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, December 2, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Subtraction pending for addition (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“Two Halcyon Park residents have been ordered to tear down a home addition that was ruled illegal, even after the township originally gave them a go-ahead to build.”
RFP
Special Project Engineer (Deptford, Gloucester County)
CASE
Dreskin v. ZBA of the Township of Jackson (Appellate Division, Jackson, Ocean County)
Appellate Division affirms Law Division’s ruling that the ZBA did not act in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or capricious manner in granting a conditional use variance to allow a wrestling school as a home occupation.”
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Morning)
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NEWS
Transportation agencies discuss impact of ARC tunnel cancellation (Lee, NJBIZ) Newark, Essex County
“The cancellation of the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel project continues to cast its shadow over transportation planning in the region, even as agencies pursue other large-scale infrastructure projects, transit officials said Monday morning.”
West Windsor: Township planning parking (Staff, The Princeton Packet) West Windsor, Mercer County
“Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said the township plans to move full speed ahead to build more than 500 new parking spots at the Princeton Junction Train Station, independent of NJ Transit’s plan to privatize parking at 81 of its agencies — Princeton Junction included.”
Zoning Board To Go Forward With Special Hearing (Moses, Hoboken Patch) Hoboken/Weehawken, Hudson County
“Even though the Township of Weehawken has asked to postpone it, the Zoning Board of Adjustment will hold a special meeting Tuesday night, to hear Hoboken unleashed’s application to turn 1714 Willow Ave. into a pet resort.”
RFP
Redevelopment Attorney (Bloomfield, Essex County)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 (Afternoon)
Fernandez v. Township of Bloomfield (Appellate Division, Bloomfield, Essex County)
Case involving the issuance of construction permits, the commencement of construction, stop work order due to zoning violations, and then denial of a variance (applicant claimed c1 hardships). Plaintiffs argue that the Board was equitably estopped from denying their variance, and that the denial was arbitrary and capricious. Court finds that the Board acted property and affirms the decision of the trial court.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 (Evening)
N.J.-funded construction projects in planning, development still frozen for cost-benefit review (Frassinelli, The Star-Ledger) Trenton, Mercer County
“Construction workers were back on the roads today after the one-day government shutdown of state-funded transportation projects, but engineers remanded on the sidelines.”
Bloomfield mayor wants council to back redevelopment (Appelbaum, The Star-Ledger) Bloomfield, Essex County
“Bloomfield’s mayor accused the town council of setting back plans to revive its struggling downtown after failing to approve a resolution on redevelopment last month.”
Builders Move Beyond McMansions in New Jersey (Kaysen, The New York Times) Statewide
“Faced with the prospect that New Jersey’s buildable open space could be gone by midcentury, developers are turning to projects that tap into existing infrastructure, use vacant buildings and emphasize the vertical over the horizontal.”
Monday, September 27, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
New downtown clears another hurdle (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“Major construction in Bloomfield Center cleared its first major hurdle Thursday night, as the planning board unanimously approved a study declaring the redevelopment block “an area in need of redevelopment.”
Raritan Planning Board lifts much of Willow Walk 55-and-older age restriction (Staff, The Messenger-Gazette) Raritan, Somerset County
“The Planning Board by a unanimous vote lifted a substantial amount of the 55-and-older age restriction originally placed on the Willow Walk condominium development when it was approved several years ago.”
Plainfield marks start of Fourth Ward rehabilitation project (Staff, MyCentralJersey) Plainfield, Union County
“A host of government officials and local residents gathered outside a West Third Street Plainfield home on Friday to mark the launch of a movement to rehabilitate nine blighted properties across the city’s Fourth Ward.”
Bridgewater Planning Board wants T-Mobile to investigate alternatives to cell tower at Green Knoll firehouse (Mustac, The Messenger-Gazette) Bridgewater, Somerset County
“Bridgewater Zoning Board of Adjustment members are asking T-Mobile some tough questions in the company’s application to build a 125-high cell tower at the Green Knoll fire station at the corner of North Bridge Street and Foothill Road.”
