A number of other callers from different towns chimed in -- bashing both Ellen Ritchie and Bill Grippo. Later, Mr. Ellery heard from Ellen Ritchie and Ms. Ritchie agreed to be on Monday (4/17) morning's show. Mr. Ellery is outraged at the plan to add so many homes and a Home Depot on roads that "can't fit another Volkswagen." He was dumbfounded by Ms. Eberle and Mr. Sumter, and Mr. Ellery stated he was glad he didn't live in Franklin any more if it was run by people like that. Time to change the game from “Bash the Mayor” to “Bash the Council.” Call in and voice your opinion!
]]>Please plan on attending this hearing and raise questions about the amount of undeveloped land they intend on covering over with concrete and blacktop and how they intended on controlling the traffic coming in and out of this plaza. Should be a fun night!
]]>Anyone attending the meeting who would like to provide a coherent, informative summary of the meeting, please feel free to comment.
]]>Read the full Star-Ledger story.
Ford sold the debris to Jack Morris' Edgewood Properties. Ford said that Edgewood was warned that the fill was contaminated with PCBs. An anonymous tip in the fall of 2005 led to the DEP to look into the situation. About the same time, Edgewood also contacted the DEP to report the contamination, and recently Ford filed a plan with the DEP and is busy cleaning up the sites where the contaminated fill was used. In my opinion, Ford is trying to minimize its risk in this fiasco.What remains to be answered is did Edgewood know the fill they used in their building sites was not approved for this use? Ford says that Edgewood was adequately warned, and Edgewood says that it had no idea. Let's hope that Inverso ad Baroni stay on top of this investigation. If Edgewood had full knowledge of this tainted fill and used it in its building projects, what else have they done that we don't know about? And....what other developers also bought this tainted fill, and what did they do with it? Wouldn't you like to know?
]]>Ford says it has receipts for the sale of the non-contaminated concrete to Edgewood and also for the tainted stuff, too. I want to know what was the weight of both purchases, and what was the combined weight removed from the building projects? Did the total weight exceed the weight of the non-tainted stuff that was purchased? Mmmmmmmmmmmm.....
]]>Gee, here's a concept: Many of the Franklin residents addressed the PB with their concerns about the Bennetts Lane project and other issues within the township. They weren't limited to two minutes, and spoke for as long as necessary to get their ideas across to the PB. I asked that the PB listen to their residents with regard to the threat of traffic and high density building on the environment.
I didn’t stay for the remainder of the meeting, but I wanted to share the following from one of the Franklin Township residents, Doris Bennett, of FRAID:
Thanks, Doris, for letting me post your comments. So – be sure to attend the Planning Board March 22nd meeting, and be sure to attend the Franklin Zoning Board meeting on April 6 where the Morris proposal for the old Shop Rite shopping center will be voted on!!“…I attended the Planning Board work session last night where the final changes to the Master Plan (other than the Housing Element) were discussed. There was a public portion and several people, including me, commented. I obtained memos outlining the proposed changes Wednesday afternoon so my comments referred to those.
Regarding the description of the proposed Bennetts/Veronica project in the Land Use Element, where it is acknowledged that wetlands traverse the property, I pointed out that Category 1 streams do also and the language should reflect that.
Regarding the portion of the site to be zoned commercial, the description indicated this section should not extend more than 1300 feet west of Route 27 (this is essentially where the easternmost stream traverses lot 13). I pointed out that the wetlands begin on the lot fronting on Bennetts Lane approximately 800 feet from Route 27. There is no LOI delineating these wetlands, and more than half of the lot is currently zoned R-40. If this lot is zoned commercial, 700 feet of frontage on Bennetts Lane would be in a commercial zone and subject to commercial traffic.
I challenged the statement that the portion of the property currently zoned M-2 and R-40 is suitable for affordable housing production pursuant to the Fair Share Plan, as the R-40 land is either in Planning Area 3 (which they rightly exclude) or is severely restricted by wetlands and Category 1 streams so as to not be usable.
The Appendix to the Land Use Element identifies a new zone, AH-2, specifically created for this project. It differs from the other Affordable Housing zone, AH-1, in that it includes the non-residential portion of the project. It starts with a gross residential density of 11 units per acre, which I questioned, because I thought they had reduced it to 8, and, after taking into account the original LOI and the PA-3 land, winds up with a net density of 15 units per acre. I pointed out it still doesn't acknowledge the revised LOI of 2/6/06, which recognized the wetlands of exceptional resource value, or the C-1 streams. I questioned whether the bulk standards for this new zone had been determined yet.
After other public comment and much discussion on other issues, they finally came to the Land Use Element and Bennetts/Veronica. Dave Roberts of Schoor DePalma was present to offer guidance. There was some attempt to be responsive to the residents' concerns. No one wanted a gas station on the corner of Bennetts and Route 27. Because they are creating a new zone, they can specify the standards they want it to satisfy. Gas stations can be prohibited. Based on my comment about the commercial intrusion onto Bennetts Lane, they will recommend restricting access to the commercial portion to Route 27 and Veronica. They also may recommend larger buffers from the commercial development to the residential areas. This all sounded very positive. However, the council passes zoning ordinances, not the Planning Board. The Planning Board can recommend whatever it wants, but this council has already shown a proclivity for ignoring the advice from the Planning Board.
The outcome will come down to the perception and acceptance by COAH and the courts of the environmental limitations we know exist on the property. Despite the Planning Board and council’s continued refusal to recognize the C-1 streams and other impediments to building, not only on the residential portion, but the commercial as well, Jack Morris should be severely limited in what he can build on this property, if he chooses to build at all.
It is a particular annoyance to me that when other parcels are discussed, as they were last evening, traffic can be an issue, wetlands can be an issue, incompatibility with the neighboring zoning can be an issue. But then when the discussion turns to Bennetts/Veronica, these issues are never seen to be a real problem. High density development can go on no matter how it doesn't fit or desecrates the area. Hopefully, as the process moves forward, the facts with prevail over the politics.
Meanwhile, we must continue to be vigilant. The final hearing and vote on the Master Plan will occur on March 22. Please plan to attend. We should have final language to review at least a week before that meeting.
Many thanks to those who attended last night and spoke out. We need to continue to look for publicity to keep the issue in front of the residents in Franklin and North Brunswick. Those of you who listen to Jack Ellery in the morning on WCTC, call in and tell him what you think. Ask him how he's going to like working across the street from a Home Depot. What does he think about destroying water quality with overbuilding? How does he like the traffic on Route 27?
Those who cry “we need affordable housing” should remember we need clean air and water first. But remember, FRAID does not oppose affordable housing; it's the density of development, residential or commercial, that is so objectionable.”
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]]> The Council is appointing some alternates to the Planning Board and giving one of their own the dubious pleasure of serving on the Sewer Committee. Some FT residents are looking for a recall of certain members of the Council, so it ought to be interesting. Do y'all think Rickey will apologize for his comments to Mayor Levine last week? Can any Council person admit it when they're wrong? I doubt it because the members of this Council are arrogant and feel that they can't do any wrong.
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Points made during the meeting by residents:
I want to know if Edgewood has filed their plans yet? I bet they were at the door of the Municipal Center Feb. 9 at 8:30am. Keep me posted!
]]>You owe your Mayor an apology; when you chastised Mayor Levine for asking the North Brunswick Township Council to come to tonight’s meeting, you were totally off base.
]]> I attended the North Brunswick Township Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 6, and spoke for twenty minutes at the podium to the Council about the Bennetts Lane/Route 27 development. There the Council agreed to attend tonight’s meeting to present North Brunswick’s concerns about this development and the impact on the traffic, environment and quality of life for residents in both Franklin and North Brunswick. Mayor Levine had absolutely nothing to do with my Township Council attending tonight’s meeting. If you have any doubts, I am sure I can obtain the videotape of the meeting. It is refreshing to be a citizen and have my elected officials listen and allow me to speak long enough to express my concerns, a concept unknown in Franklin. Considering you feel that your town operates and exists in a bubble, there is small wonder that you resent any input. But of course, why should you listen to me or any other North Brunswick resident since you and your fellow Council members have refused to listen to your own townspeople?
Yours truly,
Karen Ramsden-ZahlerPS. I’m still waiting for that apology. I hope to hear it at the next Council meeting.
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