Category Archives: Redevelopment

Why should Chatham Borough pay more than its fair share?

Our Peeping Goat had the good sense to run from harm.

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/05/12/peeping-goat/7941683898359/

Let’s hope our Borough Council will do the same!

The Council is under pressure to burden Borough taxpayers with more than their fair share of school taxes, jeopardizing its ability to provide urgent necessities like new fire trucks.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/attention-chatham-borough-residents-would-you-like-to-pay-more-than-your-fair-share-of-our-school-taxes

https://patch.com/new-jersey/chatham/posts

https://www.newjerseyhills.com/chatham_courier/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-should-chatham-borough-pay-more-than-its-fair-share/article_a42feec2-09ef-11ee-8827-6b766a82977e.html

Why would our Borough Council even consider jeopardizing its ability to meet pressing needs?

Why should Chatham Borough pay more than its fair share of school taxes?

Shouldn’t Borough residents have a say in such a decision?

Tell your Council to stay in its own lane and follow the normal procedure.

[email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected]

Good news about the River Road Project

Our Borough Council got some good news at its April 10 meeting.

Retired Bloomfield Fire Captain Robert Penn reported that the apartment project going up on River Road is far safer than he had expected. Check out his words at minute 1:29:28:

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=123

With that, Captain Penn put to rest most of the fire safety concerns he had raised at the March 27 Council meeting.

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=121 Go to minute 1:56:56

Of course, our volunteer fire fighters are still hobbled by ancient fire trucks and have no good way to put out fires in the growing number of electric cars.

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=121 Go to minute 53:00

Winds of change?

Can your town suddenly decide to zone one lot differently from its neighbors?

No. That’s “spot-zoning.” It’s illegal in New Jersey.

But there is an exception if the lot is arguably “blighted” or “in need of redevelopment,” according to a state law designed to help poor towns attract new construction.

The Local Redevelopment & Housing Law lists eight types of situations that can justify deeming a place “in need of redevelopment” and as such not subject to normal zoning laws: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-40a/section-40a-12a-5/

For years, real estate developers have abused that exception to achieve a kind of legalized spot zoning:

  • They’ve used it to get around normal zoning laws in towns that have no trouble attracting investors.
  • They’ve used it to sweep away normal zoning rules for properties that aren’t blighted at all.
  • They’ve used it to qualify for whopping property tax breaks that enrich the developers at the expense of residents.
  • Sometimes they’ve used it to get title to public land without the normal checks and balances.

The courts usually turn a blind eye to that kind of abuse.

One noteworthy exception is the 2007 case of Gallenthin v. Paulsboro, in which the state Supreme Court made clear that the mere fact that a property is operated in a less than optimal manner does not make it “stagnant and unproductive” within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5(e).

https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/supreme-court/2007/a-51-06-doc.html

Now it seems the Court is beginning to tighten up the criteria for designating a property “in need of redevelopment” on the grounds that it is “dilapidated, obsolete, overcrowded” or has “other deleterious conditions.”

In a case published this month, Malanga v. Township of West Orange, the Court rejected the designation of the West Orange library as an “area in need of redevelopment” within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5(d) simply because it was old, out of style, and needed repair. The Court also put to rest the idea that the mere assertion that a place is dilapidated, obsolescent, etc. will suffice, or that courts should defer to the township’s judgment on that score.

https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/supreme-court/2023/a-45-21.html

The Malanga case establishes that to satisfy N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5(d), the township must show both:

1) evidence of “dilapidation, obsolescence, overcrowding, faulty arrangement or design, lack of ventilation, light and sanitary facilities, excessive land coverage, deleterious land use or obsolete layout”; and

2) that, as a result, the premises “are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the community.”

Great news for anyone concerned about reckless overdevelopment.

What effect will the Malanga case have on areas already designated in need of redevelopment? Ask an expert:

Do the right thing

What will Chatham Borough Council do with the Borough’s PILOT revenues from the River Road project?

Will the Council do the right thing?

Find out here: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/it-s-our-money-use-borough-pilot-revenues-to-reduce-property-taxes-and-cover-necessities


Learn more here: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/chatham-borough-council-do-the-right-thing-concerning-pilot-not-merely-what-s-legally-permissible-or-expedient

Attend the 3/13 Council meeting in person or on Zoom here: https://www.chathamborough.org/component/dpcalendar/event/mayor-council-meeting-13-1678750200?Itemid=809

Great News

Yesterday morning, after three tense public hearings, Morris County Superior Court Judge Stephan Hansbury soundly rejected the Kushners’ brazen attempt to cram an unpopular 100-rental unit project on mostly public land behind our Main Street Post Office.

That decision frees Chatham Borough to meet part of its affordable housing requirements by building a 15-unit apartment house there, as our Mayor & Council voted on May 2.

For a quick summary, watch the video of Mayor Kobylarz’s comments in this Tap story:

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Chatham+Borough+Mayor%253A+Court+Finds+that+the+Borough+is+in+Compliance+with+its+Affordable+Housing+Obligations%253B+SV+Suit+Denied&utm_campaign=Chatham+Borough+Mayor%253A+Court+Finds+that+the+Borough+is+in+Compliance+with+its+Affordable+Housing+Obligations%253B+SV+Suit+Denied

For details, check out the records at e-courts, culminating in this final court order finding Chatham in compliance with its affordable housing obligations through September 29, 2026:

Will the Kushners accept that outcome and let Chatham build some affordable housing at Post Office Plaza, or will they continue to sue, appeal, and otherwise try to block progress? Stay tuned here and at this FB group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2429255717325924

What’s that huge thing going up on River Road in Chatham Borough??

https://www.facebook.com/618423460/videos/1332066163997362/

#keepchathamsmall

After the Council approved the Plan for River Road, things got real. .

Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to come:

Source:

https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1399493/2022-05-27-HEFSP_amendment.finaladopted.pdf

#Keepchathamsmall

Want to see massive overdevelopment like that all over town? Re-elect Karen Koronkiewicz

https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Morris/116156/web.303253/#/detail/0014