The Zoning Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., and the amendments thereof and supplements thereto for the following purposes:
A. 
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in the Township of Jefferson, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.
B. 
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters.
C. 
To provide adequate light, air and open space.
D. 
To ensure that the development of the Township of Jefferson does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state as a whole.
E. 
To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and reservations and preservation of the environment.
F. 
To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies.
G. 
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of the citizens.
H. 
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight.
I. 
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements.
J. 
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the municipality and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land.
K. 
To encourage planned unit development which incorporates the best features of design and relates the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development of the particular site.
L. 
To encourage senior citizen community housing construction.
M. 
To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land.
N. 
To promote utilization of renewable energy sources.
O. 
To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices designed to complement municipal recycling programs.