Downtown Visioning Process

Cover Memo (PDF 80KB)
Executive Summary Draft (PDF 138KB)
Character Zone Map (PDF 927KB)
Draft Master Plan (PDF 484KB)
Framework (PDF 118KB)
Draft Design Guide for King's Highway Buildings (PDF 368KB)

This file was the presentation by the Planners at the start of the 6/22 public Visioning Workshop. Additional information from that session will be posted as it is available.

Public Visioning Workshop, June 22, 2006, Power Point Presentation (37 slides 3.3MB)
Public Workshop 1, April 26, 2006 Presentation (46 slides, 1.5 MB pdf)
Parking and Access Committee Meeting, May 23, 2006 Presentation (27 slides, 1.6 MB pdf)

What does the future hold for downtown Haddonfield?
Improving the mix of shops and businesses … adding new housing … making parking, walking and biking easier … reusing the PATCO parking lot … guiding infill construction … maintaining downtown’s charm, character and community focus …
Change is in air, and it’s time for Haddonfield to take a fresh look at its downtown master plan and zoning — the main tools the community has for controlling growth and development.

The Haddonfield Planning Board has scheduled a public workshop for June 22 that will give residents, property owners and business owners a chance to weigh in on the shape of things to come. The workshop is part of a “visioning” and planning process that will lead to recommendations for changing the downtown master plan, zoning, affordable housing policy, and downtown design guidelines.

Key questions include: What are the important aspects of downtown that need to be protected? What kind of changes can make downtown a better place? What should the ground rules be? What happens if Haddonfield does nothing?
The public workshop is part of the Planning Board’s “downtown visioning” process led by the urban design and planning firm Brown and Keener Bressi. BKB will present three scenarios for downtown’s future — describing three different levels of change that could occur and how those would affect the community.

The consultants created the scenarios after meeting with more than 100 residents, property owners, and business owners as individuals and in small groups; conducting a community survey; holding a public workshop in April that more than 50 residents attended; and analyzing commercial and real estate market trends, parking supply, school capacity, affordable housing requirements, and the potential tax implications of growth.

Residents, property owners and business owners will be asked to comment on and critique the scenarios. After the workshop, the consulting team will develop a preferred scenario and, ultimately, recommendations for amending the Borough’s Master Plan and downtown zoning, as well as other changes. The recommendations will be presented to the public and reviewed by the Long Range Planning Committee, the Planning Board and, ultimately, the Borough Commission.
Prior to the workshop, the consulting team will hold an informal “open house.” Planners will be on hand from 6 to 7 p.m. to for informal discussions about their research, observations and ideas for downtown.

For more information on the downtown vision plan process, and background about the work done so far, visit the Borough’s web site, http://www.haddonfieldnj.org/ and look for “Downtown Vision Plan” under the “Community Bulletin Board.”
Or, contact Todd Bressi or Bob Brown, leaders of the planning team, at 215-751-1133 /Haddonfield@bkurbandesign.com, or Michael Lieberman, chair of the Planning Board’s Long Range Planning Committee / mlieberman@earthlink.net.

The Planning Board's Long-Range Planning Committee has released the following report on the status of the Downtown Visioning Process.

The Visioning Project, sponsored by the Haddonfield Planning Board, is under way. Brown Keener Bressi ("BKB"), the firm of planners, urban designers and architects that has been retained to manage the project, and to assist our citizens in formulating a vision for the future of our downtown, has begun its work. BKB is working closely with Angelo Alberto, the Borough's planner, who is coordinating the technical aspects of the project, and with the Long-Range Planning Committee of the Planning Board.

To date, BKB and its sub-consultants have been gathering data about the Borough, including our Land Use Ordinances and Master Plan, and they have studied our historic preservation guidelines and recent development proposals in town. They have compiled maps and photographs of the downtown business district, toured the area and are speaking with various stakeholders and Borough officials. Their fact-gathering will include an assessment of the Borough's infrastructure, services and community-impact issues. Among other things, their study is considering the following issues: roads, traffic and parking; water and wastewater; downtown businesses; the development picture; schools; affordable housing; and proposed development on the PATCO property.

An Advisory Committee has been formed to advise BKB and the Planning Board in the process, and this Committee includes individuals from many different walks of life in the Borough. They will be meeting with BKB at the end of January. Beginning in February, BKB will begin a series of Community Conversations designed to get input from our citizens with respect to their views about the future of the downtown, and this will be followed by a series of Community Workshops, in which the entire community will be invited to participate. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in the Fall.

Periodic updates about the progress of the project will be published. Additionally, there will be a report about the progress of the project at every monthly meeting of the Planning Board.

BKB invites comments from members of the community at any time, and these can be directed to BKB or through Angelo Alberto, the Borough Planner; Michael Lieberman, the Chair of the Planning Board's Long-Range Planning Committee; or through Andy Johnson, the Chairman of the Planning Board, as follows:

• For BKB, contact Todd Bressi: 215-751-1133
todd@bkurbandesign.com
• Angelo Alberto: 856-354-1223
aalberto@aaplanning.com
• Michael Lieberman: 856-296-9100
mlieberman@earthlink.net
• Andy Johnson: 856-429-0053
ajohnson@williampennfoundation.org