ROBBINSVILLE: Hindu complex approved

By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — The Planning Board this week unanimously approved a plan for a five-building Hindu worship complex, a scaled-down version of a plan that stirred controversy in East Windsor a little more than two years ago.
   BAPS, a nonprofit Hindu group, plans to build the center on 37 acres of a 102-acre property on Route 130. Construction would take place in five phases over five to seven years.
   The presentation ran over its allotted time at the board’s Oct. 22 meeting and was finished Wednesday.
   At the public hearing this week, residents of the Windsor section of the township raised concerns about traffic, according to Township Engineer Jack West. He said BAPS agreed to hire police officers to deal with traffic during special events and high holy days at the complex.
   The group also agreed to adjust landscaping to ensure that no part of the complex will be visible from Church Street, Mr. West added.
   BAPS went before the East Windsor Planning Board in May 2006 with a plan to build a $142 million Indian American cultural complex off Milford Road. But over several months the proposal came up against opposition from residents and leaders of Twin Rivers, whose main concern was the impact it would have on local traffic.
   In September of that year, East Windsor Mayor and Zoning Board member Janice Mironov said she would not support a needed zoning change for the project, citing a lack of public support. After that, the township proposal died.