Four Ponds Appeal Will Reach Superior Court Judge February. 8

For those interested, the Independent is reporting today that the appeal of Four Ponds Developer's Avaya housing project, which was opposed by the Lincroft Village Green Association and the citizens group SONIC and subsequently and unamiously turned down last year by Middletown's Planning Board, will be heard in Superior Court next month on February 8th.

According to the Independent:

"The township Planning Board’s denial of the Four Ponds Center Associates’ application to build 342 units at the former Avaya site in Lincroft last year is still being contested by the developer.

In 2011, Four Ponds proposed building 64 low- or moderate-income housing units at the 68-acre site, alongside 278 market-rate units.

As part of an appeal initiated by the developer after plans were unanimously rejected last June, Four Ponds will have a conference with state Superior Court Judge Paul Kapalko on Feb. 8, according to Planning Board Attorney James Gorman.

Kapalko has signed an order allowing two objectors, represented by attorney Ron Gasiorowski, to intervene in that suit, Gorman said.

The Four Ponds application, which was decided over nine Planning Board hearings spanning nearly a year, concluded with hours of testimony delivered by expert witnesses retained by Gasiorowski on behalf of local opposition.

In its official verdict, published last August, the board cited that testimony as the primary factor behind its denial.

The site on the former Avaya property where Four Ponds proposed building is part of Middletown’s affordable housing plan, which would allow 375 units on the site, including up to 75 affordable units....  "

I'm sure that the ruling by the Superior Court in this case, will have a major impact on the Heritage at Middletown development that would bring 245 multi-family units to the track of land surrounding area of Taylor Lane. Two weeks ago, area residents packed the court house to attend the January 16th meeting of the Planning Board to voice their complaints about this planned development, which is also being reported on in this weeks edition of  the Independent.

I expect that the Superior Court judge that hears the Four Ponds case will ultimately rule in their favor  which will pave the way for the housing development continue as originally planned.

Gov. Chris Christie Exceeded His Constitutional Authority When He Abolished COAH

Now what?

From the Asbury Park Press:

Gov. Chris Christie exceeded his constitutional authority when he abolished the Council on Affordable Housing last year, a three-judge Appellate Court panel decided.
In its decision, released earlier today, the panel ruled that the state’s Executive Reorganization Act did not give Christie the power to unilaterally abolish independent agencies created by the Legislature. 

COAH was created by the Fair Housing Act, in response to several affordable housing decisions rendered by the state Supreme Court.  

 “Strictly construing the Reorganization Act, we conclude that it does not grant the Governor the power to abolish a legislatively created, representative, independent authority that is ‘in but not of’ the Executive Branch or any department in that branch of the government. Applying this rule here, we determine that the Governor exceeded his authority under the Reorganization Act in abolishing COAH,” the court wrote.  

 Affordable housing advocates hailed the decision.

Middletown Planning Board And AVAYA, What's Going On?

On the agenda for tonight's Middletown Planning Board meeting will be the ongoing discussion, with the possible approval, of the Four Pond redevelopment plan for the Avaya complex. Looking at the agenda, it would seem that the only business to be discussed tonight will be the Four Ponds application, all other planning board business has been pushed back to the new year.

Back in October during his reelection campaign, Tony Fiore was telling every Lincroft area resident which he met, that there was a commercial entity interested in occupying the former Avaya industrial site. He also told them not to worry because the township's planning board would not approve of the proposed Four Ponds housing redevelopment plan that would be comprised of 342 units with various road and infrastructure upgrades for area. He said that the township favored the commercial alternative for the redevelopment of the site over the housing and that the town would do what it could to ensure that the housing project would not be built.

Now that the election is over and Fiore's seat on the Township Committee has been secured for another 3 years, it seems that the plan has once again changed.

The commercial entity believed to have been interested in the Avaya site was Commvault, a spin off of Lucent Technologies that specializes in data management and recovery. Their current corporate headquarters is located nearby in Oceanport NJ. Commvault it seems, is no longer interested in moving it's headquarters to Lincroft and prefers instead to move it's offices over to the now empty, Fort Monmouth in Eatontown.

Why would they choose Eatontown over Lincroft? More than likely it was some sort of tax abatement issue. I had heard previously, before the name of Commvault was known, that the interested commercial entity was looking for a large multi-million dollar, multi-year property tax break in order to move into Middletown. Supposedly the Township reached out to State Senator Joe Kyrillos for help in securing such a deal with the State, but Kyrillos had reservations and nothing was done. This in turn left the door open for Commvault, who more than likely got the deal they were looking from the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority to moving itself over to the now empty Fort Monmouth.

