EDISON — The Planning Board has accepted the recommendations of a community planning consultancy and referred the fate of two properties to the Township Council.
Fred Heyer, principal of Heyer, Gruel & Associates, presented the firm’s findings regarding sites on Amboy Avenue and King Georges Post Road at the Oct. 19 Planning Board meeting.
The presentation had been postponed from last month, when fellow principal, Susan Gruel, addressed the board and board members realized that they did not have the firm’s reports.
Heyer said the Amboy Avenue area the firm studied, which is comprised of 460 residential structures in the Clara Barton section, meets state criteria for being an area in need of rehabilitation. Because more than half the structures on the site are more than 50 years old, and because four contaminated properties are within the perimeter of the site, the area meets the criteria for the designation. Heyer said the criteria are fact-based, making subjective analysis unnecessary.
The intent of the rehabilitation designation is to allow for the improvement of existing structures within the area. Once an area is so declared, a township can undertake rehabilitation projects and address infrastructure issues, obtain bonds, and purchase or lease properties. Heyer stressed that neither eminent domain nor condemnation are permitted, nor is longterm tax abatement.
A public hearing on the issue was not required; the board approved the recommendations, and a resolution will be sent to the Township Council for consideration and further action.
The second area Heyer discussed is a 45-acre tract at the intersection of routes 440 and 514 along King Georges Post Road.
According to Heyer, that site meets the criteria for redevelopment, which is different from the criteria for rehabilitation. The site has been vacant for more than 10 years, and the soil composition is compromised because of its clay base, making it eligible for the designation, he said.
The intention of redevelopment is different from rehabilitation; the goal is to take an area and make it economically viable.
However, Heyer recommended removing 1075 King Georges Post road from the overall site, as he said the site is already slated for a development project.
“I recommend that you delete it from consideration,” he said.
What that means for the rest of the site — 33 acres — is still unclear. Heyer explained that plans for the site could not be created until the area was officially recognized as in need of redevelopment.
“It’s kind of a catch 22,” he explained.
The board also approved the recommendation for that site, and made plans to forward it via resolution to the council for consideration and further action.