Central Jersey Group
Activity Report
April 2006

• LAWRENCE:
  • Wal-Mart:
    Wal-Mart presented its revised plan to the Lawrence Township Planning Board's Screeing Committee. As per the D&R Canal Commission's suggestions, drainage basins were moved and the parking lot size reduced. The plan passed the screening, but there is not yet an official Planning Board hearing date.

• PRINCETON:

  The proposed age-restricted housing development plan for halfway up the hill on Bunn drive is still stuck at the Zoning Board phase as the developers stumble their way through the process. They are asking for variances that the Zoning Board is not keen to give, and the developer is not scoring any points by being clueless. The Board has so many questions that the public comment portion of the hearing has been put off at least four times. The next hearing may be in September; whether or not the public can comment remains in doubt.

• HAMILTON:
  • Stopping a Shopping Center:

    In 2005 we joined with Save Hamilton Open Space to defend 30 acres of forest from development at the corner of Klockner Avenue and Nottingham way. The site was to become a ShopRite strip mall adjacent to a dying strip mall that had ShopRite as an anchor store. Hamilton Township denied the permit application, but the developer, Levin Management, took the case to Superior Court and won. Hamilton appealed the decision and lost, but the Planning Board has petitioned the NJ Supreme Court to hear the case. We await the court's decision on whether they will accept the case.

    Unfortunately, the court decision said nothing about halting construction during the appeal. Now several roads have been carved into the woods (two from Nottingham way and one from Klockner Avenue). Severall barricades have also been erected.

  • Preserving Woods:

    Across Klockner Avenue from the mall-to-be is Klockner Avenue Woods, which we thought we had preserved when Hamilton Township agreed to preserve it in 2004. But in November 2005 the Township, in a last-minute election maneuver, decided to allow 100 housing units on half of the 90 acre property. No public hearing has been set. But the NJ Superior Court ordered a new wetlands study to determine the price of the land after it was disputed locally. In addition a new local ordinance prohibits development within the 100 year floodplain, and we're awaiting that study. The end result could be a cheaper price that will save money for other acquisitions.

  • New Ordinances Help Preserve Open Space:

    The good news is that Hamilton Township passed two land preservation ordinances in 2005, and another that allows public appeal of zoning variances.

    Downzoning - The first, a downzoning ordinance for the last remaining farmlands on the southeast side of the township, clusters development, reduces density, and emphasizes protection of environmentally sensitive, but developable, lands. The second, a stream buffer protection ordinance, creates a bigger buffer between streams and potential development.

    The bad news is that Beazer Homes and Thompson Land are suing the Townhship over the ordinance. This news is new and still sketchy. We are in the process of getting permission to join the Township in their legal defense. But we need more information first. Stay tuned. We have joined Hamilton's legal defense of the downzoning ordinance.

    Stream Protection - The second, a Stream Buffer Conservation Zone ordinance, creates a bigger buffer between streams and potential development. We're optimistic that it can be used to help preserve Klockner Woods as mentioned above.

    Meanwhile, In January 2006 a new ordinance was introduced that would allow the Township Council to hear testimony against developments that the Zonning Board has granted variances for. The ordinance would allow residents to ask the Council to review the variances. As things are now, once the Zoning Board makes a decision, residents and the Council have no recourse for appeal. The second reading of the ordinance will be on January 17, with a public comment period to follow. Should the Council vote "yes," the ordinance would become law 20 days later.

    Meanwhile, the proposed Cypress Woods development along Pond Run is back on the scene. The site is zoned for research and development, but the owner wants a variance so he can build townhouses. The site is on a floodplain and riddled with wetlands, but the owner will appear before the Zoning Board in Feburary. Should the proposed appeal ordinance (see above) pass, the Cypress Woods site would be subject to it. In addition, the newly passed stream buffer protection ordinance would render this site unbuildable. These two ordinances give us a chance to protest development on this environmentally sensitive spot.

  • Zoning Variance Appeals

    Hamilton Zoning Board variances can now be appealed by "Interested parties", i.e. the public, directly to the Hamilton Council. Previously the public had to hire a lawyer, which discouraged appeals. This has significantly curtailed the tide of variances that allowed irresponsible and environmentally unfriendly development.

  • Historic Rrails to Trails Preservation

    New Jersey's first railroad and the third in the U.S., the Camden and Amboy, passed through what is today Hamilton and Washington Townships. The first steam engine, the John Bull, now in the Smithsonian, operated on the line. The current owner, Conrail, wants to abandon 5.7 miles of it and sell it to either Washington Twp. and/or developers. Washington Twp. wants to create a redevelopment zone along the Rt. 130 corridor where the line runs. It's "in the way" of their redevelopment plan. We (state level) passed a resolution to support preservation of the right of way. It would make a wonderful hike/bike path that would be environmentally friendly and economically beneficial to the township. Also, preservation of the right-of-way would allow reinstitution of passenger or freight service if the need ever arose. NJDEP, (the State Historic Preservation Office) and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission also support denial of Conrail's abandonment application that is before the federal Surface Transportation Board. Public support of preservation is critical to making this happen.