Rezoning proposal to have special hearing in Howell Mayor supporting proposed changes in area along Route 524

Staff Writer

By Kathy Baratta

Rezoning proposal to have
special hearing in Howell
Mayor supporting
proposed changes in
area along Route 524

HOWELL — If adopted as the mayor hopes on Aug. 13, a rezoning package in north Howell is expected to result in litigation being brought against the town by at least one resident who will be affected by the proposed changes.

Vinnie Tantillo of Casino Drive said he is already working with attorney Ernest Bongiovanni to develop a civil complaint he will bring against Mayor Timothy Konopka and the other members of the Township Council if ordinances approving the changes are adopted.

There are other residents who hired attorneys to represent their interests at previous public meetings held to discuss the matter and who promised litigation if the zoning changes are approved by the council.

The council has called a special meeting for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Howell Middle School North, Squankum-Yellowbrook Road, to discuss the rezoning. Konopka said he is hopeful the council will adopt the changes that night.

Tantillo has lived in Howell for 40 years and is a former member of the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. Bongiovanni previously served as the zoning board’s attorney.

Tantillo said he would take the matter to court because the zoning changes, if they are enacted, would mean that the 18 acres he bought in an ARE-2 zone on Casino Drive for his son as a wedding present will be reduced in value to the point that the Tantillos will no longer be able to follow through on their plans to subdivide the property for construction.

Council members voted in March to introduce new zoning ordinances and then modified the proposed ordinances which, if adopted, would change all ARE-1 and ARE-2 zoning to ARE-6 on all properties north and south of Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524) between Route 9 and Yellowbrook Road; with some modifications made to the original ordinance introduced pertaining to the proposed ARE-2 zone.

Casino Drive and West Farms Road is the southern boundary of the proposed zoning change.

Township planner Richard Kniesler has said the proposed changes would not change any existing commercial or industrial uses in the Special Economic Development (SED) zone in the area, it would only preclude any further use of this type. The proposed rezoning will reduce the number of homes that can be built in these areas from one home per 1 and 2 acres to one home per 6 acres.

Konopka said the changes are "something that has to be done in order to do something about overdevelopment." He has said the preservation of natural resources is the primary benefit of the proposed changes. The mayor has called the rezoning "another tool in proper planning."

Tantillo said Konopka’s reasoning is "just plain bunk."

"Saying they’re doing this to preserve land and control development is a crock," Tantillo said. "The reality is that as far as open space preservation goes, the mayor hasn’t bought a single amount of open space, but he is using that line as an excuse to steal our land."

Tantillo said there is no reason for 6-acre residential zoning, asking, "What do you need more than 2 acres for to build a house?"

Tantillo said it is ironic that he voted to approve the construction of The Villages, an adult community located behind his property. Now, he said, residents of The Villages are hiring buses so they can come out and support the proposed zoning changes that will negatively affect his interests.

"The mayor and members of The Villages live on lots of around 10,000 square feet. How dare they tell me I have to have in excess of 240,000 square feet on a residential building lot," he said.

Konopka has said the rezoning is necessary in order to preserve Howell’s rural character and natural resources.

Carol Reed, who sits on Howell’s Farmers Advisory Committee, has said the proposed rezoning would likely do the opposite. Reed told the council at its most recent meeting on the matter, "This action may spur other farmers to sell quickly to avoid this happening to them."

Reed also observed that farmers rely on loans for crop development and explained that farm loans are given based on zoning, i.e., the number of houses that could be built on a landowner’s property.

"Do this and you’ll put people out of business," Reed told council members.

Reed also read into the record a letter from Helen Heinrich of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, an entity opposed to the proposed changes.

Regarding the opposition, Konopka said, "I know this is the right thing to do, and the majority of people support it."