HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC …

1 HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD . PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES. January 27, 2011. Vice Chairman Sireci called the PLANNING BOARD Business Meeting of January 27, 2011 to order at 7:30 All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting took place in the courtroom of the Municipal Complex. Vice Chairman Sireci announced the meeting has been duly advertised according to the Section 5 of the Open PUBLIC Meetings Act, Chapter 231, PUBLIC Law 1975 ( Sunshine Law ). ROLL CALL. Mayor Gloria McCauley Present Sam Conard, Chairman Absent Greg Burchette Present Steven Sireci, Jr., Vice Chairman Present Committeeman Frank DelCore Present Marian Fenwick Present Steven Cohen, Secretary Present Tod Mershon - Present Douglas Tomson Absent Daniel Marulli Present Arthur Stafford-Taylor Absent Also present are Robert Ringelheim, , , TOWNSHIP Planner; Eric Bernstein, Esq.

2 , BOARD Attorney (Eric M. Bernstein &. Associates); and Lucille Grozinski, OATH OF OFFICE. Daniel Marulli (Seat Alt. #2). Seat Changes: Greg Burchette (Seat #2) and Tod Mershon (Alt. #1). Mayor McCauley administered the Oath of Office to the newly appointed members. PLANNING BOARD BUSINESS. None BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR. None CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES. Vice Chairman Sireci stated this hearing is not required by State law but due to a policy established by former Mayor and current Committeeman Anthony Ferrara who with the rest of the TOWNSHIP Committee, believe it was best to first have zone change ordinances come to the PLANNING BOARD .

3 The actual State law requires that they first go to the TOWNSHIP Committee, then to the PLANNING BOARD , then back to the TOWNSHIP Committee for a PUBLIC hearing and adoption, if agreed to. This adds another step to allow PUBLIC comment at an earlier process before it even gets to introduction at the TOWNSHIP Committee level. The other thing I would like to point out is that the Corporate Development Zone was put together decades ago with the expectation that Route 95 would actually be constructed through HILLSBOROUGH . It was intended to make an area with large office and hotel constructions typical of what you might see along the lines of Route 287 in Franklin TOWNSHIP or Bridgewater that would bring huge structures and ratables to the TOWNSHIP , along with business and jobs.

4 After this portion of the Route 95 project was abandoned, there was still an idea of turning Route 206 into an expressway. Original Bypass concepts had it as an expressway extending from the Somerville Circle down to Montgomery. That was also abandoned a few years ago for the plans now being constructed, which is a Bypass that re-routes the current Route 206 around Town Center to divert traffic from where we shop, eat and other things. There is no longer any expressway that is going to come through this district. Therefore the district's provisions, which are 50 acre lots, which in one calculation could have yielded 10 million sf.

5 Of office space if fully developed, are no longer reasonable, doable or economical without an expressway. The zone is no longer viable as is, and needs to be replaced by something more rational. The proposals before us today take the portions that are somewhat south of Amwell Road down to TOWNSHIP Line Road and enact rational changes. The areas south of Homestead Road, 80% of which is already preserved as farmland, would be converted to the Agricultural Zone, which is exactly how that land is used right now. The area roughly north of Homestead Road would become somewhat of a transitional district that transitions between the existing adjacent residential uses and the adjacent Light Industrial District.

6 The Route 206 Bypass will pass through a portion of this area. A freight railroad borders one of these areas. A transitional district is proposed as being fitting to some of what is going through here that is adjacent but also transitioning from a residential area and providing clean ratables that will add some property taxes without raising the number of school aged children and forcing expensive additions to the school system. Robert Ringelheim, , , TOWNSHIP Planner reviewed the proposed ordinances as follows: Proposed Ordinance to Create the Transitional Economic Development District (TECD) and Amend the Sign Regulations to Include the TECD District PLANNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES.

7 January 27, 2011. The Transitional Economic Development District (TECD) was recommended in the Master Plan Amendment-Land Use Element, which was adopted by this BOARD at the PUBLIC hearing of December 9, 2010. The Master Plan Amendment was prepared in response to concerns previously expressed at a PUBLIC hearing to consider rezoning the Homestead Road area to LI, Light Industrial. There are 7 lots in the proposed new district. Of the 7 lots, 2 lots are owned by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), so there are really only 5 buildable lots in this new zone. The lot at the corner of Willow Road has already been developed and has been vacant for some time.

8 The proposed ordinance follows the recommendations contained in the 2010 Master Plan Amendment-Land Use Element as provided: It does not permit uses which are not compatible with residential uses and limits potential nuisances, to the extent practicable. It creates larger lot sizes in the LI District to decrease the potential build-out intensity. It decreases the maximum building height from what is presently permitted in both the LI and CDZ Districts in order to be more in line with the surrounding residential development. It creates additional buffer areas from what is presently required in both the LI and CDZ Districts between the existing residential development and the proposed development.

9 The proposed TECD District Ordinance does not use either the existing CDZ or LI District requirements which have more limited buffers and setback requirements, as well as permitting a higher building height. The TECD District is transitional in nature between these existing non-residential districts and the nearby residential districts. The TECD District also provides the residents with a buffer from the Route 206 Bypass which basically goes north-south on the display map, and is actually an elevated structure at the Homestead Road area. A quick comparison of the bulk requirements reveals the minimum lot area for the CDZ District requires 50 acres; the LI District requires 2 acres; and the proposed TECD District requires 5 acres.

10 The minimum front yard for the CDZ District requires 100 ft.;. Li District requires 40 ft.; and the proposal is for 40 ft. to allow buildings to move closer to the street and further away from the residential area. The minimum side yard setback for the CDZ District requires 100 ft; LI District requires 20 ft.; and the proposed is for 20 ft., however, where a side yard is adjacent to a dwelling or residential district, the minimum shall be 150 ft. The minimum rear yard for the CDZ District requires 100 ft.; LI District requires 75 ft.; and the proposed is 75 ft. but again, where adjacent to a dwelling or residential district, the minimum shall be 150 ft.