Activity Report
August 2004

• Wal-Mart;

  We have attended several LET's Stop WalMart coalition meetings. WalMart is proposing to build at the Lawrence-Ewing border. The coalition consisits of union groups and residents of Lawrence, Ewing, and Trenton. The concerns range from traffic to environmental to community impacts and focus on WalMart's unfair labor practices. The coalition held a protest (100 people attended) outside the Lawrence Township municipal building when WalMart was to appear before a Planning Board subcommittee. The plan has not been presented to the Planning Board. Environmental objections include runoff discharge into the Shabakunk Creek, which the site borders, and the location of retention basins on 3 acres of forested land. We will continue to attend strategy meetings. We have not yet added our name to the list of sponsors because there isn't an official list yet. The web site is letsstopwalmart.org

• Route 92:

  There has been no word on the outcome of the DEIS, nor have we heard anything about conflict resolution. Steve Masticola (from No 92) and Lincoln Hollister are working on requesting that the DEP designate Devil's Brook as C1. Although Steve has spoken with Congressman Rush Holt's office numerous times, Holt has not publicly stated which side of the Route 92 argument he is on. We will create an action alert that both demands that Holt give us his opinion and that asks him to use the land use conflict resolution program he established to resolve the Route 92 issue.

  No 92 will meet with the Franklin Township Council to request that they aid South Brunswick with legal funding.

• Hamilton Township:

  Rocky Swingle, with Save Hamilton Open Space (SHOS), is involved in several projects:

  • Laura Avenue:
    This 7.1 acre site has approval for development, but the new NJ stormwater regulations have not been followed. SHOS is suing the Township over the regulations.

  • Shoprite:
    Levin Management has sued Hamilton Township over the denial of its permit approval. SHOS is filing an amicus brief.

  • Klockner Road Woods:
    Hamilton Township is condeming 50 of the 90 acres for open space preservation. The acres being condemned are the ones threatened by development.

  • Hamilton Transit Village:
    The American Standard site at the Hamilton train station has begun to be cleared and demolition of part of the factory has begun. While we support brownfield redevelopment and transit villages, we are concerned that the scope of this project is greater than the roads can handle. 1000 residential units are planned for the site. We will consider how best to support the idea but not the scale when the time comes for comment.

  • Skeba Property:
    This 93-acre site is half wetlands and is highly desireable for preservation. 27 homes are planned for this site, which is on Hamilton's open space plan list of the top 25 sites for preservation.

  • Shrimp Farm:
    Ed Pfeiffer wrote to Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein to request that, when drafting legislation to prohibit large-scale operations such as shrimp farms on preserved farmlan, she include a limit on percentage of impervious surface allowed. This would restrict other operations, such as large greenhouses and CAFO's. We have not received a response.