Lakewood getting clobbered with new subdivisions popping up almost randomly, residents said

Master Plan public meetings also slated for Sept. 6, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13.

The meetings begin at 6 p.m. at the Township Building, 231 3rd Street.

LAKEWOOD - The fourth and final Planning Board meeting to consider adoption of a new development master plan will be held tonight.

Many residents have pressed municipal officials to scrap the draft master plan that references a need for more housing. The meeting is at 6 tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 13) at the Township Building, 231 Third Street.

The board at the end of the public hearing is scheduled to vote to adopt the master plan as is, or make revisions. Then it's up to the Township Committee to make any modifications and establish zoning ordinances based on the plan.

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The panel has already been told by multiple residents that the town has failed to cope with the population surge that's already occurred. Business owner Harold Herskowitz, who lives on Cedar Road, last week called for "a moratorium on all big developments right now.''

Watch the video at the top of the page for highlights from a public hearing last weeek.

Scroll to the bottom of this story to see the Lakewood Master plan.

In 2013, the Township Committee adopted a detailed "smart growth" plan that called for "center-based development" targeting specific core areas that are still developable. But residents say the reality is that the town is getting clobbered with new subdivisions popping up almost randomly.

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The municipal government itself projects that its current population of more than 100,700 will reach 220,000 by 2030, the result of a steady influx of mostly young Orthodox Jewish families and a state-high 4,000 births to Lakewood women per year.

Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles has said he believes that the township’s 220,000 population projection by the end of the next decade is overstated. However, he noted that it is possible that the Orthodox Jewish community in the greater Lakewood area — which includes Lakewood and all of its neighboring towns in Ocean and Monmouth counties — could reach that size by 2030.

Bob Jordan bjordan@gannettnj.com