So where does that leave the Four Ponds development? Rumors are circulating that Four Ponds developers have decided to back out of the housing project altogether and will announce their decision to do so tonight at the Planning Board meeting, leaving no one at present to build the 342 unit housing development, if the Planning Board's decision was to approve Four Ponds' application.

Four Pond's rumored decision to drop its application could put the town in a major bind. The Avaya project is part of the Township's COAH plan. If Four Ponds or some other builder, doesn't build some kind of affordable housing there, the town will not be compliant with it's State COAH plan and will have to find another location to build the affordable units. This would then open the door to builders that could seek "builder remedy" law suits against Middletown that would allow them to build just about anything, anywhere in town.

And for those that say that couldn't happen because Governor Christie abolished COAH earlier this year, you are wrong. Christie abolished the governing body that presided over COAH not the rulings or decisions that had been already established by it. Middletown is just as bound today to their plans for building affordable housing as they were a year ago, nothing has changed.

Tonight's meeting should be interesting.

So what's the next step here? As one person so apply stated "Middletown should keep that COAH attorney on retainer."

Subject of Latest Robo-Call From Concerned Citizens Deals With AVAYA and COAH

Earlier today I received yet another robo-call from the group calling themselves Concerned Citizens of Middletown.

The content of this robo- call that was left on my answering machine ~1:30 pm, seems to be geared towards what is going on in Lincroft concerning the redevelopment of the AVAYA sight that will consist of 342 units of high density housing if built.

The timing of this latest robo-call seems to have been planned to correspond with the next Middletown Planning Board meeting scheduled for tomorrow night, where according to the agenda for the meeting, approval of the project may be finalized.

I'm sure that this call (the 5th) will be just as controversial as the others that have gone out in the past by the group Concerned Citizens of Middletown.

Tony Fiore and others associated with the Middletown GOP swear that Concerned Citizens of Middletown is nothing more than the a front name used by the Middletown Democrats to stir up trouble and controversy, which as far as I know, is not the case.

I am sure that one day soon the mystery of who is behind the group will be answered, but until then I'm going to sit back and enjoy the speculation. It's fun to see Fiore and the others squirm a bit and point fingers while trying to explain that the messages being left on answering machines all around town have no merit and shouldn't be paid attention to.

Below is the message that I recorded again off of my answering machine followed by a transcript of the call:

Have you heard? Because The Middletown Township Committee failed to fulfill it's COAH obligations, the Township had to solicit bids to develop housing projects throughout Middletown?

As a result the AVAYA site in Lincroft will become a multi-family housing project that will impact the residents of Lincroft and the Township.

The influx of new residents will have an adverse affect; roads will need to be widened, sewer and water lines will need to be installed and over crowding of local schools will take place, all at a cost to our quality of life.

Paid for by
Concerned Citizens of Middletown.

Interesting Timing Behind Bamm Hollow Resolution

With all the hoopla surrounding the redevelopment of the Avaya industrial site in Lincroft which is calling for 342 housing units to be built, I find a resolution on the docket for approval at tonight's Township Committee meeting in Middletown interesting in it's timing.

Resolution No. 11-169 , which authorizes the settlement agreement between Bamm Hollow builders and the Township, seems to be an attempt by the Township to sugarcoat the history behind the redevelopment of the Bamm Hollow Country Club property, in a way that show outspoken community groups like SONIC and the Lincroft Village Green Association that the Township Committee is really looking out for their best interests and are not really interested in building high density housing in Lincroft.

Unfortunately though we know differently.

Bamm Hollow developers originally wanted to build 200-300 homes on the site when plans were first proposed with no COAH units, I was told. The Township objected to the initial development due to the it's size and wanted the developers to scale it back a bit.

After further discussions took place, the Township approached the Bamm Hollow developers, along with several other land owners, wanted to know if they would be interested in having their properties included in the Township's Master Plan for residential development. Many of them (including Bamm Hollow) agreed to join the Township's planned most of them then had their properties rezoned from commercial properties to residential (Avaya being an example).

From what I had been told, the Bamm Hollow property and the Avaya property where then (on paper) combined to make one large development. It was only after plans were leaked out that the development of the Avaya site would not include Bamm Hollow, that Bamm Hollow decided to revise their plans from 200 or so single units to the 1200 units with COAH housing.

The developers knew at the time that Middletown had failed to meet it's COAH requirements so they decided to seek a "Builder's Remedy" in the courts to have the property zoned to the way that they had originally wanted. The 1200 units were a bluff by the builder and would have never been built with COAH in mind because the site did not meet the conditions to satisfy COAH requirements on its own.

