Sustainable NJ's Bronze Designation Awarded to Hillsborough

Township Committeewoman Gloria McCauley and Township Administrator Anthony Ferrera attended the Jan. 29 Sustainable Jersey awards ceremony, where Hillsborough was among the New Jersey municipalities recognized for meeting the state's guidelines for sustainability.

Hillsborough Township achieved the Sustainable Jersey Bronze recertification, based on a tally of points earned through various projects aimed at making the township more sustainable.

At Tuesday's Township Committee meeting, Committeewoman McCauley, who serves as the committee's liaison to the Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee, highlighted projects the township undertook, including the Community Clean-Up Day, Central Jersey Best Sustainable Conference held at Duke Farms, the solar project for the municipal complex and the Community Paper Shredding Day, which was sponsored by Somerset County.

Other items for which the township received credits toward recertification included the Environmental Assessment Ordinance, originally adopted in 1975, and the Tree Protection Ordinance, adopted in 2000. 

"There's a whole list of things that were done and we thank everyone who was participating," McCauley said at the meeting.

Hillsborough Township is one of 125 towns out of 378 registered municipalities that have attained certification. Sustainable Jersey's participating communities represent over half the state's municipalities and nearly 75 percent of its population. 

Hillsborough first achieved Sustainable Jersey Certification in 2009 and at that time was one of only 28 towns out of the 240 registered municipalities that achieved certification in the very first year of the program. 

"Hillsborough began sustainable initiatives back in 2006 and it has been an ongoing local project that seeks to plan for the future to ensure our community has balanced economic, environmental and social objectives, developed with public input," McCauley said in a press release issued by the township.

"We are very proud of this achievement and look to the future for continued improvements and success of this program." 

The press release also included Mayor Frank DelCore's recognition of "the efforts of our Zoning Officer/Assistant Township Planner, David Kois, who spearheaded the submission along with the volunteers of the Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee.

"We are extremely proud of this achievement," DelCore said in the press release.