Task force to review Route 33

Township officials looking at future growth along route.

By: Leon Tovey
   MONROE — The future of a proposed, 6,000-seat, independent league baseball stadium at the south end of the township is still up in the air, but township officials are not waiting on the park to start looking at future growth along Route 33.
   Mayor Richard Pucci on Monday announced the appointment of a Route 33 Land Development Task Force charged with evaluating the existing zoning in the area and making recommendations about future development.
   The task force is headed by Joe Montanti, a member of the Planning Board and chairman of the Township Environmental Commission, and includes Councilman Henry Miller, Township Engineer Ernie Feist, Planning Board Chairman David DeMarco and Public Advocate Helga Stoessler.
   The group will compile a report on its findings and recommendations by June 15. Any zoning changes recommended by the committee would have to be reviewed by the Planning Board and would be subject to public hearing, Mayor Pucci said Tuesday.
   Mayor Pucci said a re-evaluation of the area’s zoning was necessitated by the possibility of a $22 million stadium being constructed on about 25 acres on the eastbound side of Route 33.
   Last spring a feasibility study on the ballpark issued by the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (of which Mayor Pucci is executive director) said the southern end of the county was a viable market for the ballpark, which would be home to an Atlantic League team.
   Jane Leal, deputy director for the MCIA, said Wednesday that traffic studies are ongoing in the area and that the MCIA is waiting for the township to identify a site for the project before proceeding.
   Once a site has been identified, a developer will have to be hired and issues of how to fund the project will have to be worked out between the developer, the township and the county, she said.
   Mayor Pucci said identifying a suitable site for the park would be one of the task force’s objectives, but he added that development of the area along Route 33, currently zoned as a highway development zone, is about more than just the ballpark — the task force is also charged with considering areas for residential and senior community development.
   "The Route 33 area has always been considered a future area for development," Mayor Pucci said. "Things have changed quickly in the past year, so what I wanted to do was to have a committee take a look and evaluate the potential for commercial activity."
   Mr. Montanti said Tuesday that while the ballpark may have been part of the reason for the creation of the task force, its focus would be the overall improvement of the area, rather than creating an incentive for the stadium’s construction.
   "It’s my understanding that a ballpark would be allowed under the current highway development zone," Mr. Montanti said. "There’s no need to rezone for the stadium because commercial and recreational facilities are what the area is zoned for."
   What the task force will be looking at instead, Mr. Montanti said, is a long-term plan for development in the area. He said the most recent township Master Plan did not fully take into account the development of Route 33 because at the time it was prepared, much of the area did not have access to public sewer hookups.
   "Now that the sewer is there — or almost there — we’re looking to create something that would be attractive while at the same time protecting the aesthetics and the environment of the area," Mr. Montanti said.
   He pointed to East Brunswick’s stretch of Route 18 and Freehold’s stretch of Route 9 as examples of what the township wants to avoid.
   "There’s the old saying about how you only get one chance to make a first impression," Mr. Montanti said. "We want to make sure Route 33 makes a good impression."
   Mr. Montanti said he couldn’t yet say exactly how the task force would accomplish that goal (he said the group would probably hold its first meeting sometime in the next week), but that he expected any plan to include the ballpark.
   "Of course you have to look at all the possibilities," he said. "If the ballpark falls through, Route 33 is still going to be there and we’re still going to have to develop it.
   "But baseball is big bucks and if we want to get the most from a ratable standpoint, this is the way to go," he added. "We want to develop the area in a way we can be proud of when it’s all over."