OPINION
The best solution in an imperfect world (Kasabach, for The Record) Hudson/Statewide
“It’s the ARC Tunnel or nothing at all.”
Don’t let ARC go off track (Wright & Michaelson, for The Record) Hudson/Statewide
“Two weeks ago, Governor Chris Christie abruptly halted work on the Access to the Region’s Core project, saying he needed greater assurances that the $8.7 billion commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River could be delivered on budget. This has left commuters and business leaders wondering if the governor is focused on reducing costs, or whether he intends to cancel one of the nation’s most important transit improvements.”
Thursday, September 16, 2010 (Afternoon)
City Introduces Western Edge Redevelopment Plan (Tavani, Hoboken Patch) Hoboken, Hudson County
“Tuesday evening at the Jubilee Center, Mayor Dawn Zimmer held a public meeting to introduce a new Western Edge Redevelopment Plan that would add about 400,000 square feet of office space in addition to a community center, small parks, retail space, and apartment buildings. Roughly 50 residents were on hand including several developers and property owners who own land in the redevelopment area.”
Oaks Pond tax-abatement rejected (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“A council majority has rejected the mayor’s planned 30-year tax abatement for a proposed redevelopment project at the former Oaks Pond industrial site.”
New law allows development rights program time to gain momentum (Zimmer, Suburban Trends) Highlands
“The extension of the dual appraisal method by representatives in Trenton will allow property owners in the Highlands to continue to tap the state’s vast open space funding sources, as another program designed to preserve land in the region gains momentum.”
Sea Girt wind turbine plan creating angst for residents (Brashear, The Asbury Park Press) Sea Girt, Monmouth County
“The 325-foot-tall wind turbine planned for the New Jersey National Guard Training Camp is generating controversy in nearby communities, and state Department of Environmental Protection rules could threaten the federally funded project.”
Thursday, September 9, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Oakes Pond development dogged by environmental questions (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“There may be more than meets the eye at the site of a dilapidated industrial complex alongside the Garden State Parkway.”
Byram close to winning Highlands plan OK (O’Dea, The Daily Record) Byram, Sussex County
“Byram is set to become the first municipality to conform to the state’s Highlands regional master plan.”
New Brunswick becomes model for Atlantic City (Barna, The Daily Targum) New Brunswick, Middlesex County
“After finding the state in another economic slump, Atlantic City officials, Gov. Chris Christie and the state legislature are seeking solutions to help spur the economy and redevelop the struggling city — and a large portion of their inspiration is coming from New Brunswick.”
Housing developers want Vineland council to OK grant application (Staff, The Daily Journal) Vineland, Gloucester County
“The owners of a stalled East Vineland residential development are seeking the city’s support to pursue a state affordable housing grant.”
Zoning Board Carries Hearing on River Road Shell Station (Sullivan, Summit Patch) Summit, Union County
“The Zoning Board of Adjustment heard testimony pertaining to the Shell station at the corner of River Road and Passaic Avenue Tuesday night.”
Talley to become new planning director (McDonald, The Montclair Times) Montclair, Essex County
“A current member of Montclair’s Planning Board has been tapped to become the municipal planning and community development director.”
OPINION
Company turning a sealed toxic dump into a solar-energy development (Riordan, The Philadelphia Inquirer) Gloucester County
“Atop a sealed mound of industrial waste on a historically toxic swath of Gloucester County, Bill Geary sees a sunny future.”
Suburbs suffering from Christie’s short attention span (Mulshine, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“If they were going to build a Seaside on the farm next door to his place in Mount Olive, I suspect Bret Wien would like it a lot more than the project that’s planned for the spot.”
Monday, July 26, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
World-class ShopRite proposal to be heard by Somerville planning board (Staff, The Messenger-Gazette) Somerville, Somerset County
“The developer of Somerville Town Center will be in front of the planning board next Wednesday, July 28, to unveil plans for a “World Class ShopRite Supermarket” that is to be built on the site.”
