SOUTH RIVER — The Planning Board will study whether Main Street is a candidate for revitalization.
The Borough Council approved a resolution during its March 23 meeting authorizing the Planning Board to study whether the Main Street Rehabilitation District could be labeled as a redevelopment zone.
Main Street is the borough’s main business corridor, and residents have complained that several of the businesses have been vacated in recent years.
“How do you evaluate a zone without taking the first step?” Borough Administrator Frederick Carr said. “The Planning Board does this — that’s their job.”
The possibility of designating Main Street as a redevelopment zone was identified when the borough revised its master plan in 2010.
According to Carr, the zone will be evaluated using criteria such as the age of buildings and infrastructure. Properties must meet criteria established by the state in order to be designated as “an area in need of redevelopment.” The goal of such a designation is to prevent further deterioration and encourage development.
According to the state criteria, more than half the residences and the existing infrastructure must be at least 50 years old and in disrepair. Properties can also be designated for redevelopment if there is a pattern of vacancy, abandonment or underutilization, and a persistent pattern of tax payments on properties in the area being in arrears.
The area may also include sites where there is environmental contamination that discourages future development.
Main Street is the borough’s primary business corridor, but residents complained during a 2014 council meeting that several of the businesses have been vacated in recent years.
Once the study is conducted, both the Planning Board and council could hold public hearings on the report.
If the council designates Main Street as a redevelopment zone, the borough would then begin the process of creating a redevelopment plan. The council would then have the opportunity to offer developers tax abatements and other incentives to encourage redevelopment.
“We have the opportunity to have economic development discussions with developers,” Carr said.
However, the power of eminent domain, which is authorized in redevelopment zones, would not be exercised in South River.
“There really is no need for it,” Carr said.
He said it is possible that a special improvement district would be created where revenues derived from the district would fund various improvements, including basic maintenance, streetlights and other infrastructure work.
Carr said there are “a million steps” in creating a redevelopment zone — and this is the second step.
Earlier this year, the Planning Board determined that the Reid Street corridor, parallel to Main Street, is an area in need of rehabilitation.