Hazlet alliance: Bayshore plan hinges on cooperation Regional plan calls for towns to work on common objectives BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer The status of the county's plan for future development of the Bayshore region is a topic of concern for members of the Hazlet Area Quality of Life Alliance (HAQLA). Members of the citizens' group would like to see progress on the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan and cooperation between Hazlet and its Bayshore neighbors. "Each town acts independently with their own planning board on the issue," John Curran III, president of HAQLA, said recently. "It becomes a shortsighted idea with each township working independently and not as the Bayshore as a whole." According to the county's project director for the Bayshore plan, coordination is key to implementation of the plan. Joseph Barris, supervising planner of long-range operations for the Monmouth County Planning Board, said last week that the plan "calls for cooperation between the Bayshore towns and pushes their planning and implementations in working together." "When we implemented the plan in 2006, we brought the Bayshore towns together so that we could work on this as a whole," Barris said. "We want to use the Bayshore plan as a guide." He said the Bayshore towns meet quarterly and are planning ameeting sometime this month. Themeetings are informal with communitymembers fromall of the townsmeeting to express ideas, according to Barris. The exchange of ideas is something Curran said HAQLA wishes would happen more often. TheHazletArea Quality of LifeAlliance is made up of residents from Bayshore towns. The group's mission is "to promote informed and thoughtful land use decisions, to protect our natural resources, and to promote government decisionmaking based on open communication with an informed electorate and non-partisan debate." The group has 17 members, many of whomcurrently serve inmunicipal government or formerly did so. "We got together in the beginning because we all had issues with the towns'policies, developers and other things going on in the community," Curran said. "As in our title,we allwork toward the quality of life of people in the Bayshore area." Curran said the Bayshore plan is great in theory but if the Bayshore towns such as Hazlet, Keyport, Keansburg and Union Beach do not work together it could go to waste. The Bayshore Strategic Plan was formally approved by the Monmouth County Planning Board on Sept. 18, 2006. The plan's introduction states that the overarching theme is the "potential beneficial outcome if the region pursues common objectives and works together to broaden their impact and effectiveness. "There is a great deal at stake as downtown businesses continue to struggle, the region's historicmaritime character is challenged by physical and market forces, waterfront and open space access are compromised by new development and a lack of resources, and Route 36 continues to deteriorate in terms of traffic circulation and as a 'brand' image for the Bayshore," the plan states. Curran agrees and said he feels that if implemented unilaterally, the initiatives would bring tourism dollars into Hazlet. "The problem is that we don't showcase what Hazlet has to offer," Curran said. "In Hazlet, if we put in a marina and involve Keansburg and Union Beach, we could bring in a lot of tourism. Except we have a habit of using home rulewherewe dowhat's best for us." In the regional plan's vision statement, each municipality lists what it plans to accomplish through the plan. Hazlet's vision includes: "Land uses and design along Route 36 are upgraded, remaining natural lands are preserved and enhanced for recreation, and traffic along state and county roadways is better managed." The plan has four key elements that represent a regional perspective on planning initiatives appropriate for the Bayshore. The four elements are economic development, waterfront and open space, transportation and housing. "The recommendations presented in each of these sections reinforce one another," the plan states. "Improvements to the region's waterfront and natural resources, transportation infrastructure, area all integral to regional economic success and will improve overall quality of life in the Bayshore Region." Barris said the plan is a "formal" plan, rather it acts to guide the towns as they work together. Some examples topics discussed at previous meetings include bridge improvements in the Atlantic Highlands and improvements to Route 36. Curran said that he does not want to see Route 36 have heavy traffic patterns like Route 35 currently has. "[Route] 36 is the last highway we have left in our area that does not have so much traffic," Curran said. "They have to be smart in what they decide to do with Route 36." HAQLA is mentioned in the plan as an organization that Hazlet and other Bayshore towns will work with in the implementation of the plan. In Keansburg, an area for local artists has been established, that Barris credits the plan for creating. "People from New York and Red Bank come toKeansburg to live and create awork space," Barris said. "It helped to bring an artists community that is starting to thrive in that area." Barris said that the plan was created so that all of the towns would work together and so far he has seen many positives - a point that Curran disagrees with. "To me it looks like every man for himself," Curran said. "Thirty six connects us all and we all need to work together to ensure the Bayshore's quality of life."