Monday, November 29, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Ramapo Planning Board to consider housing plan amid opposition (Lerner, Lo Hud) Ramapo, Bergen County
“The town Planning Board will meet Monday to discuss a controversial plan to build nearly 500 homes on 208 undeveloped acres once used as a farm.”
Zoning Board hearings on continuing-care facility in Wyckoff to begin (Weinberger, Wyckoff Suburban News) Wyckoff, Bergen County
“The Zoning Board of Adjustment will begin special meetings for the Christian Health Care Center’s Vista project next month at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.”
Age restrictions remain an issue for Absecon Gardens condominium complex (Ramirez, The Press of Atlantic City) Absecon, Atlantic County
“Construction has progressed in recent weeks on the Absecon Gardens condominium complex as crews work to finish the first phase in time for an opening early next year. But still uncertain is how old you’ll have to be to live there.”
OPINION
Tax hike for transportation worth expense (Staff Editorial, mycentraljersey.com) Statewide
“The Christie administration’s efforts to increase the gasoline tax should be lauded. However, they must give the public clear justifications of the benefits of yet another tax burden.”
RFQ
Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney (Elizabeth)
Monday, November 22, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
‘Transit Village’ prep progress in Hawthorne (Griffiths, The Record) Hawthorne, Bergen County
“The borough continues to do preparatory work needed to establish Passaic County’s first transit village around its rail station.”
RFP
Zoning Board Planner — Plainsboro, Middlesex County
Zoning Board Engineer — Plainsboro, Middlesex County
Planning Board Planner — Winslow, Camden County
Thursday, November 18, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Experts say plans to extend 7 line subway to New Jersey are a dead end, feds won’t fund it (Lisberg/Donohue, The Daily News) New Jersey/New York
“The chances of a subway line running to New Jersey anytime soon hover between slim and none, a top transportation official said Wednesday.”
Bloomberg: New Tunnel Could Be “Even Better” Than ARC (O’Grady, WNYC) New York/New Jersey
“ARC is dead. Long live ARC in a different guise.”
Extending Subway to New Jersey Would Transform Travel in New Jersey (Grossman/Fleisher/Brown, The Daily News) New York/New Jersey
“While it is being floated as a replacement for the cancelled New Jersey Transit train tunnel into Penn Station, the Bloomberg administration’s plan to extend the No. 7 subway line to New Jersey would benefit groups that didn’t have as much to gain from the rail link.”
Tunnel Decision Has Ripple Effects (Miller, The Wall Street Journal) Hudson/Bergen Counties
“A McDonald’s restaurant used to stand on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, but New Jersey Transit tore down the golden arches to help prepare the New Jersey side for the $8.7 billion rail tunnel to Midtown Manhattan.”
NJ Transit may turn to private operators for parking (Duffy, The Times of Trenton) Statewide
“In what some fear could lead to higher parking costs for commuters, NJ Transit is weighing a plan that could privatize parking at 81 of the cash-strapped agency’s sites — including the Hamilton, Princeton Junction and Trenton train stations.”
N.J. DEP against proposed LNG facility off Asbury Park (Hester, Sr., New Jersey Newroom) Trenton, Mercer County
“The Christie administration has filed a motion with the federal government to intervene in opposition to a pipeline that would transverse New Jersey and connect to a proposed natural gas facility 16 miles off the coast.”
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 (Morning)
Supersized Solar Farm Planned for Pinelands Landfill (Johnson, NJ Spotlight) Pinelands
“The largest solar farm to be built on a New Jersey garbage dump is one step closer to approval. As part of the project, which is located on the edge of the Pinelands, the developer will help fund a study of other landfills that threaten the Pinelands’ ample groundwater.”
NJ: “Dizzying array of required impact statements” (Roh, The Asbury Park Press) Statewide
“A good-government think tank has given New Jersey low marks on its economic regulatory climate.”
North Arlington moves to develop business park on land set aside for condos (Clunn, The Record) North Arlington, Bergen County
“The borough will ban homes on land once set aside for 1,600 condos if elected officials adopt a plan next month to zone the area for a business park.”
Thursday, November 11, 2010 (Morning)
Planning Board plans on opening door to more businesses (Braff, Pascack Valley Community Life) Westwood, Bergen County
“In an effort to draw more businesses into zone outside of downtown Westwood, the Westwood Planning Board discussed different types of uses they would like to add to the zones on Thursday, Nov. 4. The board is expected to vote on an amendment at its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 18.”
Village of Ridge exemption obtained, still pending water permits (Zimmer, Suburban Trends) West Milford, Passaic County
“A 50-home development project slated for the town center was given a new lease of life by the Planning Board last week. By a one-vote margin, the Village on Ridge subdivision that was originally approved by the board in January 2005 was given another time extension — valid through Nov. 4, 2011.”
