SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Responding to comments and concerns from residents, the township is pondering a rezone of the Route 130-Friendship Road area.
While the specifics still need to be worked out by the planning department, council members expressed support for the idea during a Tuesday workshop meeting.
The area in question is currently zoned for industrial use, but its proximity to residential areas became a sore point when commercial developer Matrix made moves to build a 744,000-square-foot warehouse. The inhabitants of the Four Seasons agerestricted community, as well as others from all over the township, showed up in force to fight the application, which was eventually rejected by the Planning Board.
During the council meeting on Aug. 28, members of the Friends of Southern Middlesex County (FSMC), the coalition that had formed in response to the Matrix application, suggested that the land be rezoned to something that conforms better to the surrounding area, cutting off potential industrial developments at the pass.
Resident Cathy Dowgin asked the council to “attempt to rezone our area to more logical zoning in what has grown up around that area. This is not compatible with a warehouse,” she said during the meeting’s public portion.
One week later, the council discussed different zoning possibilities, ranging from rural residential to mixed-use commercial, though all agreed that specific proposals were still a few weeks away.
“It wouldn’t serve anyone’s purpose to rush through,” said Township Manager Matt Watkins.
Residents had previously wondered why the land was zoned industrial in the first place, when its close proximity to houses would make such development problematic.
During the workshop meeting, Watkins said that until about 10 months ago, it was felt there was no need to rezone because the area in question was going to be absorbed by the controversial Route 92 toll road. With the road first defunded and then killed entirely by the Turnpike Authority, however, Watkins said that now was the perfect time to modify the zoning.
Councilman Charles Carley, like the others on the council, was receptive to the idea of rezoning the area into a more conforming designation, but also reminded everyone to be cautious as to what could go up in its place.
“I think we’re talking more a sense of not what we’re looking for, but what we can tolerate,” said Carley. He went on to say that he wanted to see some specific zoning recommendations within the next few weeks. “This isn’t a blank check for the fourth of never.”
The rest of the council agreed, saying that the rezoning was a good idea, with the specifics needing to be worked out by the planning department as soon as possible.
“The most important thing is we have this done, and not have it fall through the cracks, by the middle of October,” said Deputy Mayor Carol Barrett.
The land is still owned by Matrix, and the sudden rezone might be viewed by them as an attempt to cut off their plans for the area.
Township Attorney Don Sears said that South Brunswick will deal with any confrontations along those lines as they come.
“Certainly, the property owners can make whatever allegations they feel are appropriate, and if they are made, we will deal with them properly,” said Sears.