NORTH BRUNSWICK — The Transit Oriented Mixed Use Development zoning ordinance was introduced for first reading Monday night because of a tiebreaking vote by Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack.
“For an introduction I generally vote yes, so then we get to have a public hearing,” Womack said of the 3-3 split he had to decide, since council members Ralph Andrews, Shanti Narra and Robert Davis voted for the introduction, and council members Cathy Nicola, Robert Corbin and Carlo Socio voted against it. “I am still inclined to favor the transit village, so I also voted yes because I didn’t want to see the project die.”
In recent weeks Corbin and Nicola have stated they had outstanding questions about the ordinance language and the components of the project, such as whether a train station would be approved as part of the proposed transit village site on the former Johnson & Johnson property on Route 1.
Socio said he still has questions about the number of housing units on the property, which could total over 1,800 at the time of total buildout.
“I realize that how the legislation is set up, that to get a transit village designation nowadays you need a certain component of housing” Socio said, but he feels that the existing residences at Governor’s Pointe and Renaissance should qualify as meeting part of the requirements. “I can’t vote yes when the number of [new] units is 1,875.”
Another point of contention was the language in the ordinance, which had some unclear definitions of a train station and the building phases of the project. Those have since been mitigated and an updated version of the ordinance is available at www.northbrunswickonline.com.
The public hearing is set for 7 p.m. May 17, at which time residents can voice their opinions about the project, which will add residences, retail space including big-box stores, a main street, a parking area and possibly a train station to the 212-acre property being developed by North Brunswick TOD Associates.