The Township Council in Jackson has introduced an ordinance that will, if adopted, add distribution centers, fulfillment centers and warehouses as permitted principal uses to the Mixed-Use Neighborhood Center/Highway Commercial (MUNC/HC) zone.
The ordinance was introduced on Dec. 7 and a public hearing and possible vote for adoption was scheduled for the council’s Dec. 21 meeting.
Municipal officials said the purpose of the ordinance is to add an additional permitted principal use of “distribution centers, fulfillment centers and warehouses, inclusive of assembly and finishing of materials or products” to the MUNC/HC zone.
During the Dec. 7 council meeting, several residents of Johnson Lane criticized the ordinance. The residents expressed concern regarding their property values, the safety of the neighborhood and the environmental impact of the proposed uses.
Township Council President Andrew Kern explained the reasoning behind the ordinance and said the legislation “is part of the (mixed use) Jackson Twenty-One settlement, and that portion of land was originally set up to be large retail like you see in Howell. That they are having problems filling in other areas of the state where regular normal retail would be, and it is being adjusted to where it’s e-commerce and other opportunities to develop that portion.”
Kern said the proposed ordinance does not add any residential uses in the MUNC/HC zone.
The Township Council in Howell has announced that Verizon Fios will be coming to the Candlewood section of the municipality.
Verizon Fios, also marketed as Fios by Verizon, is a bundled Internet access, telephone and television service that operates over a fiber-optic communications network with more than five million customers in nine states. The name Fios is an acronym for Fiber Optic Service, according to Verizon.
Councilman John Bonevich said, “I know the mayor (Theresa Berger) has been on numerous calls, Councilwoman (Pamela) Richmond has been on numerous calls. We have been on BPU (New Jersey Board of Public Utilities) investigations, the mayor has written a letter … We kept at it, but I guess someone else picked up the slack, but Verizon listened.”
Bonevich said more specific information regarding the Fios service is expected to be made available in the near future.
Richmond thanked the council members for working on the issue and for using their contacts, and she thanked Township Manager Brian Geoghegan for meeting with representatives of Verizon.
“Hopefully we can get it done in Candlewood and then hopefully we can bring it to Ramtown, because I know Ramtown is in desperate need of that,” Richmond said.
Geoghegan said he received a call from Verizon’s government affairs representative regarding the initiation of Fios service in Howell. He said residents in Candlewood should start to see Verizon trucks in about a month as installation of the service begins.