Dear Citizens and Land Owners:

On behalf of the Salem Township Board and recommendation of the Salem Township Planning Commission, I am pleased to present this Master Plan (MP) for our Township. This document will replace our present Growth Management Plan, which was completed in 1998. The present Planning Commission members and Township Board members gratefully acknowledge the hard work and foresight our predecessors put into that document, which was the third for the Township. That Plan has served the Township well in the intervening years and is a credit to all that worked on it. Since that Plan was completed, however, there have been substantial changes in the Township, which need to be reviewed in the Plan if it is to remain a useful document.

The Salem Township Planning Commission has spent considerable time in updating the Plan in a process that has included extensive review of existing land uses, growth patterns, natural features, and infrastructure constraints. We also used a variety of means to solicit public input to the Plan; including holding several public forums and a public hearing, encouraging attendance at meetings when the draft plan was discussed, and reviewing our progress with the Township Board of Trustees. Always at the foreground was the goal of drafting a Master Plan that would recognize the Township's unique character, its precious environmental resources and natural features, and, most importantly, the needs of its citizens.

The Planning Commission and Board members wish to thank all the citizens who have provided input for the Master Plan. Also we acknowledge with great appreciation the efforts and counsel of the Township's Planning Consultant, Donald N. Pennington.

Robert Heyl
Salem Township Supervisor