ROUTE 92: The second organizational meeting chaired by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign was cancelled. We haven’t set a date for the next meeting, but it will be closer to when the EIS is to be released. Tri-State is doing a mailing using NJ Chapter membership lists; this will be discussed at the next Chapter Excomm.
SCHISLER FARM: Hamilton Township rejected the development application and the developer has to start over.
POLE FARM/BIKE TRAIL: Laura Lynch spoke with Donna Lewis of the Mercer County Parks division. Ms. Lewis said that the bike trail will go mainly where there are paved or dirt roads. Since there was so much support for the bike trail, she didn't feel that having a master plan was necessary. It's not usual to have master plans for county parks, although there is one for Baldpate Mountain. Ms. Lewis reassured Laura that the trail wouldn't interfere with any of the endangered wildlife in the park, nor would it set a precedent for construction of soccer fields. The County has no plan to build active recreation at the Pole Farm.
KLOCKNER WOODLANDS: In Hamilton Township, 90 acres of woods near Route 295. A citizen's group has asked for our help; they have a flier with information and contacts. The woods are under development pressure. We don't know yet what stage the plans are in; Laura Lynch will contact Rocky Swingle, who approached Ed Pfeiffer at the Shisler Farm township meeting. Mr. Swingle thinks that the Township will support preservation.
MATRIX: The LOI's are mostly out for public review (one is still pending). Mike Buriani and Ed Pfeiffer are talking with Citizens for Smart Growth (who have made the OPRA requests for the LOI's) and will make comments.
PENNS NECK AREA EIS: The Roundtable meetings are over and we're waiting for the DEIS to be released. The Rountable agreed that Route 1 in a cut is the best option for Route 1, that a wildlife survey is necessary, that any construction will require significant remediation, that the public should be involved in the final plans, and that we couldn't agree on any aspect of the East Side Connector. The Sierra Club position is against the East Side Connector entirely. The DEIS has just been released to the Federal Highway Administration, with a public hearing in late June.
PRINCETON RIDGE: The State Planning Commission is putting off their report on the ridge pending the recent lawsuit by Bryce Thompson (who claims that the removal of the overlay on the PA5 site is stripping him of potential income). We're joining a coalition to work against the lawsuit, but we haven't met yet.
