Hometown Chatham

Tag: professional planner

  • Good news!

    Contrary to popular rumors, Chatham Borough need not build housing on the wooded, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to our Memorial Park.

    But the Mayor & Council will sacrifice that green lot anyway unless you tell them not to!

    Starting 1 January 2026, the Borough can offer alternative ways to complete the new Housing Element of the Master Plan.

    That’s what Chatham Borough Planner Kendra Lelie said under oath at the 18 June 2025 Planning Board Hearing on the new Housing Element. See for yourself starting at 1:12:20 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=393

    Here’s a partial transcript:

    Q: Planning Board Member William Heap: Kendra, let’s say the Plan is adopted. It is approved. And somewhere down the line, somehow, magically, another piece of land appears. Is there room after approval for a little bit of horse trading? 

    A: Chatham Borough Planner Kendra Lelie: So, after the approval from the Court, it is not uncommon that things happen, things change… Maybe something better comes up – and a better opportunity comes up. So yes, it’s a possibility.

    What can you do? Ask the Mayor & Borough Council:

    1. What substantive steps have our Mayor & Council been taking to prepare to identify better alternatives to developing 58 North Passaic Avenue?
    2. When will the Mayor & Borough Council begin to search for better alternatives?
    3. This time, will the Mayor & Borough Council perform due diligence on all parcels, including sites the clandestine Affordable Housing Advisory Committee never gave proper consideration, as well as sites the Committee never considered at all?
    •    Email them:

    cdempsey@chathamborough.org.      jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

    kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org.     itreloar@chathamborough.org

    jstrickland@chathamborough.org       bhargrove@chathamborough.org

    • Stop by the Council meeting, Monday, 8 September 2025, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave. (Use the north entrance. Take the elevator to the upper level. Speaking is optional.)
    • Sign the petition: https://chng.it/GN4yhK8sGT
    • Share the flyer:

    Flyer for 58 N. Passaic 8 13 25 Download

  • Pitiful

    Our Mayor & Borough Council are plunging ahead with a Redevelopment Plan for another massive, 500-unit River Road apartment project that:

    • is NOT REQUIRED by affordable housing law; and
    • will NOT COUNT toward meeting the Borough’s RDP affordable housing quota!

    Why would they do THAT? They offer two justifications, both flimsy.

    • First, they’ll tell you a Redevelopment Plan is the only way to “control” what gets built on RIver Road: Absent a Plan, they claim, the property owners can do whatever they want. That’s nonsense.

    All Chatham property is subject to countless federal, state, and local laws and regulations. A Plan would actually make matters worse by providing for at least 500 rental apartments to satisfy setaside rquirements.

    • Second, they’ll tell you that with a Redevelopment Plan they can make the developer throw in some public goodies – such as a free riverside park. More nonsense.

    Nothing is free. Whether or not the Mayor & Council manage to negotiate for any decent public benefits whatsoever, the rest of us will pay dearly in the form of a stealth tax increase triggered by the corporate welfare PILOT tax exemption the developer will demand and get, just as happened at the Ivy project.

    The good news is that there’s still time to change all that.

    Tell the Mayor & Council to put this project on ice until they’ve done their homework and considered their options.

    Or better yet, shelve this massive Redevelopment project. Concentrate on urgent matters, like finding a way to meet the Borough’s affordable housing obligations without overwhelming our roads and schools, depleting our water supply, polluting our environment, or cheating taxpayers.

    Context: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/blind-faith

    Stealth tax: https://chathamchoice.org/2024/10/a-slick-infomercial-for-corporate-welfare/

    What about our water supply? https://chathamchoice.org/2024/11/water-water-everywhere/