Activity Report
January 2004

• SHOPRITE:

  Ed Pfeiffer attended a meeting at the Christ Presbyterian Church on February 5. Invited were all parties (including the mayor and township council) concerned about the impact of an additional, new shopping center replacing woodlands and adjacent to an, old, mostly vacant, shopping center. Unfortunately among the prinicipls invited, Levin Management, the promoter of this new center, was not able to make that date. The Central Group sent letters to the interested parties urging them to consider agreeing to a significant mitigation in order to preserve some of the woods and habitat that would still be within the scope of their project. Of all the recipients, only Hamilton Township Mayor Glen Gilmore responded. He has asked the Planning Board to remove the Klockner Road entrance, tolink to the nearly empty Suburban Plaza, and to leave more open space on the property. Levin Management will hold its meeting on February 19, and their presentation to the Planning Board will be February 22. Central members will attend.

• KLOCKNER ROAD WOODS:

  The wetlands delineation will be redone. The open space purchase by Hamilton, through Green Acres, is proceeding as scheduled.

• ROUTE 92:

  We are still waiting to see the draft EIS from the Army Corps of Engineers. We will comment on the findings when we see it. The coalition is seeking funds – primarily from affected townships opposed to this project - and considering hiring a lawyer, Mike Gerard, who has had success fighting road projects, to take legal action against Route 92. Assemblyman Bill Baroni has introduced Bill Number A1957 to the Assembly that would repeal the NJ Tpke’s authority to build Route 92. A press conference was held on February 12 to announce the bill.

• PENNS NECK AREA EIS:

  WE WON! The DOT announced its Preferred Alignment, a modified version of our preference, D2. Route 1 will be in a cut, but the plaza we had hoped for will be too expensive to build. Frontage roads will flank Route 1, and the Vaughn Drive Connector will link Alexander Road and Washington Road at the train station. But the best news of all is that there will be NO East-Side Connector! The Millstone River, its banks, its archaeological sites, and its two long-eared owls living on the Sarnoff property will be spared.