Hearing set to discuss redevelopment plans

A public hearing will be held next month to discuss the redevelopment of the southwestern tip of North Hanover Township.

By: Willliam Wichert
   NORTH HANOVER — Township officials moved a step closer last week toward the redevelopment of the southwestern tip of the municipality by scheduling a public hearing to discuss the issue next month.
   The details of the specific properties to be included in the redevelopment zone are still being finalized, but the township’s Joint Land Use Board has decided to present its proposal to local residents at a public hearing on May 25. After that hearing, the plan would go to the Township Committee for final approval.
   The ultimate goal of redeveloping more than 200 acres around Sykesville Road and McGuire Access Road is to economically revitalize a section of the township that has lost several businesses over the last few years, but the finished product is still to be determined.
   "We are talking about redeveloping this land … to what?" asked Joint Land Use Board Chairperson Donald Mauer at the April 13 meeting.
   The board attorney, Matt Potena of Dilworth, Paxson LLP in Cherry Hill, said that question will be answered in due time. "It (a redevelopment zone) enables us to have more tools in our toolboxes," said Mr. Potena. "All we’re doing now is saying, ‘Hey, it’s not working. Let’s change it.’"
   No matter what changes may occur, designating one section of the township as a redevelopment zone brings along a mix of incentives to attract new businesses and developers to the municipality, said Greg Krykewycz of the Haddonfield-based Remington & Vernick Engineers, who presented the redevelopment plan to the board with Township Planner George Stevenson of the same firm.
   Some of those incentives include tax abatements, expedited permits from state agencies, and the ability to include sewer and water services in one section of the development area, said Mr. Krykewycz.
   That section, which requires a separate designation from the state Office of Smart Growth, would be known as the "town center." The center would be located at the southernmost part of the township near the border of Wrightstown Borough, where township officials expect to receive sewer service.
   "It’s very difficult to extend sewers under the state plan and the DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) if you’re not in a center," said Mr. Krykewycz.
   Board vice-chairperson Kathy Laird wanted to make sure the "S-word," as she referred to sewers, would not go beyond the town center, but Mr. Krykewycz said sewer service would stop at the center’s boundary and not enter the rest of the redevelopment area or other parts of the township.
   A town center designation would then allow North Hanover to isolate economic and residential growth in one area of the township, said Mr. Krykewycz. "You want to concentrate growth in the center and preserve land elsewhere in the township," he said.
   The bulk of the redevelopment area is zoned for commercial use, and matches the criteria set out by the state Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, said Mr. Krykewycz. To qualify for redevelopment, properties have to be dilapidated in their structure, vacant, or under-utilized in an economic sense, among other reasons, he said.
   "We have enough criteria that a designation is reasonable," said Mr. Krykewycz, adding that his firm recommended not including the 215-home Spartan Village mobile park on Sykesville Road in the redevelopment zone, leaving this properties unaffected by any changes that will take place.