If you are a regular reader of On Hillsborough, you will have noticed that many of my recent posts have included satellite photos of locations in our town. I guess you could say that I am addicted to Google Maps! Many of you have probably used Google Maps, or Google Earth, to get a bird's eye view of your house or neighborhood. Sometimes things look very different when viewed from directly above, and sometimes the buildings and other structures make very unusual patterns.
Take for example this satellite image.
View Larger Map
These are The Meadows townhouses on Bloomingdale Drive, one of Hillsborough's most unique developments.
The story of The Meadows goes all the way back to 1969 when Hillsborough created a "planned unit development" zone in the triangle between Amwell Road and Route 206. This plan provided for up to 8200 units of garden apartments - and indeed applications were filed for construction of 8000 units.
Then the residents found out. There was no way semi-rural Hillsborough was ready for 8000 residential units. Over a period of six years, township officials renegotiated with builders - eventually bringing the density of development down from 10 units per acre to 4.
Architect Daniel Cahill designed the project in 1977 to include about 1000 homes. Each of the approximately 60 "clusters" includes sixteen 1400 square foot residences. There is a driveway into the center of the cluster for vehicles, and garages are under each unit.
Interestingly enough, because these are only two bedroom units, it initially took seven to eight houses to produce one school age child! In 1977, when housing prices were not as outrageous as they are today, most growing families opted for still affordable single family homes. Of course, today, there are many school age children living in The Meadows - but in 1977, when the yearly cost to educate one child in our schools was $1500, the eight units it took to produce that child paid a collective $10,000 in property taxes!
Yes folks, there was a time when residential development meant a revenue surplus for the town. In fact, there was so much money coming in, that, because of state caps on expenditures, Hillsborough literally could not spend it all!
Now that's the kind of unusual pattern we'll likely never see again, even with a bird's eye view.
It sure does explain why the town was eager to do that much building, though.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Gallup, the famed pollster, who lived in Montgomery Township, maintained that it was really commercial development that was a drain on towns, not residential. He felt that towns like Montgomery and Hillsborough - and I believe he mentions both towns by name - could actually keep property taxes low by limiting commercial and industrial development. This was in the 50s, but it was still playing out in the 70s, as we see from the PUD.
ReplyDelete