October 13, 2011
Maple Shade bars medical pot dispensary (Walsh, The Courier-Post) Maple Shade, Camden County
“The township zoning board Wednesday night unanimously rejected plans to open a medical marijuana dispensary here.”
Board just says no (Levinsky, phillyburbs.com) Maple Shade, Camden County
“The township Zoning Board on Wednesday night unanimously denied a request by a nonprofit group for a medical marijuana dispensary at a former furniture store off Route 73.”
West Milford officials rebuff proposal to assit developers (Zimmer, Suburban Trends) West Milford, Passaic County
“The Township Council has voiced its opposition to proposed state legislation that would provide relief for developers facing prohibitive economic conditions.”
Age-restricted development will not be converted in S.B. (McLafferty, Sentinel) South Brunswick, Middlesex County
“More than 100 homes in South Brunswick will not be converted from age-restricted to market housing after the Planning Board denied an applicant’s request to do so during its Oct. 5 meeting.”
Ewing developer cuts back on housing project near GM site (Karas, The Times of Trenton) Ewing, Mercer County
“A developer withl long-running plans for an unpopular affordable housing development off Parkway Avenue has offered to cut his housing total by half to ease concerns about the project.”
October 11, 2011
Poll finds support for statewide planning in New Jersey (Kitchenman, NJ BIZ) Statewide
“New Jersey residents support statewide planning to guide growth and development and to protect farms and open space, according to a poll released Tuesday.”
DCA commissioner pledges changes to affordable-housing system (Burd, NJ BIZ) Statewide
“Less than a month after the Department of Community Affairs took full control over the functions of the Council on Affordable Housing, the agency’s head told many of the state’s builders Friday that changes to the system are under way.”
State’s high court to decide if statutes not adhered to in HIllsdale, judicial reviews of development proposal (Firschein, The Record) Hillsdale, Bergen County
“A lawsuit against the Borough’s Planning Board is headed to the New Jersey Supreme Court, challenging what it claimed were derivations from state statutes by the board and lower-court judges in considering a developer’s application.”
An Unofficial Transit Village (Martin, The New York Times) West Windsor, Mercer County
“It took nearly five years to get all aboard, but this township is to have its own ‘transit village’; 800 housing units and a retail center beside its Princeton Junction train station.”
Proposed uptown development causes a stir (Smith, The Hudson Reporter) Hoboken, Hudson County
“A new uptown residential development proposal has neighbors and open space activists up in arms, and the City Council even opposed the plan at Wednesday’s meeting by unanimously passing a nonbinding resolution.”
September 21, 2011
NEWS
Court tells board to try again on project decision (Davis, Shore News Today) Middle Township, Cape May County
“The Appellate Division of the Superior Court has told the township zoning board to reconsider granting variances to a commercial developer that wants to build a 90-unit affordable housing project.”
COURTS
East Windsor Group, LLC and TR Liquor, LLC v. Township Council of the Township of Toms River and Township of Toms River et al (Appellate Division, Ocean County) Toms River, Ocean County
September 8, 2011
NEWS
Development to have units for ARC clients (Walter, The Hub) Tinton Falls, Monmouth County
“A developer is seeking approval for an age-restricted apartment building that would include units for tenants who are clients of the ARC of Monmouth.”
Planning Board Subs Agree to Hear Controversial Zoning Board Application (Kyriakakis, Manchester Patch) Manchester, Ocean County
“Two of the three members of Manchester’s planning board asked to fill the vacancies left on the zoning board after four members recused themselves from the Manchester Rehab Realty application have accepted the assignment.”
OPINION
State wants to flood Cranford with high-density housing (Mulshine, The Star-Ledger) Cranford, Union County
“At least the fridge survived.”
September 1, 2011
NEWS
Crossroads Developer Files Site Plan (Mazzola, Mahwah Patch) Mahwah, Bergen County
“The Crossroads Developers LLC, the company seeking to build a 600,000 sq.-foot shopping center at the intersection of Routes 17 and 287 in Mahwah, filed a preliminary site plan with the township building department, according to the developer’s attorney Jim Jaworski.”
Zoning Board Puts Final Stamp on Quick Chek Application (Levine, Howell Patch) Howell, Monmouth County
“Last Monday, the Howell Township Zoning Board spent a majority of their meeting hearing and approving an application for a new lot to sell new and pre-owned automobiles. However, this was not the only matter on the agenda, as the board still had a great deal to work on throughout the session.”
OPINION
Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign promise forgotten (Amick, Times of Trenton) Statewide
“I will provide New Jerseyans regularly occurring opportunities to petition for their government for action by amending the state constitution to include a provision whereby every 10 years, voters will have the opportunity to convene a popularly elected constitutional convention.”
Irene Winds Down, But Turbines Keep Spinning (Shields, Moorestown Patch) Statewide
“I wondered over the weekend how to craft a story about our newest neighbor—that blowhard Irene—while injecting some environmental message. With that storm in mind, what lesson did we take home, now that we know we still have homes?”
August 24, 2011
NEWS
Acting Gov. Guadagno signs bill suspending 2.5 percent fee on non-housing construction (Hester Sr., New Jersey Newsroom) Statewide
“Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno on Wednesday signed legislation that extends the moratorium on the imposition of fees on non-residential construction projects to help fund affordable housing until July 1, 2013.”
