Greg Kaganowicz of Montgomery
I was disturbed by the recent election material mailed by the Republican candidates for Montgomery Township Committee, Mark Caliguire and Thom Carter. What troubles me is that the candidates want to sell the entire Skillman Village to Somerset County rather than retain a small part of it for future needs of Montgomery.
A partial fulfillment of the court-mandated COAH obligation (providing 77 affordable housing units mostly in restored historic buildings) is an example of such need. Skillman Village is one of the very few locations where these units can be placed. What’s wrong with this picture? That people with limited means will find decent housing? That existing buildings, which are going to be preserved, will find new use? That they can’t be even seen from any residential street? In addition, if Montgomery’s pending appeal of the COAH rules is successful, this location could be easily withdrawn because the land would be in township’s hands.
I have been a resident of Montgomery for a long time. Long enough to remember that the purchase of the NCPD property (currently named Skillman Village) was first proposed and pursued by a Republican mayor, supported by the vast majority of Montgomery residents and, until very recently, by both Republican and Democratic members of the Township Committee. The purchase plan has always included development of a small portion of the property and rehabilitation of some of the existing buildings.
Yes, we would all love to live next to a pristine park and own it, too, but that’s not reality. The county may or may not buy the Skillman Village; and even though the election is near, so far they haven’t signed on the dotted line. But one thing is certain: we are stuck with the COAH rules. As absurd as the current COAH requirements are, they are nevertheless the law, and Montgomery has to follow them until they are changed, or face the consequences.
The Republican candidates oppose building any of the COAH units on the Skillman Village site, but they do not talk about, or offer, an alternative. And the only alternative is to scrap the COAH plan already submitted by the township to the state and turn over the fulfillment of Montgomery obligations to developers. The developers would sue the township and force Montgomery to accept the so-called ‘builders remedy,’ which means not just a few COAH units proposed by Montgomery Township under its own rules, but over 3,000 additional houses that would be coming next to everyone in town. And those houses would be built without regard to environmental, zoning or traffic restrictions. To me, so many extra units call for 2-3 new schools and doubling of everyone’s property taxes. Is that what we all want?
I do not want this to happen and plan to vote for the Democratic candidates for Montgomery Township Committee. I hope everyone will do likewise.
Greg Kaganowicz
Montgomery
