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 28, 2011
$9.1M to be spent to protect bay (Larsen, The Asbury Park Press) Toms River, Ocean County
“The Ocean County Board of Freeholders is expected to approve $9.1 million next week to refurbish eight stormwater detention basins in an effort to eliminate nitrogen that seeps into Barnegat Bay.”
Smart Growth Policies Face Overhaul (Johnson, NJ Spotlight) Statewide
“The state is thinking about revamping its policies dealing with what projects receive financial incentives to reduce energy use in buildings, a change smart growth advocates fear will lead to further sprawl and loss of open space.”
Robbinsville: Redevelopment area eyed for Route 130 businesses (Degnan, The Messenger-Press) Robbinsville, Mercer County
“The Township Council has asked the Planning Board to investigate whether a group of parcels on Route 130 North and Robbinsville-Allentown Road can be declared an “area in need of redevelopment.”
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 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 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?”
August 24, 2011
NEWS
Acting Gov. Guadagno signs bill suspending 2.5 percent fee on non-housing construction (Hester Sr., New Jersey Newsroom) Statewide
“Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno on Wednesday signed legislation that extends the moratorium on the imposition of fees on non-residential construction projects to help fund affordable housing until July 1, 2013.”
OPINION
Innovative Land Use Requires Work, Patience and Sacrifice (Ashmun, for NJ Spotlight) Statewide
“A small, densely populated state with an old industrial infrastructure and limited natural resources: that is New Jersey. How has such a state remained a successful economic engine and retained its nickname as the “Garden State”?
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.”
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Gov. Christie says he’s still undecided on Port Authority toll hikes and PATH fare hikes (Strunsky, The Star-Ledger) Statewide
“A day after public hearings on a proposed toll and PATH fare hike, Gov. Chris Christie said he had not decided on the proposal but told reporters ‘there were more people spoke in favor of the toll hike than against it.’”
Study: Stormwater Basins Harming Barnegat Bay (Nee, Point Pleasant Patch) Jersey Shore
“Stormwater basins built along the Barnegat Bay watershed may be harming the waterway, according to a new study.”
State has no power to block gas pipeline (Reilly, njherald.com) Sussex County
“The state Department of Environmental Protection has no power to stop the natural gas pipeline that is planned to cut through High Point State Park, a state official said Wednesday.”
Solar Farm planned in East Rutherford (Staff, South Bergenite) East Rutherford, Bergen County
“The Planning Board approved zoning changes on Aug. 8 to allow a solar farm east of Route 17 in order to allow Diamond Chemical company to harness its power.”
Rutgers graduate students to take a crack at Raritan waterfront (Cooper, Somerset Messenger-Gazette) Raritan, Hunterdon County
“The future of the town’s river front area is to be envisioned by a group of graduate students from Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Policy this fall. The students will meet with borough officials on Friday to launch the project.”
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
NEWS
Gov. Christie Signs Historic Preservation Bill That Will Bring Over a Million Dollars to Jersey City Projects (Whiten, The Jersey City Independent) Jersey City, Hudson County
“Gov. Christie yesterday signed into law a bill that appropriates more than $1 million in historic preservation funding to four Jersey City projects.”
A Suburban Town Sees Housing Where Retail Rules (Duffy, The New York Times) Morristown, Morris County
“Jordan Eppolito has taken a liking to to his new house here in the Morris County seat, about 30 miles west of New York City. Mr. Eppolito, a 28-year-old entrepreneur who plans to open a pizza shop this fall on South Street, lives in a new condominium overlooking the Morristown Green, the historic park at the center of town.”
OPINION
Christie, deflecting anger, prepares toll deal (Ahearn, The Bergen Record) Statewide
“The melodrama that Governor Christie has been stage-managing with toll and fare increases on Port Authority bridges, tunnels and trains should fool no one. His fingerprints are all over the script.”
Monday, August 15, 2011
NEWS
Little Silver Mulling Removal of Age Restriction for Proposed Condo Complex (Kulaga, Little Silver-Oceanport Patch) Little Silver, Monmouth County
“Public concerns have caused the Little Silver Planning Board to carefully consider the impact of allowing a previously approved but undeveloped 39-unit condominium complex to remove its age restriction, pushing back their vote on the matter for a special meeting to be held on Sept. 13.”
GEMS Area Landowner Wins Approval (McCullen, Gloucester Township Patch) Gloucester, Gloucester County
“A developer can proceed with a 5-year-old plan to build 18 homes in the shadow of the Gloucester Environmental Management Services (GEMS) landfill following an Appellate Court decision last month that labeled the township Planning Board’s decision to shoot down a preliminary site plan “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”
OPINION
From brownfields to opportunity (Martin and Franzini, northjersey.com) Statewide
“The state’s brownfields redevelopment program is a national model, for two decades turning contaminated and underutilized parcels into opportunities for economic growth.”
