To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in this State, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;

To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters.

To provide adequate light, air and open space;

To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the County and the State as a whole;

To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment, promoting a community land use pattern which recognizes historical, cultural, and natural features within Union Township which make it unique;

To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land policies.

To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens; providing standards for all types of dwelling units so that all the people may have access to decent, sound, and sanitary housing and; by directing future development, including a wide range of housing types at varying densities into areas where appropriate community services and facilities can be most adequately provided;

To 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 and blight;

To promote a visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements by protecting historic features, including structures, sites, waterways, villages, and landscapes, which have a special character or use and which affect or are affected by their environment.

To 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 by providing for the protection of critical natural resources, including wetlands, prime agricultural soils, steep slopes, aquifer recharge, and other areas of hazardous geologic and topographic features;

To encourage planned unit development which incorporates the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development to the particular site;

To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;

To encourage coordination of the 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 the land;

To 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;

To assist orderly, efficient and integrated development of land;

To provide for the coordination of existing streets and public utilities with new facilities;

To provide for efficient and orderly extension of community services and facilities at minimum cost and maximum convenience.

To ensure equitable handling of all subdivision and site plans by developers and subdividers by providing uniform procedures and standards for observance.