To the editor
For starters, Mr. Krame is no taxpayer. He is a developer from Paramus who filed a builders remedy lawsuit to build a regional shopping center to "address" our low income housing obligations.
With respect to Mr. Krame’s comments regarding two of the finest public servants in New Jersey, suffice it to say that the people of Hillsborough have seen many occasions in which Peg Van Patton and Marian Fenwick-Freeman have stood up for what is right despite the creeping group-speak in Hillsborough.
This is honorable and courageous; not wrong or arrogant. From what I understand of the Municipal Utilities Authority issue, the township has involved itself in a lawsuit because it innately sided with the developer and failed to interpret the MUA contract accurately.
As for the people, Mr. Krame refers to as "malcontents," CCBH appears to be the only group actually paying attention to events in the township and trying to keep us informed.
If the township government fails to follow the letter of the law, the only effective way for the public to change our course is through the court system. Unfortunately, the money is in the hands of the developer. John and Jane Q. Public residents don’t have the resources to effectively fight wrongdoing without banding together. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, contrary to what Mr. Krame seems to believe, it is entirely appropriate in a representative democracy.
In response to Mr. Krame’s heinous attacks on Peg Van Patton, why did he hide the results of the environmental studies on his Promenade site? Mr. Krame, how many merchants are you attempting to steal from our existing shopping centers to fill yours? Do you truly care about turning them into ghost towns?
With respect to alleged tax revenue to be generated by your project, you fail to mention in your letter the related costs, i.e., up to 22,000 more vehicle trips per day onto Route 206; the likelihood of increasing Hillsborough’s low-income housing obligations, and the associated consumption of these tax revenues for the related public services.
By the way, how did the community shopping center discussed in the original ordinance turn into your 420,000 sq. ft. regional shopping center?
Neighbors, did you know that two more builders, PEC and The Bielanski Group, have also filed suits to build approximately 1,450 new homes and another shopping center adjacent to the "Promenade," and that no public hearings are being held, at least to give us enough time to know enough about them, ask questions, and/or put up an early fight if we wish?
Whether you are a NIMBY or not, even these two huge developments may not address our low-income housing obligations. Can these two developers change their plans from building age-restricted senior housing to constructing more-profitable market-priced homes?
Also, Round 3 of the COAH (low-income housing) program is coming fast, which leaves us vulnerable to more Builder’s Remedy suits; even while we’re settling with PEC and Bielanski.
Is our government actually minding the store, or negotiating or asleep in the back room? I don’t want Hillsborough to become a sprawling, ugly, expensive exurb like Mr. Krame’s Paramus. Do you?
Make a trip to the intersection of Routes 4 and 17 in Mr. Krame’s home town to get an idea of what he and others like him want for our community. It isn’t pretty.
I encourage the merchants and residents of Hillsborough to open their eyes to what Mr. Krame wants and that some in our government would let him do as he pleases without regard to sensible growth in our community. At least Peg, Marian, and some other people in Hillsborough are trying to dig through the muck to find truth and share it with us. Maybe it is our obligation to do so for ourselves as well.
Hillsborough