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.”
October 4, 2011
Maple Shade proposed for medical marijuana dispensary (Walsh, Courier-Post) Maple Shade, Camden County
“A nonprofit organization wants to open a dispensary for medical marijuana here.”
Signs of hope stretch beyond the boardwalk (Kitchenman, NJ BIZ) Atlantic City, Atlantic County
“Atlantic City Cruises President Jeff George said he saw one sign of immediate improvement from state-initiated reforms intended to improve the city’s economy: his neighborhood became cleaner.”
Planning Board to Make Green Village Redevelopment Recommendations (Chirls, Madison Patch) Madison, Morris County
“The Planning Board is scheduled to put its official stamp on its recommendations for a major borough development project.”
Upcoming Energy Ordinance Receives Planning Board Scrutiny (Kyriakakis, Manchester Patch) Manchester, Ocean County
“Manchester’s planning board reviewed an upcoming renewable energy ordinance, discussing its implications before the final version makes it to the township council for a vote at a still undetermined date.”
Apartment complex sign of Newton’s renaissance (Reilly, NJ Herald) Newton, Sussex County
“A renaissance is taking over Newton, from the opening of the Newton Theatre to the proliferation of gourmet eateries along Spring Street.”
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 20, 2011
Planning Board Discusses Flood Recovery (Giasone, Parsippany Patch) Parsippany Troy-Hills, Morris County
“With just one item on the agenda on Monday night, the Parsippany Troy-Hills Planning Board meeting was brief.”
Hamilton Township renewable energy plan waits for New Jersey approval (Landau, The Press of Atlantic City) Hamilton, Atlantic County
“A firm hoping to build a renewable energy plant in the township’s Industrial Park is waiting for approval from the state before it will decide to redevelop a former landfill.”
Branchburg could allow “age-restricted” development to become market-rate housing (Cooper, Somerset Messenger-Gazette) Branchburg, Somerset County
“Whether the developer of an approved age-restricted project known as Fox Hollow II can convert the development to market-rate housing could be decided tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 21 at a Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building.”
September 19, 2011
New construction offers hope in blighted park of Asbury Park (Shields, The Asbury Park Press) Asbury Park, Monmouth County
“On an avenue where blight has reigned for over four decades, the new 27,500-square-foot Springwood Center remains on schedule to open next spring.”
Asbury’s master plan is debated (Shields, The Asbury Park Press) Asbury Park, Monmouth County
“A decade after beachfront master developer Asbury Partners first showed up in the city, a committee of stakeholders have reported to the public their recommendations to amend the city waterfront redevelopment plan.”
What’s next for Fort Monmouth? (Bowman, The Asbury Park Press) Fort Monmouth, Monmouth County
“The colors have been struck, laboratories have been moved and gates padlocked.”
September 9, 2011
Developer buys Asbury beachfront site (Shields, The Asbury Park Press) Asbury Park, Monmouth County
“Asbury Partners, the city’s waterfront developer, has bought the unfinished Esperanza high-rise site from Capital One Bank, which had foreclosed on the property, a company official said Friday.”
The Changing Face of Rail and Bus Security (Saccenti, Berkeley Patch) Statewide
“It was time for a change.”
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 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 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?”
