§ 175-1. Purpose.

   There is hereby ordained by the Town Council for the Town of Hammonton, Atlantic County, New Jersey, pursuant to the provisions of the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) and to implement the Pinelands Protection Act (N.J.S.A. 13:18A-1 to 18A-29) and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, a land development ordinance for the purpose of and in order to: effectuate the Master Plan, enacted to guide the appropriate development and redevelopment of land in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare; regulate the use of land within zoning districts; secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters; provide adequate light, air and open space; limit and restrict buildings according to their type and the nature and extent of their use and regulate the nature and extent of the use of land for all purposes; regulate the bulk, height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures; avoid a conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state; establish appropriate population densities and concentrations contributing to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and the preservation of the environment; provide sufficient space for residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space; encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging the location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight; promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangement; promote the conservation of open space and valuable natural resources and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land; encourage coordination of various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view to lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land; encourage planned development which incorporates the best features of design and relates the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development to the particular site; encourage senior citizen community housing construction; promote the conservation of energy through the use of planning practices designed to reduce energy consumption and to provide for maximum utilization of renewable energy sources; and preserve and protect the significant and unique resources of the Pinelands.