EDITORIAL: Rezoning right decision for township

   The Township Council is ready to change the future complexion of Route 130.
   It has begun the process of rezoning a group of properties west of the highway, near its intersection with Friendship Road, from industrial to what is likely to be a mix of low-density residential and retail uses.
   Last week, the council took the first step, introducing an ordinance that would rezone four parcels from I-3, which allows warehouses and distribution centers, to RR, which allows housing on 2-acre lots — the lowest density allowed under the township’s zoning rules.
   And it plans to rezone a fifth lot — a 68-acre parcel at the northwest corner of the intersection, where the Matrix Development Group had proposed a 744,000-square-foot warehouse — once the township Planning Department reviews zoning alternatives for the site, including its potential for retail.
   Matrix is objecting to the rezoning, as it has to the Planning Board’s Aug. 15 denial of its warehouse plan. It has called the process a “runaway train” and says the rezoning will cost the township thousands of dollars in potential tax revenue.
   In particular, Matrix is concerned that the council is reacting to pressure from the property’s adjacent neighbors in the Four Seasons development, an adult community at the intersection of Route 130 and Georges Road. Four Seasons residents turned out in force at Planning Board hearings to challenge the Matrix application, rightly pointing out that a warehouse of the scale being proposed by Matrix — and the three others the company has plans to construct — would be incompatible with the residential properties to the north and west.
   Matrix is correct. The council is reacting to concerns raised by Four Seasons residents. But that’s its job — representing the citizens of South Brunswick, which includes Matrix as a corporate citizen.
   In this case, we believe the council is correct to rezone the properties for two reasons, even if it means losing some future tax revenue.
   First, we agree with the neighbors that the warehouse complex is out of character with the area — and not only because of its proximity to Four Seasons. Friendship Road remains a rural, two-lane road dotted by housing, and while there are some warehouses west of Route 130 — on Melrich and Broadway roads — they are south of the NJ Transit bus terminal, which provides a functional buffer for Friendship Road.
   Second, a multi-warehouse complex would only further exacerbate the troublesome intersection of routes 32 and 130, which already is stressed beyond its capacity. Adding more trucks to the intersection, which is the primary connection to Route 130 from N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A, makes little sense.
   Matrix may not like the end result, but the council is making the right decision.