October 18, 2011
NEWS
Walmart Goes Green With Solar, Wind (Piniat, Lacey Patch) Lacey, Ocean County
“Walmart has confirmed that the company is pursuing a solar energy project at the Lanoka Harbor location in addition to its plan to install wind turbines in the parking lot as part of its renewable energy initiative.”
Warehouse boom in Robbinsville is just one part of regional trend (Clerkin, The Times of Trenton) Robbinsville, Mercer County
“A new flurry of activity in Robbinsville’s warehouse sector is turning the township’s industrial parks into major employers, as a spate of businesses that have recently settled in the area have generated nearly 500 local jobs in the past two years, township officials said.”
OPINION
Zoning denial for N.J. medical marijuana facility is classic NIMBY case (Staff Editorial, The Times of Trenton) Maple Shade, Camden County
“The zoning board in Maple Shade last week turned down a plan for location of a medical marijuana facility in the township.”
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 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 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 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 6, 2011
Asbury group will present waterfront plans next week (Shields, The Asbury Park Press) Asbury Park, Monmouth County
“A waterfront redevelopment plan committee will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 in the City Council chambers to present its recommendations for changes to the oceanfront plan to the public.”
Judge tosses remaining Long Branch eminent domain suits (Williams, The Asbury Park Press) Long Branch, Monmouth County
“The four Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace, Seaview Avenue (MTOTSA) property owners who refused to sign on to the 2009 eminent domain lawsuit settlement have had their cases thrown out of court.”
Walmart Windmills Application On Wednesday’s Zoning Board Agenda (Piniat, Lacey Patch) Lacey, Ocean County
“OnniWind Energy Systems, LLC will be approaching the zoning Board of Adjustment once again on Wednesday, Sept. 7 t 7 p.m. with their plan to install wind turbines in the parking lot of the Lanoka Harbor Walmart.”
Unfinished developments in Hamilton Township cause trouble for neighbors (Landau, The Press of Atlantic City) Hamilton, Atlantic County
“Jeff Hauta bought a brand new home in July 2008.”
September 2, 2011
Not all celebrate Highlands Council’s milestone (Forrest, Neighbor News - Denville) Highlands
“Things are happening at a lightning pace for the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council. On Aug. 10, Council members observed the seventh anniversary of the Highlands Act, pioneering legislation designed to protect the land, natural resources and drinking water for 5.4 million residents.”
Chesterfield eyed for medical marijuana facility (O’Sullivan, phillyburbs.com) Chesterfield Burlington County
“The township may become home to South Jersey’s first medical marijuana growing facility.”
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?”
Friday, August 19, 2011
Gov. Christie, N.Y. Gov. Cuomo say OK to scaled-back toll hike (Strunsky, The Star Ledger) North Jersey
“Softening a proposal for unprecedented increases on Port Authority bridges and tunnels, the governors of New Jersey and New York have signed off on an agreement to raise tolls $1.50 next month, followed by additional hikes of 75 cents per year through 2015.
Shopping center proposal causes controversy in Bedminster (MacKenzie, mycentraljersey.com) Bedminster, Somerset County
“A narrow 10-acre strip of land between Interstate 287 and Route 202/206 in Pluckemin section of the township has for years housed a State Police barracks, along with a storage dome for road salt and a garage for New Jersey Department of Transportation vehicles.”
Morristown council introduces revised Speedwell plan (Coughlin, Morristown Green) Morristown, Morris County
“The vote was unanimous, but there were some bumps getting there.”
Zoning Board and Developer Clash Over Colors (Van Embden, Red Bank-Shrewsbury Patch) Red Bank, Monmouth County
“In Red Bank’s designated Antiques District, an area of town that may as well be renamed the ‘Hey, don’t forget about us,’ district, a developer wants to build a colorful, multi-use complex, complete with apartments promising modern living and a first-floor brew pub.”
COURTS
TSI Marlboro, Inc. v. Township of Marlboro Zoning Board of Adjustment (Appellate Division)
United Water of New Jersey v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Borough of Montvale et al (Appellate Division)
