EDISON – People concerned over the council’s imminent vote to create an independent redevelopment agency plan to rally outside town hall about a half-hour before the council meeting on June 11.
According to Mary Anne Hennessy, a local resident, the group coordinating the effort against the proposed mixed-used development near the Edison train station – the Edison Community Association – has also come out against the proposed redevelopment agency and is hoping that that their rally can help sway the council in their favor.
“I would hope that the message coming to them [the council] with this rally and group of citizens coming in would let them know we are aware of what’s going on … and perhaps it would be just a reminder to them that they are there for us,” said Hennessy.
The ordinance that would create the proposed redevelopment agency was narrowly introduced by the council during its May 29 meeting. If adopted on June 11, the township would go to work creating an independent, seven-person board, its membership nominated by the mayor and ratified by the council, focused exclusively on redevelopment issues in the township.
Individual members would serve terms of varying lengths between one and five years, and no more than two members would be employees or officials of the township. The people heading the agency will serve entirely on a volunteer basis, though they can be reimbursed for expenses.
According to the Redevelopment Handbook, a publication put out by the state government, redevelopment entities, whether they are independent agencies or town councils with redevelopment authority, are afforded a wide array of powers. Among many other abilities, they are able to buy or lease property, contract for professional services, acquire land by eminent domain, relocate residents or industry, issue bonds, borrow money, extend credit, provide grants and prepare redevelopment plans.
Supporters have said that the time is right for Edison, the fifth-largest municipality in the state, to have a redevelopment agency, with Mayor Jun Choi, who proposed the measure, saying that 98 percent of the township’s buildable space has already been developed. Those in favor argue that an independent body focused exclusively on redevelopment won’t have to worry about other obligations that a council member might need to address, and will thus improve the overall quality of redevelopment projects. They also say that it will reduce the politicization that can sometimes dog redevelopment projects.
Opponents, however, view the redevelopment agency as largely unnecessary, saying it would simply add another layer of expensive bureaucracy. Also, they have voiced concerns over the powers a redevelopment agency can wield, paying particular attention to the ability to use eminent domain and issue bonds. People on this side of the issue have generally come out in support of maintaining the council as the redevelopment authority. They also disagree that the agency would reduce politicization on projects, noting that its membership would be composed of political appointees.
There has been some disagreement between supporters and opponents of the measure over just where the buck would ultimately stop when it comes to redevelopment issues.
Supporters say that despite the powers the agency would wield, the final word would still rest with the council, with Councilwoman Melissa Perilstein noting during the previous meeting that it is her and her fellow council members who would decide which areas the redevelopment agency would be able to operate within.
Opponents, however, say that once the agency is unleashed on an area, the council’s only recourse, if things turn sour, would be to dissolve the organization entirely. This can become problematic if the agency’s bonding powers are used, since the township would then be stuck with the payments.
The measure’s detractors have wasted no time in organizing a response. Hennessy said that she hopes there will be a large turnout for this event.
“We’re trying to get people to rally 6:30 [p.m.] at town hall [before going] into the council meeting on Wednesday. We would then walk in very calmly and go in and speak our views to the council and let them hear that this is not what we want,” said Hennessy.
She said that she and the ECA are not against redevelopment, per se; it is the creation of the agency that they are against. She expressed admiration for how the previous council handled the redevelopment of the Hartz Mountain project, a proposed commercial center with outdoor recreation options.
“If one council could do it, why couldn’t another council do it? … The council itself can hire anyone they need, so why create this agency?” said Hennessy.