OPINION
Innovative Land Use Requires Work, Patience and Sacrifice (Ashmun, for NJ Spotlight) Statewide
“A small, densely populated state with an old industrial infrastructure and limited natural resources: that is New Jersey. How has such a state remained a successful economic engine and retained its nickname as the “Garden State”?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
NEWS
Livingston Township Officials Fight Court Ruling Over Affordable Housing (Harris, TheAlternativePress.com) Livingston, Essex County
“True to their word, Livingston Township officials voted last month to appeal a court ruling that required changes in the zoning code and helps clear the way for the building of two new housing developments.”
Camp owner petitions for public hearing on planned warehouse complex (O’Sullivan,phillyburbs.com) Mansfield, Burlington County
“A camp owner is continuing his fight to protect the attraction from the potential environmental impact of a planned 2-million-square-foot warehouse complex on adjacent parcels of farmland.”
EMPLOYMENT
Senior Planner, Economic Development — Newark, Essex County
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
NJ Transit derailment renews calls for second tunnel under Hudson River to Manhattan (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“The area between New York Penn Station and the Hudson River train tunnel resembles a big bowl of spaghetti, with wires and tracks and trains veering in every direction.”
New Jersey’s ‘Live Where You Work’ home loan program comes to Camden (Hester Sr., New Jersey Newsroom) Camden, Camden County
“Camden on Tuesday became the 38th New Jersey city or town to join the state’s Line Where York Work program, which provides low-interest, fixed rate mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers who purchase homes in a municipality where they work.”
Developer, Bordentown Township reach financial agreement on waterfront community (O’Sullivan, phillyburbs.com) Bordentown, Burlington County
“A preliminary financial agreement for a planned $300 million waterfront development requires the township to authorize up to $22 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements throughout the multiphase project.”
Jersey City Planning Board forwards McGinley Square redevelopment plan to City Council (McDonald, The Jersey Journal) Jersey City, Hudson County
“The Jersey City Planning Board tonight approved a recommendation that the City Council adopt the controversial McGinley Square Redevelopment Plan.”
Developer Moving Forward With His Efforts to Open Outpatient Detox Facility in Lawrence Twp. Building (Tredrea, Lawrenceville Patch) Lawrence, Mercer County
“Real estate developer John Simone is employing a dual strategy in his continuing effort to install a drug and alcohol detoxification facility in a vacant building he owns on Federal City Road in Lawrence Township.”
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Affordable-housing advocates back Princeton Junction transit village (Costa, The Times of Trenton) West Windsor, Mercer County
“As the long-debated InterCap transit village at Princeton Junction nears final approval by West Windsor officials, groups that advocate for more affordable housing in the state have joined supporting the 800-unit project.”
Jersey City Planning Board to have public hearing on redevelopment of McGinley Square (Staff, The Jersey Journal) Jersey City, Hudson County
“The Jersey City Planning Board will meet tonight to hear public comments on the controversial McGinley Square Redevelopment Plan, The Jersey Journal reports.”
High marks for Pier Village (Williams, The Asbury Park Press) Long Branch, Monmouth County
“Crack houses, a rat-infested water slide and boarded up arcades. This was the setting where the Pier Village retail and residential complex was built in a city that had endured decades of decline.”
Affordable Housing Proposal Inches Further (Lee, Bloomfield Patch) Bloomfield, Essex County
“In an unanimous vote with all seven members approving, the Bloomfield Township Council approved creating a pilot program Monday night for a proposed affordable housing complex for senior citizens and people with disabilities.”
Lower Township tells woman, 79, to get rid of six chickens she is raising for eggs (Degener, Press of Atlantic City) Lower Township, Cape May County
“When Claire Nagel heard about a national movement toward locally grown foods, she planted a big garden and got some chickens.”
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Hunterdon among counties offered $3.248 million for Highlands land preservation (Staff, Hunterdon County Democrat) Hunterdon, Morris, Warren, Passaic Counties
“The New Jersey Highlands Development Credit Bank (HDC Bank) has made offers to preserve another 130 acres of land in Morris, Warren, Passaic and Hunterdon counties, providing up to $3,248,000 to landowners in the Highlands Preservation Area.”
Zoning Board rejects plan for drug, alcohol rehab facility (Staff, The Hammonton News) Hammonton, Atlantic County
“The Zoning Board voted 4-3 to reject a use variance that would have allowed an impatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility to open on the White Horse Pike.”
Public on Master Plan: Protect Neighborhoods, Promote Business, Keep It Simple (Bergen, Ocean City Patch) Ocean City, Cape May County
“Ocean City’s Planning Board invited the public on Wednesday night to share their thoughts on the future of the island — and about 20 people answered the call.”
Bike and walking studies gear up in Monmouth, Ocean (Higgs, The Asbury Park Press) Monmouth, Ocean Counties
“As Red Bank goes, so goes Monmouth County, at least when it comes to using the same interactive online and in-person format the borough used to gather information for the borough’s Bike and Pedestrian report.”
Middle Township Committee Gives Nod to New Master Plan (McGuire, Cape May County Herald) Middle, Cape May County
“They grew a proverbial line in the sand, as well as the streets, the woods, and wetlands, too. But at the end of the day, Middle Township Committee unanimously passed Ordinance No. 1392-11, Chapter 250 Zoning, which officially adopted the township’s new master plan.”
Officials Call On Residents To Help Fight Proposed Development (Antonelli, Cranford Patch) Cranford, Union County
“It’s going to take more than a legal appeal by the Cranford Township Committee to prevent 360 residential units from being built on Birchwood Avenue. The entire township must come together in opposition, officials said during a special meeting Tuesday night.”
