Citizens Voice Concerns of Development at Town Hall Meeting

Residents convened with several township officials to voice their concerns of overdevelopment at 555 South Avenue and Birchwood Avenue at a Town Hall Meeting Monday night. The forum was lead by Mayor Dan Aschenbach, who addressed issues related to potential overdevelopment and affordable housing.

The Town Hall meeting's main objectives were to openly discus all facets of upcoming development plans, as well as to listen to the community's opinion on the projects. Aschenbach gave a Powerpoint presentation outlining Cranford's redevelopment projects of the past, and Township Attorney Dan McCarthy gave updates on the current litigation surrounding the 555 project and Birchwood property. Aschenbach stated his desire to form a plan that best met Cranford’s needs without compromising the character and spirit of the town. He also advised residents to direct their outrage at the state for mandates that put development projects out of the community’s hands.

McCarthy briefly recounted the Mount Laurel decisions, which state that every community in New Jersey has a constitutional obligation to allow for the building of affordable housing within the confines of the quarters. The Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, was created to prevent developers from building market-rate housing with only a handful of units used for affordable housing. Under COAH, projects that served people with disabilities and low-income seniors did not count as affordable housing. Developers sought a Partial Summary Judgment, and it was determined that Cranford’s land use ordinances did not conform with the Mount Laurel decisions and were unconstitutional. Another judge is currently deliberating on the Builder’s Remedy decision for Birchwood. If successful, the developers would proceed with a development at a higher density with a sufficient portion of the project dedicated to affordable housing. Should the judge side with the developers, Cranford would need to decide whether or not they would like to appeal.

“Cranford would prefer to not see any residential development in that particular location,” McCarthy said. “I think Cranford’s planner said the most units that could be put over there was in the high 100s, low 200s. If the judge sided with Cranford, the developer would appeal. If the judge sides with the developer or cut some units off, Cranford would likely appeal. That’s a decision the Township Committee would make.”

 Once the Birchwood ruling comes in, Cranford will have three options. The first would be to seek an order of repose that “closes gate on any new litigation.” The second would be to appeal to the highest court on site specific reasons on both 555 and Birchwood. The third option, which Aschenbach prefers, would be to appeal both the 555 and Birchwood projects based on the inaccurate partial summary judgment and the Township’s objection to such density in residential areas. As of yet, the Partial Summary Judgment has not been repealed.

 During the Citizen Input portion of the meeting, resident Hugh H. Welsh stated that he believed there to be a disproportionate concern with overdevelopment and density in the North side of town, and a lack of concern for that same problem in the South side. Welsh thought that the Township Committee was not taking care to maintain as much open space and preserve the character of Cranford on the South side.

 “We’re involved in litigation with Birchwood, and the basic fundamental concern there is with the density of development,” he said. “The neighborhood doesn’t want a large, dense development in their neighborhood…Meanwhile, we have other developments taking place in town that are essentially dense developments. My concern is that the town is not approaching this as a united town. Instead, the planning and approach of the Township Committee seems to be bifurcated with the north side having certain concerns. Spread out the hurt rather than focus the burden on one area.”

 Resident Bill Montani added that the township leaders could not take the brunt of responsibility in moving forward, and that it was up to the citizens to speak out against litigation that was not cohesive with Cranford’s spirit.

 “I think the challenges that are facing Cranford right now are so huge that we can’t afford to put all responsibility on our township leaders,” he said. “It’s reached that point where the people have to get up and do something in unison…We have to do something. We can’t just sit and complain and worry about future development. We have to attack the legal problems, specific as they are, right now when they’re in front of us. We’re worried about the future, but we’ve got to do something now.”