New zone thrown out in suit against township

By elaine van develde
Staff Writer

By elaine van develde
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — More than a year ago, officials created a new zone and now a lawsuit has obliterated it.

The lawsuit challenged the parameters of a new highway commercial shopping center zone created by the township. The lawsuit claimed the new zoning for the land was spot zoning, and that the new allowable buildout on the site was too limited, township Planning Director Anthony Mercantante said.

"Now, because of the suit being won, the site that was slated to house a Century 21 store a few years ago (at the corner of Crestview Drive and Route 35) is reverted to its original zoning, which is basically the same commercial zoning with a higher floor area ratio," Mercantante said. "It basically just allows for more square footage of buildings on the property."

Before the rezoning, the site had a floor area ratio of 25 percent. This means that about 160,000 square feet of building space was allowed on the site. The new zone lowered that buildout to 15 percent, or 9,800 square feet.

Several spots along Route 35 were zoned highway commercial shopping center. The zone also had parameters for greater buffers and setbacks from residences abutting commercial sites. Property near the All-American Chevrolet dealership, Value City, Taylor Lane and the Chapel Hill Shopping Center were all targeted for rezoning under the new zone.

Century 21 wanted to build a store on the Route 35 and Crestview Drive site in 1998. An application was submitted to the Planning Board and approved, Mercantante said.

A contingent of neighbors near the site filed a lawsuit against the decision. The approval was reversed and sent back to the Planning Board.

"At that point, Century 21 decided not to proceed with its plans," Mercantante said. "Since then, a Home Depot wanted to build there. Century 21 still owns the land. Even though the property has been reverted back to the B-3 zone it was before, the site has now been proposed for residential use."

Mayor Rosemarie Peters said the intent of the highway commercial shopping center zone was to alleviate traffic in an area that is predicted to endure gridlock in the next few years. The decision by the Superior Court to reverse the zoning did not make sense to her.

"It’s hard to understand the reasoning behind the decision," Peters said. "It alluded to the 1993 master plan and a Route 35 traffic corridor study that was outdated. We are trying to analyze the whole thing now."

If the housing plan for the site meets with the approval of the township and residents, the property will be rezoned to accommodate that use. It could include 30 affordable housing units. The township is short in its affordable housing obligation.

Officials did not know if they would appeal the court decision.