclusive of past and current trends in both active and passive open space desires by citizens of Hammonton; Demographic profiles which highlight age groups and related activities that deserve attention in the current analysis; Responses provided by elected officials, sports organizations, volunteers, etc. regarding prioritization of the Town's Open Space/Recreation needs, attached as Appendix D of this report. When examining established standards and development guidelines for the provision of recreation/open space areas at the municipal level, the following reference documents were reviewed: The New Jersey Open Space and Outdoor Recreation Plan The Atlantic County Recreation / Open Space Master Plan New Jersey Open Space and Outdoor Recreation Plan Essentially, this Plan, adopted at the State level, has utilized the Balanced Land Use approach to determine, on a percentage basis, how much land area within the State should be utilized for Recreation/Open Space. In addition it has established goals for various levels of government in terms of the provision of recreation/open space areas. The following narrative, extracted from the Recreation/Open Space Need Derivation section provides a description of this projection technique: "The diversity of diversity of open space functions and the inability to quantify open space requirements for certain uses have kept New Jersey from precisely defining its overall open space preservation requirements. For purposes of estimating the amount of open space required for recreation purpose, an approach referred to as the Balanced Land Use concept has been determined to be the most appropriate for New Jersey. The approach uses the guidelines presented in the following table to calculate the recreation/open space requirements for the State, Federal, County and Municipal levels of government. In contrast to the other widely used method for calculating recreation land requirements, the Acres Per Population technique, the Balanced Land Use approach incorporates land as a finite resource, for which there are other legitimate competing uses. Basically, the Balanced Land Use requirements represent the recreation/open space needs that will result from existing and new development. The Acres Per Population method, on the other hand, generates higher recreation land requirements as the population increases and land becomes more scarce. The need figures obtained through the Balanced Land Use Guidelines are long term goals for public recreation land acquisition based on the extent of New Jersey's developed, developable and undeveloped land resources and the need to accommodate competing land uses (e.g. transportation, commerce, housing). Using developed and developable land as the calculation basis for counties and municipalities takes into account the fact that the demand for county and municipal recreation land is generated by development. In addition, this approach recognizes that, in many instances, municipal and county park agencies are competing with other legitimate local uses for the same developable lands. Environmentally sensitive lands are usually unsuitable for tennis courts, ballfields, basketball courts, golf courses, and other typical active day-use facilities provided by local levels of governments. The recreation responsibilities of the State and Federal levels of government are broader, ranging from active day use areas to wilderness oriented activities like hunting and hiking that are generally compatible with environmentally sensitive areas. Reflecting this broader responsibility, the State and Federal guidelines are applied to the total land area of the State. Because the functions performed by Federal and State recreation/open space areas in New Jersey are very similar, and the fact that the State has little control over federal acquisition policies, the Federal and State guidelines were combined to produce a single recreation/open space goal figure. Specific adjustments in calculating the recreation land requirements within the one million acre Pinelands National Reserve were made to take into account the region's special planning and land use regulation programs. The State and Federal recreation land goal has been increased by 71,000 acres over what was derived through the guidelines to reflect the Pinelands Commission's recommended acquisition program for the region. In recognition of the low intensity development called for in much of the Pinelands, the local recreation need for the Pinelands sections of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean counties are based on the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan's acreage figures for towns, villages, and developable land. In Hammonton, this regional development scheme generally allows developed open space for active recreation facilities only in the designated Pinelands Town portion of the municipality. This area, comprising approximately 30% of the Town's overall area is generally concentrated in proximity to the historically developed portion of the Town, and is depicted on the graphic in Appendix A of this report. It is important to keep in mind that need figures derived by the Balanced Land Use method represent the amount of land that should be permanently dedicated as public open space and available for appropriate direct public recreation uses. Open space that is protected for environmental or agricultural purposes through conservation easements, land use regulation, or other means that do not provide for direct public use is not considered as part of the public recreation land supply. These lands are, however, of considerable outdoor recreation value because they protect important natural and cultural resources that are essential in maintaining an environment that is conducive to high quality recreation experiences. Also, these protected areas will be available in the future for public land acquisition if direct public recreation access is needed and environmentally appropriate. Download 323.28 Kb. Share with your friends:
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