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 12, 2011
OPINION
NJ Sierra Club: Time of Decision Law At Crossroads (Tittel, for the Mahwah Patch) Mahwah, Bergen County
“Citizens in Mahwah were elated when the Council rescinded an ordinance allowing for a megamall. Unfortunately the jubilation was short lived due to the Time of Decision law.”
COURTS
Conifer Realty, L.L.C. v. Township of Middle Zoning Board (Appellate Division)
September 7, 2011
N.J. Turnpike Authority to redirect $1.25B from scrapped ARC tunnel to local road, bridge projects (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“Instead of trains, the money is going toward lanes.”
White House: NJ projects in jeopardy if Congress fails to extend transportation funding (Jackson, The Record) Statewide
“More than 1,900 highway and transit projects in New Jersey could be stopped and nearly 23,000 people put out of work in Congress does not approve an extension of the federal transportation funding system this month, the White House announced Tuesday.”
Planning Board, Neighbors Suspicious of Church of God’s Plans (Scarpa, Ridgewood Patch) Ridgewood, Bergen County
“The planning board told Church of God it needed to ‘pull it together’ after finding that countless aspects of its application for two two-story additions were lacking critical information. Beyond that, members of the board-as well suspicious residents-speculated the addition was not what it appeared and Church of God had bigger, more grandiose plans than presented.”
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 23, 2011
U.S. transportation secretary moves to protect $450 million in Northeast Corridor upgrades (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“As a longtime — meaning long-suffering — commuter on America’s busiest rail line, John W. Nabial Sr.’s trip to work depends on a chain of events outside his control.”
Court upholds board’s decision to deny pumping station (Schwartz, Pascack Valley Community Life) Mahwah, Bergen County
“The appellate division the Superior Court of New Jersey has ruled that United Water did not establish sufficient reasons as to why Montvale’s Zoning Board should allow the utility variances to construct a pumping station in a residential neighborhood.”
Planning Board Rescinds Re-Zoning of Crossroads Property (Smith Jr., Mahwah Patch) Mahwah, Bergen County
“The council chamber rang out with applause at the Planning Board meeting Monday night, as nearly 100 residents cheered the Planning Board’s decision to overturn the Council’s three ordinances that allowed property near the Shearton Mahwah Hotel to be rezoned as retail space.”
August 22, 2011
Amended Speedwell Redevelopment Plan Introduced (Dunphy, Morristown Patch) Morristown, Morris County
“It wasn’t a public hearing, but several audience members still expressed their opinions on the newest version of the Speedwell Redevelopment Plan, which was introduced by Town Council Thursday night.”
Ringwood on track to adopt Highlands Act (Fallon, The Record) Ringwood, Passaic County
“Seven years after the Highlands Act was passed, Ringwood is poised to adopt the strict land use regulations that block major developer and allow only limited redevelopment.”
No hotel in Morris Twp.: Honeywell cuts plan, lowers height, number of townhouses (Staff, Morris NewsBee) Morris, Morris County
“A large hotel that would have greeted drives coming into the township on Park Avenue as part of the new Honeywell housing/office project is no more.”
Appleview hearing continues (LaMarca, Hudson Reporter) North Bergen, Bergen County
“The Hudson County Planning Board’s hearing on the proposed Appleview condominiums in North Bergen, near the Guttenberg border, will resume Sept. 21. Their second meeting Wednesday continued with questioning of the project’s engineer by an attorney for opponents of the project.”
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Gov. Christie says he’s still undecided on Port Authority toll hikes and PATH fare hikes (Strunsky, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“A day after public hearings on a proposed toll and PATH fare hike, Gov. Chris Christie said he had not decided on the proposal but told reporters ‘there were more people spoke in favor of the toll hike than against it.’”
Study: Stormwater Basins Harming Barnegat Bay (Nee, Point Pleasant Patch) Jersey Shore
“Stormwater basins built along the Barnegat Bay watershed may be harming the waterway, according to a new study.”
State has no power to block gas pipeline (Reilly, njherald.com) Sussex County
“The state Department of Environmental Protection has no power to stop the natural gas pipeline that is planned to cut through High Point State Park, a state official said Wednesday.”
Solar Farm planned in East Rutherford (Staff, South Bergenite) East Rutherford, Bergen County
“The Planning Board approved zoning changes on Aug. 8 to allow a solar farm east of Route 17 in order to allow Diamond Chemical company to harness its power.”
Rutgers graduate students to take a crack at Raritan waterfront (Cooper, Somerset Messenger-Gazette) Raritan, Hunterdon County
“The future of the town’s river front area is to be envisioned by a group of graduate students from Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Policy this fall. The students will meet with borough officials on Friday to launch the project.”
Monday, December 20, 2010 (Morning)
County planning board approves waterfront plan for Edgewater (Almenas, Edgewater View) Edgewater, Bergen County
“The Bergen County Planning Board has voted unanimously to adopt a plan that will develop the Hudson River walkway in Edgewater.”
Bound Brook Planning Board OK’s Urban Design Plan (Levoy, mycentraljersey.com) Bound Brook, Somerset County
“The Bound Brook Planning Board has incorporated a Downtown Urban Design Plan into the Master Plan, laying the foundation for the borough to think concretely about its future, while also inviting surrounding communities to get involved in their economic futures.”
Monroe zoning board considers allowing homemade amusement park to remain open (Stirling, The Star-Ledger) Monroe, Middlesex County
“In what could be a protracted battle, the Monroe zoning board is weighing whether to grant the owner of Greek’s Playland and the Stone Museum a variance that would allow the quirky landmark to stay open.”
Roseland introduces two rezoning proposals (Burke, The Progress) Roseland, Essex County
“The Borough Council introduced an ordinance change Tuesday, Dec. 14 that would rezone two parcels — one on Eagle Rock Avenue, the other along Eisenhower Parkway — in response to recommendations from the Planning Board.”
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Morning)
NJ Transit Unveils Second Version of Downtown Plan (Moses, Hoboken Patch) Hoboken, Hudson County
“New Jersey Transit presented a new vision of its $250 million plan for the Hoboken terminal on Tuesday night.”
Borough wants to send governor a message about light rail plan (Gemignani, Northern Valley Suburbanite) Tenafly, Bergen County
“Borough officials are leaning toward sending Governor Christie a letter stating local opposition to New Jersey Transit’s plans to re-establish passenger rail service in Tenafly accompanied by a companion resolution.”
Dealership gets OK to build solar car canopy (Funderburk, The Daily Journal) Vineland, Cumberland County
“Rossi Honda plans to build three canopies with an array of solar panels to cover new display vehicles and customer cars at its Delsea Drive dealership.”
Friday, December 10, 2010 (Morning)
Edgewater looks at changes to master plan (Almenas, Edgewater View) Edgewater, Bergen County
“After addressing major planning and zoning issues, the Planning Board adopted the re-examination master plan presented by Kathryn Gregory, the borough’s official planner.”