Hotel construction begins in Millvile (Landau, The Daily Journal) Millville, Cumberland County
“A year ago, the city was anticipating a host of new hotels coming to the area.”
Bedminster Township officials to review redevelopment concept for state maintenance yard (Coombe, The Bernardsville News) Bedminster, Somerset County
“Today, it’s 9.75 acres of property along the Route 202/206 corridor, soon to be abandoned, and with a long history of pollution.”
N.J. Office of Smart Growth gets a new name, new boss in Lt. Gov. Guadagno (Staff, The Star-Ledger) Trenton, Mercer County
“The Office of Smart Growth, created to coordinate growth in state agencies, will be named the Office of Planning Advocacy, and control will be given to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, according to a report by NJSpotlight.com.”
New Brunswick’s rebound could be model for Atlantic City (Clark, The Press of Atlantic City) Atlantic City, Atlantic County
“As in today’s Atlantic City, officials in New Brunswick found their city at a crossroads about four decades ago. A new incarnation of the organization and structure that saved that central New Jersey city could be coming to rescue this ailing gaming resort.”
Gov. Christie’s proposed takeover of casino industry may be last chance for Atlantic City revitalization (Staff, The Star-Ledger) Atlantic City, Atlantic County
“It seemed a simple enough idea: Turn Atlantic City’s two main drags into one-way streets so traffic would flow better around the casinos.”
$500K for ‘six points’ clears hurdle (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“The township is one step closer to receiving a large chunk of change to help improve the notorious ‘six points’ intersection in the center of town, courtesy of New Jersey’s top federal legislators.”
OPINION
Want to stimulate home construction? Repeal the Highlands Act (Mulshine, The Star-Ledger)
“A number of Democrats are upset that Gov. Christie vetoed that $100 million home-buyers tax credit program, among them state Sen. Paul Sarlo.”
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Bill eliminating COAH would only make matters worse (Walsh, in The Asbury Park Press)
“New Jersey’s housing market is broken. Unfortunately, the Legislature is proposing to make things worse. It is considering legislation that would eliminate the Council of Affordable Housing without providing any alternative way to ensure adequate housing is provided for working families, seniors and people with special needs.”
Thursday, July 15, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
Council decides not to vie for ‘TIGER’ (Frankel, Bloomfield Life) Bloomfield, Essex County
“After an unsuccessful attempt last year, the township council has voted to not pursue a $15,000,000 federal transportation grant for infrastructure projects.”
Teaneck puts energy in going ‘green’ (Prosnitz, Teaneck Suburbanite) Teaneck, Bergen County
“The township’s Sustainability Commission met Monday evening to discuss ways for Teaneck to meet the state’s Sept. 15 deadline for grants under the Sustainable New Jersey program.”
Residents speak out against cell tower (D’Onofrio, The Item of Millburn and Short Hills) Millburn, Essex County
“The Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment heard the first round of testimony Monday night from T-Mobile Northeast experts who are looking to install a telecommunications monopole at 806 Morris Turnpike in Short Hills.”
OPINION
Journal Square redevelopment plans need changes: letter (Letter to the Editor, The Jersey Journal) Jersey City, Hudson County
CASE LAW
Jackson Holdings, LLC v. Jackson Township Planning Board (Appellate Division, Decided July 14, 2010)
“The issue presented by this appeal is whether a trial court may order a planning board to grant an application for a land use approval even though the court determines that there is a substantial question concerning the validity of the part of the zoning ordinance under which that approval was sought. We conclude that if a trial court hearing an action challenging a planning board’s decision on an application for a land use approval perceives a substantial question concerning the validity of the part of the zoning ordinance under which the approval was sought, the court should order the governing body’s joinder in the action and determine the validity of the disputed part of the zoning ordinance before reviewing the board’s decision.”
JOBS
Senior Planner (Radin Consulting, Inc.)
Mid-level City Planning Position (Kauker & Kauker, LLC)
