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 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“Citizens in Mahwah were elated when the Council rescinded an ordinance allowing for a megamall.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 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.”
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.”
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)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
NEWS
N.J. appellate court upholds Highlands Plan to prevent housing development in environmentally-sensitive area (Spoto, The Star-Ledger) Highlands
“New Jersey’s plan to curb development in the environmentally sensitive Highlands can move forward despite claims it will hurt efforts to add affordable housing, a state appeals court panel ruled today.”
Pinelands report says Stafford Township solar project a bad deal for protecting forest (Weaver, The Press of Atlantic City) Stafford, Ocean County
“An annual report on the state of New Jersey pinelands gives Stafford Township a poor mark for its decision to support a solar panel project atop a landfill in the Stafford Business Park.”
Pipeline hearing will focus on plan for High Point State Park (Reilly, NJ Herald) Sussex County
“The public will have a chance to voice their opinion Wednesday about the natural gas pipeline expansion planned to slice through High Point State Park.”
OPINION
Christie’s beach tours / More walk, less talk (Staff Editorial, The Press of Atlantic City) Jersey Shore
“Gov. Chris Christie is not the first politician to take an oceanside walk as a demonstration of his environmental credentials.”
COURTS
In Re Highlands Master Plan (Appellate Division)
Monday, August 8, 2011
NEWS
Stranded in ‘food deserts,’ hundreds of thousands of N.J. residents lack access to healthy, fresh food (Staff, The Star Ledger) Statewide
“One of Heather Cooke’s favorite meals is a fresh garden salad. But finding the ingredients for the dish in her Hamilton neighborhood isn’t easy.”
N.J. revising its energy policy (Jordan, The Asbury Park Press) Statewide
“New Jersey is overhauling its energy policy for the second time in three years as states make more-frequent rewrites to keep up with technology changes and ideological shifts.”
OPINION
Fight Over the Highlands Continues (O’Dea, Mahwah Patch) Highlands
“Seven years after its enactment, the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act remains a point of contention for pro-environment supporters and property-owning critics.”
COURTS
Price v. Himeji, LLC and Union City Zoning Board of Adjustment (Appellate Division)
Reverses Law Division and reinstates Board’s approval of the development.
Friday, December 17, 2010 (Evening)
NEWS
Rutgers students present solar energy report on Milford (Fasanello, Hunterdon Democrat) Milford, Hunterdon County
“Solar panels could generate more energy than is used here in a year, resulting in income for the borough, according to a study by Rutgers students.”
RFQ
Planning Board/Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney — Borough of Spotswood, Middlesex County
COURTS
O’Brien v. Woodland Township Joint Land Use Board, The Township of Woodland, and New Jersey Pinelands Commission — Appellate Division (Burlington County)
Appellate Division affirms Law Division’s decision that the Joint Land Use Board acted property in denying a subdivision application in the Pinelands.
Friday, December 17, 2010 (Morning)
NEWS
High Tension Surrounds Jersey City High Line (Klayko, The Architect’s Newspaper) Jersey City, Hudson County
“A battle over Jersey City’s 6th Street railway embankment — a half-mile long, stone-walled city landmark that some are calling Jersey’s answer to the High Line — has pitted preservationists against smart-growth advocates in a complex row over development rights that has landed in the U.S. Court of Appeals.”
How to Save Main Street (Tracy, Newsweek) Vineland, Cumberland County
“After the housing bubble burst in 2007, the Wells Fargo mortgage office became yet another dead-weight property along the main drag in Vineland, N.J.”
‘Mary and Joseph’ seek affordable housing at N.J. Statehouse (Hester, Sr., newjerseynewsroom.com) Trenton, Mercer County
Mary and Joseph, joined by leaders of New Jersey religious communities, made their annual visit to the Statehouse Thursday to call upon elected officials to make room at the inn for thousands of struggling New Jersey families.”
COURTS
Loori Bus Company v. Township of Middletown (Appellate Division) Monmouth County
Appellate Division upholds Law Division’s ruling overturning Zoning Board of Adjustment’s denial of a use variance for a bus storage lot. Agrees with Law Division’s finding that the Applicant’s successfully demonstrated that bus operations are an inherently beneficial use.
