By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWNThe Borough Council, as expected, has unanimously authorized the rezoning of the former Minute Maid site on Mercer Street from an industrial zone to a highway/commercial zone.
The action Monday night came despite the fact that the new owners of the property filed a formal complaint over the change with the borough clerk’s office earlier in the day.
As a result of that complaint, the council had to approve the rezoning by a two-thirds majority because of state municipal land use regulations, said Borough Attorney Fred Raffetto.
The move puts the land in accord with the borough’s Master Plan and permits large businesses such as lumberyards, gas stations and auto repair shops as well as some residential development. It bars any industrial use.
Ken Mesier, an attorney representing the landowners, said Monday night that the borough turned the situation into a “lose-lose situation.”
”We could not find one person who’s interested in developing the property under what’s allowed in a highway/commercial zone, and that was before the horrendous economy we have now,” he said.
This past summer, the new owners presented a conceptual proposal to the Planning Board that called for 246 condominiums and townhouses and 60,515 square feet of retail space on the 16 acres of the tract that sit in the borough. The other 21 acres sit in surrounding East Windsor.
The rezoning also includes two contiguous parcels of borough land comprising about 2 acres.
In September, another attorney representing the owners said that while they still want a mixed-use development, there has been some interest from pharmaceutical and vitamin manufacturers.
Before his vote, Councilman Jeff Bond said, “We don’t want to even entertain an industrial site there.”
Councilman Larry Quattrone added, “This should have been done two years ago.”
The Minute Maid plant closed in 2003 and was once the borough’s top tax generator. It, along with the former rug mill site on Bank Street, is one of the two significant developable properties in the borough.

