By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
Progress on redevelopment of the train station area was stymied by indecision Thursday night as Township Council found itself again conflicted on the scale of the project.
The council held a workshop to discuss revisions to the latest draft redevelopment plan by the RMJM Hillier architectural firm. Though Council President Charles Morgan initially suggested the possibility of sending the plan to the Planning Board that night, council left the meeting unsure of what step to take next.
It was the first of five work sessions attended by all members of council. Due to prior commitments, Councilman Will Anklowitz had not made it to any of the earlier sessions, and Councilman George Borek had attended two.
In the previous sessions, Mr. Morgan and Council Vice President Heidi Kleinman largely led revision of the draft.
At the meeting, township planner John Madden again advised council that mixed-use development with both market rate and affordable housing units would be the method most advantageous to the township to meet its current and future affordable housing requirements.
But Mr. Anklowitz said he cannot support housing above what is required by the Council on Affordable Housing.
”The reality is we need to cut this down, and significantly,” he said, adding later, “I do plan to abide by my campaign signs,” a reference to his council campaign which included signs opposing 1,000 housing units in the redevelopment area.
His comment was in response to resident Bryan Maher, who said council members should be “ashamed” of themselves for going against campaign promises.
”I can’t believe you guys are sitting here continuing to contemplate adding 1,000 units,” he said. He later told council members to “focus on what the township is telling you meeting after meeting.”
Mr. Morgan, who campaigned under the same ‘no 1,000 houses’ slogan, said the new COAH rules have changed the situation, creating new housing challenges. Commercial office space that will be built on land owned by the state Department of Transportation will create an affordable housing obligation that the township must plan for, Mr. Morgan said.
But in the course of the meeting, Mr. Morgan’s stance changed from supporting the draft plan to throwing it out and pursuing only the construction of parking garages.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers agreed the plan is too “grandiose,” but said repeatedly that a compromise could be reached between those who want redevelopment and those who do not.
A proposal from one stakeholder would create a town center and gathering place, Mr. Madden said, but these features are not economically viable without a minimum amount of housing.
Earlier this month, Intercap Holdings Chairman Steve Goldin proposed a plan that would include a total of 935 housing units, comprised of four- and five-story buildings, on his 25-acre property on Washington Road. Forty percent of the housing would be affordable.
”You have a developer who in his concept plan has given you everything you said you wanted,” Mr. Madden said.
Mr. Goldin attended the meeting but left before it was over. He released a statement the next day, Friday, saying he was “greatly disappointed with the outcome.”
He has now withdrawn the most recent plan, according to the statement, returning to a scheme to build 1,440 condominiums and 88,000 square feet of retail and office space on the property.
”… InterCap will continue to aggressively pursue a rezoning with representatives of the council and Planning Board for a high density, residential development with a very significant affordable housing component,” the statement reads.
The inaction also came despite strong urging from Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh to move forward with the project. The mayor did not attend the meeting, but sent a memo to the council Thursday urging the council to move forward.
According to the memo, Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner had promised that the Planning Board could review and hold appropriate hearings so that the document could be returned to council for final adoption in January.”As I noted during recent hearings, many of the comments suggested by members of Council can be incorporated as the document is reviewed by the Planning Board or after the Redevelopment Plan has been adopted in concert with negotiations with redevelopers during the site plan process,” the memo from the mayor said. “Otherwise, still more precious time will be spent needlessly, jeopardizing the chance of receiving necessary state financing and capital investments by the private sector, which has grown skeptical about the resolve of this municipality to proceed with the redevelopment of the train station area.”
Also during public comment, several residents of the Berrien City neighborhood voiced concern about part of the plan that called for the alignment of Scott Avenue and Circle Drive, which would funnel train station traffic through their neighborhood.
Julia Rhodes, who lives on Scott Avenue, said she and her neighbors are concerned about the size and scope of the project.
”We really are in favor of redevelopment,” she said, “but we don’t want to create a mammoth here.”
Mr. Madden advised council to not hold up the plan while issues, such as those that would be handled by township engineers and the parking authority, are handled.
”That is something you don’t want to hold up a redevelopment plan for,” he said.
Township attorney Michael Herbert said that redevelopment talks have left the sale of the Acme Shopping Center “in jeopardy.” The property along Route 571, a crucial part of the proposed Main Street revitalization, is under contract to the Dreher Group of Princeton. The two parties are concerned that rezoning associated with redevelopment may prevent a renovation of the building.
