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Township of Chesterfield Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance

Regulations
New Jersey
2002
Municipal
Township Of Chesterfield   
| Suburban | Rural
Chesterfield enabled a TDR program to create a town center in preparation for well-planned future growth. Chesterfield’s 1997 Master Plan envisioned a “neo traditional town center in the receiving area with a variety of housing types (including affordable housing), neighborhood shops and services, a school and other civic uses and recreational open space. Preserved farmland would surround the “planned village” and Chesterfield’s three historic hamlets. ” The TDR ordinance enabling that plan was passed in 1998 alongside a change to the zoning in the agricultural districts from 3.3-acre lots to 10-acre lots, and an option for cluster development with density bonuses in exchange for preserving 50% of the property as open space . What makes Chesterfield’s planned village so unique is that “it requires TDR credits transferred from the surrounding farmland, and is sized (at 1,300 dwelling units) and zoned to accommodate all of the Township's remaining development capacity.” Because the town has so clearly envisioned its town center, it has been relatively easy to make infrastructural plans as well as attract public and private investment.