One in a series of sessions with residents of Hopewell Township’s Southern Neighborhoods, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
By John Tredrea
Negotiations between Beazer Homes and residents of southern Hopewell Township neighborhoods bordering three tracts Beazer wants to develop are zeroing in on the point at which Beazer can make a few preliminary development proposals.
These proposals are expected to be discussed tonight (Thursday), when negotiating sessions continue at 7 p.m. in the township municipal building. Tonight’s session will be the fourth in the series that began last month.
Such proposals would meet the basic goals of the negotiations: Beazer’s making enough money to consider the development worthwhile and, at same time, providing enough amenities for the existing neighborhoods for residents not to oppose Beazer’s plan when it goes before the township Planning Board.
The Planning Board would have to approve any development plan before building permits could be obtained by Beazer.
At the Jan. 13 session, the 40-plus items that residents had previously identified as priorities were grouped into six major categories and given weighted scores, as follows.
The category with the highest score was creation of public open space, which got 180 points. Community amenities came in second with 178 points. Residents’ having control of site design features at the Beazer projects came in third, with 130 points. Traffic control got 117 points. Sewers got 115 points. Financial issues came in sixth, with 112 points.
(On Jan 13, residents came up with a list of 40 or so items Beazer could be asked to provide in exchange for approval to develop the land. After the list was completed, it was posted in large sheets on the wall of the municipal auditorium. Each resident was given six colored adhesive dots two red, two green and two blue to affix to the sheets next to the items he or she wanted most. The red dots were for the two items each resident wanted most. The green dots, for what they wanted second-most. The blue dots, for third-most.)
Paul Schneier, president of Beazer’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania division, says Beazer already owns 22 acres off Denow Road, between Route 31 and Brandon Farms. Beazer also is the contract purchaser of 75 acres west of Route 31. "This land would be accessed by Denow Road if it were extended across Route 31 to its western side," he said. In addition, Beazer is the contract purchaser of another 80 acres, located behind ShopRite, on the western side of Route 31 at the Pennington Circle.
Mr. Schneier says Beazer is willing to help solve existing township problems, or provide new benefits to the township, in exchange for the go-ahead to develop the land. How many problems Beazer could solve would depend on how much development would be allowed, he says. More development means more profit for Beazer, which means the company would have more capital to solve existing problems. This interplay is the basis of the negotiations.
At the last negotiating session, Mr. Schneier said: "At some point, we may have to weight the three properties in terms of what can go where." By way of example, he said it wouldn’t make much sense to put a nature trail on the 22-acre tract, the smallest of the three tracts by far, "because a trail wouldn’t really be able to go anywhere."

