Gloucester Department of Planning and Zoning has released an online survey to gather public opinion on future potential zoning regulations. The survey will close March 31 and the results will be shared with the Gloucester County Planning Commission.

Approximately 650 responses have been recorded so far, providing Planning and Zoning Director Anne Ducey-Ortiz, AICP and Senior Comprehensive Planner Carol Rizzio, PLA, AICP, with insight into where the results are headed.

In the initial results, most people do not support allowing a mix of commercial and residential uses and density without any special approval process in the Court House area and other areas zoned Business-2 (B-2) village mixed use.

For agriculture uses, most survey takers believe that these uses (such as farm crops, livestock and aquaculture) should be required to go through a special approval process in the rural residential districts (C-2 and SC-1), instead of only applying for a permit without such a process. Most respondents also said that agriculture uses, such as agritourism and farm wineries, should have to go through a special approval process.

In home-based businesses, most people said outdoor storage and operations (limited to half an acre) should be permitted for home-based businesses on lots greater than five acres in agriculture (RC-1 and RC-2) and rural residential (C-2 and SC-1) districts.

Survey-takers also said that one commercial vehicle (such as a tractor-trailer or dump truck) associated with a home-based business should be allowed by right (no special approval process) on all residential lots over half an acre.

For camping, most people said that camping on private property for personal use and enjoyment should be allowed as a matter of right if/when limited to no more than one week at any time and no more than 30 days per year.

In freight containers for storage, the vote was split for freight containers being allowed as an accessory structure on residential lots. However, most said no when asked if freight containers should be allowed on residential lots less than two acres in size.

For open space requirements, most people said common open space should be required for new subdivisions greater than 50 units and multifamily developments greater than 35 units.

In private roads, the majority of survey takers said all property owners fronting a private road, or whose access to a state road is via the private road, should be notified when a parcel with rights to the private road applies for a use requiring a special approval process. (Currently only adjacent property owners of the subject parcel are notified.)

The Department of Planning and Zoning has worked for the past five years on the zoning ordinance update. To take the survey before the March 31 deadline, visit gloucesterva.gov/planning-zoning and click on the “Short Survey.” The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete.