Ready to fight, Committeeman seeks to halt Marketplace

WASHINGTON – Committeeman Jack Mozloom this week said he will call on the Township Committee to join a Hamilton-based citizens group in its opposition to the proposed Hamilton Marketplace.

By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON – Committeeman Jack Mozloom this week said he will call on the Township Committee to join a Hamilton-based citizens group in its opposition to the proposed Hamilton Marketplace.
Mr. Mozloom said Republican Township Committee candidate Mark Tobias and Ed Pfeiffer, leader of Residents Against Inappropriate Development, have convinced him the township needs to take legal action against the proposed 1.5 million-square-foot retail/office complex.
He said he will ask the rest of the committee, at its next meeting on June 28, to hire an independent counsel to fight the project, which would be located on Route 130 near the Hamilton-Washington border.
That mall is going to be really destructive to Washington Township, Mr. Mozloom said. Im absolutely concerned that its now or never for Washington Township.
He said the traffic and environmental problems likely to accompany the development will be the beginning of the end of the rural character of Washington Township.
Mayor Dave Fried this week said the township did file a suit against Hamilton because of the Marketplace, but dropped it.
Im not sure theres any legal grounds for the suit, he said.
Mayor Fried also said the township is committed to not fighting the development.
Unfortunately, we had to work something out with Hamilton where we would not publicly oppose the Marketplace development so that they would not publicly oppose our bypass road for Route 33, the mayor said.
He is referring to a road called the southerly bypass for Route 33, a key component for the townships planned Town Center. Half of the proposed bypass rests in Hamilton.
Town Center will seek to combine residential and commercial uses in an area primarily bordered by Route 33, Route 130, Hutchinson Road and Washington Boulevard.
Planners have said the Town Center could not be constructed without another east-west road to handle the added traffic and congestion that would accompany the development. The township plans to turn Route 33 into a Main Street through Town Center, with a 25 mph speed limit.
Right now we really cant afford for that bypass road not to be completed, Mayor Fried said.
Hamilton officials agreed earlier this year to the design of the southerly bypass after the intersection of the road with Washington Boulevard was redesigned. The bypass would extend from Washington Boulevards intersection with Route 33 to Route 130 near South Gold Drive.
Mayor Fried said the construction of the Hamilton Marketplace leads to concerns about traffic on Route 130 and Route 33. But, he said, the effects on Route 33 are those with which Washington needs to be concerned.
I think my colleague needs to focus on the more emergent problem, which is Route 33, the mayor said.
The bypass in Town Center has nothing at all to so with the project on Route 130, Mr. Mozloom said. He said the two are completely unrelated.
Thats a bad deal that they made, he said, referring to the agreement Mayor Fried said was made with Hamilton. If hes working a deal with Hamilton Township, then I think hes basically betrayed his campaign promises.
Mr. Mozloom said Mayor Fried promised residents he would fight inappropriate development.
If the mayor and his colleagues are concerned about Town Center then they should stand with me on this, Mr. Mozloom said. He said if Route 130 becomes as developed and congested as Route 1, the townships plans for Town Center and for revitalizing Route 130 will be worthless.
Mayor Fried said Mr. Mozloom knew of the deal with Hamilton, and was simply grandstanding.
Mr. Mozloom said a vote was not taken on any agreement with Hamilton, and that he was surprised the mayor released the information since it was executive-session material.
The committee recently censured Mr. Mozloom for divulging executive-session material concerning the committees handling of the Police Department controversy.
Mr. Pfeiffer said RAID is a nonpartisan group, but that the group supports Mr. Tobias stand against the Marketplace development and is happy to have Mr. Mozlooms support.
It demonstrates that there is regional concern about a regional issue, he said. We think that this helps raise the publics awareness and concern.
He said overdevelopment, sprawl and traffic on Route 130 are issues affecting many communities, including East Windsor, Hightstown, Allentown, Bordentown and Chesterfield.
RAID was successful in postponing construction at the Marketplace site. Mercer County Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg recently halted the project, but construction can resume if the Hamilton Planning Board approves the general development and site plans.
Mr. Pfeiffer said Tuesday he was preparing to make an appearance at the first Planning Board hearing date, scheduled for Wednesday, June 20. A continuation of the hearing is slated for Monday, he said.
Washington Committeewoman Cathy St. John said she is not aware of any legal grounds on which the township could base a suit against the Marketplace developer, JDN Development.
I would not support spending the taxpayers money on hiring counsel to fight a fruitless lawsuit, she said. Its something I would rather not see on Route 130, but I dont know is theres anything the Township Committee can do to prevent it.