Tag Archives: RDP

You’ve been warned

Main Street, Redevelopment, River Road, , , , , , , ,

You first heard about the new building on Main Street too late to express your opinion?

You can’t say that next time, when you discover what your Borough Council is doing now:

Before the end of June, the Council is going to adopt a new, so-called “Housing Element,” a plan that will shape the destiny of our town for the next decade.

So far, the Mayor & Council are keeping that plan a total secret. They haven’t revealed the number of new apartments, where they might be built, or what they will cost you in higher taxes, more traffic, environmental issues, or a lower quality of life.

All we know for sure is that the affordable housing quota won’t count the new 500-unit River Road redevelopment project the Council also has in the pipeline. https://chathamchoice.org/2025/02/things-fall-apart/ That will be in addition to the new housing plan.

Do you think the Borough can handle thousands of additional residents, or even their cars?

Can you stop that? Easily!

But unless you speak up soon, it will be too late. The plan will be a done deal.

If you care about the future of your hometown, you will start asking questions before it’s too late to make a difference.

Go to the Council meeting this Monday, April 28. Watch it online. Email the Mayor & Council

Pitiful

Redevelopment, River Road, , , , , , , , ,

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/