Zoning Board approves Seton Hall Prep field plans (Appelbaum, The Star-Ledger) West Orange, Essex County
“After a two-year battle between Seton Hall Preparatory School and its neighbors, the West Orange zoning board unanimously approved a $7 million construction project at the school this week”
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 (Morning)
Former developer cedes control of two large parcels of land in North Arlington (Lamendola, South Bergenite) North Arlington, Bergen County
“The New Jersey Meadowland Commission (NJMC) has not formally taken possession of two large parcels of land in North Arlington, which have been owned by Cherokee Investment Partners, the company that was looking to build a massive residential development in the Borough, but was essentially stonewalled when the borough refused to invoke eminent domain on businesses on Porete Avenue.”
Zoning Board re-examines application for Twin Ponds (Duffy, The Times of Trenton) Hamilton, Mercer County
“The township zoning board took another look at the long-awaited application for the Twin Ponds age-restricted apartment complex during last night’s meeting, five years after the project was first approved.”
Planning Board Addresses Master Plan Re-examination (Elliot, Maplewood Patch) Maplewood, Essex County
“In a rather quiet Maplewood Planning Board meeting, the Board heard comments from the public regarding the ongoing re-examination of the Town’s master plan.”
Monday, November 8, 2010 (Morning)
Interested in advertising in the header of one of our daily updates? You’ll reach a highly targeted group of land use professionals and developers. Contact njlandusenews@gmail.com for more info.
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NEWS
N.J. Assembly committee to consider affordable housing bill that focuses on rezoning (Ackermann, The Star-Ledger) Trenton, Mercer County
“An affordable housing bill before the Legislature does not actually require towns to provide housing opportunities for low-income residents, but it does credit municipalities if they rezone for more expensive homes, according to a report scheduled for release Monday.”
NY makes bid for money marked for NJ rail tunnel (Staff, Associated Press) Trenton, Mercer County
“New York is seeking $3 billion that the federal government had committed to the Hudson River rail tunnel that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scrapped.”
Mahwah developer says it’ll work on traffic but not Thruway sprawl (Pries, The Record) Mahwah, Bergen County
“Traffic flow around the International Crossroads property could be improved by reconfiguring nearby intersections and closing one of the entrances to the property, a traffic engineer for Crossroads Developers said.”
East Hanover, NJ, planners OK townhouse development on Ridgedale Ave. (Remaly, The Daily Record) East Hanover, Morris County
“The town’s Land Use Planning Board voted 5-1 Thursday night to allow an 18-unit townhouse development at 687 Ridgedale Ave. despite concerns voiced by nearby residents, an attorney for a neighboring fragrances company who said it is too dense and an investigator for the DEP who found improperly dumped asphalt millings at the site.”
OPINION
Gov. Christie and “silly” developer fees (Staff Editorial, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“New Jersey’s crushing housing prices are putting a hard squeeze on middle-class and low-income families. Half of our population spends more than the recommended 30 percent of income on housing, evidence that the problem is much worse here than in most other states. Nearly one in five families here spend more than half their income on housing.”
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Pascack Valley reacts to ARC getting axed (Braff, Pascack Valley Community Life) Bergen County
“The much-anticipated ARC (Access to Region’s Core) rail tunnel project that would have connected 70,000 more New Jersey commuters to New York was shut down last week by Gov. Christie. After meeting with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Christie said he made his decision because of projected overages the state would have been on the hook for. According to Christie those overages were expected to be between $2 billion and $5 billion.”
Ramsey business owner sues Planning Board over site-plan waiver (Boucicaut, Ramsey Suburban News) Ramsey, Bergen County
“Representatives of the New York Sports Club are suing the Planning Board over a site-plan waiver it granted a potential competitor.”
OPINION
It’s dark at the end of the ARC tunnel (Leone, for the Star-Ledger) Statewide
“It’s pretty tough to find the light at the end of the tunnel when they refuse to build the tunnel.”
Monday, November 1, 2010 (Afternoon)
NEWS
Bridgewater Council OK’s age-restriction conversion of Woodmont development with affordable housing (Longo, The Messenger-Gazette) Bridgewater, Somerset County
“With the collapse of demand for 55-and-older age-restricted housing, developers that previously received approval for such projects earlier in the decade have been clamoring for municipalities across the state [to] lift the age limitation.”
Englewood planning board to revisit master plan (Fabiano, The Record) Englewood, Bergen County
“The Planning Board has agreed to revisit the city’s master plan, less than a year after it was adopted.”
OPINION
Suspend ARC, don’t scrap it (Staff Editorial, The Gloucester County Times) Statewide
“It’s called Access to the Region’s Core. From the outset, the controversial ARC Trans-Hudson Passenger Rail Tunnel was proposed as a regional transportation project, one that would benefit the entire Northeast, not just New York and New Jersey. New Jersey needs the controversial tunnel, but so do rail passengers in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, and Connecticut.”
Doblin: A brave new world after ARC (Doblin, The Record) Statewide
“It’s the day after tomorrow. What was unthinkable a year ago came to pass last week. Governor Christie killed the much-touted, politically favored Access to the Region’s Core project. The world didn’t end; it changed.”
