Today, Oakwood has a population of approximately 9,000, with 97.9 percent of the city being residential. No industrial operations are permitted in the city, and most residents are involved in business and professional careers.
Included in the part of the 2.1 percent of the city that is not residential are the areas zoned for business—the Far Hills Avenue Business District and the Neighborhood Business Districts. These parts of the city have reached a pivotal point in its history—a point where growth demands an active plan to control and guide development; where the city’s past growth, current status, and goals for the future must be combined to form a complete view of the city.
From this complete view, a standard can be developed to examine and define the city, the community, the districts, and the neighborhoods. This standard can then be used to develop a set of guidelines to which the community and its leaders may refer to aid in the decision making process.
