MILLTOWN — Ford Avenue Redevelopment Agency Chairman Anthony Zarillo has resigned from his post, but not without leaving behind a legacy in the form of an alternative plan for the former factory site.
“The Ford Avenue redevelopment project is not about Tony Zarillo, chairman, as some people have wrongly made it out to be,” Zarillo said. “It is more important to look at the ramifications and [the] effect on the borough of the court ordering the implementation of the master’s report.” He was referring to the possibility that a court-appointed master will allow the construction of a more dense development than local officials have sought.
The borough established the agency in 2001 with the goal of devising a viable plan for redeveloping the 22.5-acre tract on Ford Avenue that was formerly home to the Michelin Tire Co., among a number of other industrial uses. The plan, first approved in 2004 but never built, calls for 276 townhouses and condominiums, 25,800 square feet of commercial space, and several acres of open space.
Zarillo was one of seven original members appointed by the council and has served as chairman throughout the agency’s seven years.
The contention surrounding the redevelopment, a long controversial project, heated up when the property’s owner, Lawrence Berger, filed a lawsuit last year accusing the borough of failing to fulfill its affordable housing obligations passed down from the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
“The borough has avoided both its roundone and round-two [COAH] obligations,” Zarillo said. “We’ve got to accept that responsibility and we’ve got to move forward with that responsibility.”
The suit also alleged that the town unlawfully moved forward with plans for the tract before taking appropriate steps, among other allegations lodged against the agency and Milltown Planning Board.
As litigation wages on almost exactly a year later, the questions loom large: Will state Superior Court Judge James Hurley rule in favor of the borough’s redevelopment plan to be carried out by Boraie Development LLC, or will Berger’s plan, which comes in the form of a “builder’s remedy” and calls for the greatest number of residential units, at 550, be chosen. A third possibility is that the recommendations of a court-appointed special master will trump both plans.
Zarillo resigned during the agency’s Nov. 11 meeting, but left it with his own recommendations, as well as words of warning.
“Now it’s up to the mayor and council and the agency to work toward some type of solution,” Zarillo said. “I believe something needs to be done, that the borough is in serious trouble if the master’s report is adopted by the court. … I think that would be a travesty.”
After a resignation speech that expressed “deep regret” over leaving the agency while keeping the reasons for doing so private, Zarillo outlined his suggestions for striking a compromise. He also asked members of the agency to authorize their legal counsel, David Himmelman, to present the alternatives to Mayor Gloria Bradford and the council in a letter. That letter, dated Nov. 20, calls upon the council to follow recommendations set forth by Zarillo and the agency’s members, and consider adopting an ordinance allowing for the following”
• A total of 324 mixed-use residential units consisting of townhomes and condominiums.
• A 20 percent set aside for affordable housing, for a total of 64 units, of which 16 would be designated for seniors only.
• The balance of the 260 mixed-use residential units would be constructed and sold at full market value.
• There would be no rental units on the Ford Avenue site; and as such, all would be owner occupied.
• There would be an agreed-upon allocation between the borough and its designated redeveloper, Boraie Development, of the remaining 260 units between age-restricted housing for the townhouse units, and age-targeted for the condominium units.
• Retail commercial space should be included in the redevelopment plan to provide for such commercial uses as a restaurant and/or retail shops.
• The borough should consider locating a health care facility at the Ford Avenue site, as it would be beneficial to those who reside in the community.
• The contribution of $1 million by the designated redeveloper toward the construction and development of a new borough firehouse should be included as part of the redevelopment agreement.
• There should be a continuation of the 100-foot buffer, which is part of the commitment by Middlesex County to acquire about 4 acres along Mill Pond for open space preservation.
“My alternatives are not intended to frustrate the court in its deliberation and determination of this very important charge by the owner of the property,” Zarillo said. “Rather, it is intended to suggest to the borough a vehicle where the borough can advise the court of its concerns over the potential adverse impact certain elements of the master’s report may have on the borough and its residents.”
Zarillo stressed the importance of the agency and borough officials working together to be proactive on the matter, and expressed confidence in the leadership of Bradford and the council. In his resignation speech, he specifically addressed Bradford among those he thanked, praising her unmoving support of the agency’s plan over the years, as well as her commitment to making the redevelopment come to fruition.
“Mr. Zarillo is to be commended for his work and his dedication,” Bradford said, noting she is sorry to see him go.
Bradford also expressed openness to Zarillo’s suggestions, though she did not go into detail regarding any course of action on them.
Borough Council President Randy Farkas voiced mixed feelings about Zarillo’s parting recommendations.
“In all honesty, well, where were you three years ago?” Farkas said. “To walk out the door and present this might be a little counterproductive — but point taken, and I agree with some of the things he said.”
Farkas, for example, said he agrees with the push for a senior housing component in the adopted plan.
“There’s a little tweaking that’s going to go on, and then we’re going to present it to the judge, as quickly as possible, but …when you’re in litigation, one wrong step, and you’re in a minefield,” Farkas said.
Resident Charlie Jegou, who has long been a vocal opponent of residential development at the site, questioned the timing of Zarillo’s offered alternatives.
According to Jegou, Zarillo was obstinately against considering changes suggested by residents during his time with the agency, saying Boraie would sue if the borough attempted to alter the existing plan. At the same time, he noted, when county Freeholder DirectorDavidB. Crabiel suggested alternatives, they were duly noted by Zarillo.
In addition, Jegou said it would not make sense for Milltown officials to go to the court with affordable housing plans for the site, since the borough has joined a number of towns in a lawsuit that challenges new COAH regulations. If officials are saying the town cannot fulfill the new obligations, they would be contradicting themselves by providing input on an affordable housing plan for the site, he said.
“He just resigned — now he’s talking about [how] he’s going to give us a new plan,” Jegou said.
Jegou said he hopes Zarillo’s replacement will be more receptive to residents’ concerns. He would also support the disbanding of the agency.
“No housing over there would be the best plan,” he said.
Jegou and other residents who oppose a large-scale housing development at Ford Avenue cite what they believe will be negative impacts on residents due to increased traffic, infrastructure costs and an influx of schoolaged children into the district.
Although many in the town have said Berger’s plan, with double the residential units, would be the worst alternative, Jegou said the poor economic climate could work in the borough’s favor if Berger won the suit. It is unlikely that it would be economically feasible to follow through with building 550 units any time in the next few years, he said.
Jegou has suggested that officials seek a state Green Acres matching grant in order to acquire the land and preserve it as open space.
In efforts to let voices of the opposition be heard in court, Jegou and others have approached the Board of Education and requested a letter that would outline per-student costs in the borough. The costs are now about $11,000 annually in the grammar and middle school, he said, but increase in high school, as Milltown sends those students to Spotswood.
Jegou said he is waiting to speak with Superintendent of Schools Linda Madison on the issue, in hopes to get a letter from the district that would illustrate the schools’ inability to take on the number of students that would come with such a large-scale development.
Many who stand against the project also take issue with the proposed plan for cleaning up the site, which is contaminated after decades of industrial use. The agency has proposed soil capping to deal with pollution there, but some residents have said the method is faulty and hazardous. Jegou cited Zarillo’s endorsement of capping as another way in which he is turning a deaf ear to residents, while giving the go-ahead to a less costly cleanup.
“Who are you looking out for,” Jegou said. “Are you looking out for the residents of Milltown, or are you looking out for the developer?”
Zarillo and the agency’s engineering firm have said the capping is a safe procedure, ensuring that future occupants of the site will not be exposed to any harm, and that contaminants will not leach into Mill Pond.
In general, Zarillo said his intentions have been pure.
“I have no vested interest in the outcome of Ford Avenue, other than I want a plan that is responsible and economically viable, and once and for all deals with the environmental degradation at the site.”
The agency has not yet selected a chairman to succeed Zarillo, and the council has yet to fill the vacant seat.
With so many conflicting viewpoints and so much at stake, the tensions surrounding the redevelopment site’s outcome continue to mount.
“At the end of the day, the planner goes home to his town, the special master goes home to her town, but we have to live with it,” Farkas said. “That’s why I think the borough’s voice needs to be the loudest here.”