So now that the Bamm Hollow case has been settled in courts (pretty much to the way Bamm Hollow had originally wanted in the first place), the Township is attempting to show residents of Lincroft and the rest of the Township, that they are fighting for their best interests (after spending hundred of thousands of dollars) by fighting Bamm Hollow in the court and winning so that now, the "little" (in caparison ) 342 unit redevelopment of the Avaya property doesn't look so big and bad to those that live in the area.

I'm sure that there will be some discussion about this tonight that will be very interesting and somewhat revealing, it will make for a great show. The meeting starts at 8:00 if you wish to attend.

Middletown Update and Background Proposed Four Ponds Development Plan

At the behest of the Township Committee, Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, posted the following letter the Middletown Township website late yesterday, the letter is an attempt to give some background information behind the history of the rezoning of the Avaya property in Lincroft that is a hot-button issue in town and ready to explode. At least three separate citizens groups are now involved and on record as being opposed to the project.

What this letter doesn't tell residents about is how, much like the infamous "Town Center" project, the Township went to Torsevias (the owners of the property) and pitched this idea to them. The township would never have been able to rezone this property if the owners weren't on board with it. Promises were made and palms were greased in some way to make this happen, now the Township needs to backpedal before it's too late.

Unfortunately it may be too late for that already, money has been spent already on the project by the owners, they would want so type of reimbursement for there troubles i'm sure, which will tie this project up in the courts for years at a cost of millions of dollars to the tax payers of Middletown if it doesn't go through.

And as usual, the Township is blaming Democrats in Trenton for inaction on the issue of COAH. They wont dare point a finger at the Governor for vetoing the COAH bill that was past by the assembly last year. If COAH was on the top of the Governor's priority list, he would be taking the lead on this issue like he has been while bashing teachers and unions.

But don't confuse the issues of COAH and this project, the opposition to this redevelopment is not COAH based as the Township wants you to believe. The opposition is opposed to the project based on quality of life issues and concerns such as infrastructure, traffic and the effects of having many more students enroll in area schools.

Dear Residents:

The Township Committee has asked that I provide a summary of the circumstances surrounding the proposed Four Ponds Development Plan at the former Avaya property, which is part of the Township’s state-mandated Council On Affordable Housing (“COAH”) housing plan.

The Township Committee has many concerns about this proposed project, which is why the Township is currently litigating the COAH’s revised third round rules before the New Jersey Supreme Court. Not only has the Township joined in the League of Municipality’s lawsuit, but the Township also filed its own lawsuit, which was just recently accepted by the Supreme Court. It is unclear, however, when this case will be heard, which could be anywhere from 6 months to a year, or more, from now. In the meantime, the Township is still subject to COAH’s rules, as they existed three years ago.

It is the Township’s belief that we should not be punished by these rules since, we believe there are plenty of affordable housing units, including rental units available throughout the Township. This fact is largely the basis of our legal position. Further, the Township does not have a history of exclusionary zoning that would be in violation of the original Mount Laurel doctrine. Unfortunately, this legal doctrine has evolved into something it was never intended to be, which essentially hands control of much of our zoning over to developers and in some cases the courts.

Making matters worse, the Appellate Court recently invalidated a large portion of the revised third round COAH rules that gave the Township a variety bonus credits for past performance and for allowing the creation of affordable rental housing. Without these extra credits and other mechanisms thrown out by the Court, the Township’s affordable housing obligation could grow significantly higher than it already is. Fortunately, the Township sought and secured a stay from both COAH and the Supreme Court of the Appellate Court’s ruling on this matter. Now, the Supreme Court will decide the ultimate merits of this issue, but the outcome is far from certain, which is why the Township has actively been seeking legislative action that has not been forthcoming. The legislation that has been proposed so far, in most cases would be a giant step backwards, making matters far worse. Fortunately the Governor vetoed the bill that was actually passed by the legislature since it would have increased the Township’s affordable housing obligation possibly two-fold.

As a result, the Township has been forced to zone a number of properties in a way that it would not have otherwise, only to satisfy COAH’s requirements. It is also critical in order to stem what are known as Builder’s Remedy lawsuits, which essentially strip away any local control and allows the courts to order the approval of housing developments. In fact, the Township is currently subject to a challenge by the owners of the Bamm Hollow Country Club. Specifically, since challenging our plans, they have been seeking to construct 1,200 multi-family dwellings that would include at least 240 COAH units upon their 277-acre property. They also have an application pending for 50 homes which the property is currently zoned for, which is also not actively being pursued. That application will not make this litigation go away as they are continuing to seek a development many times that size. We are currently seeking a stay before the Appellate Court in this matter in an effort to try to resolve it through sound planning without facing the prospect of 1,200 more units of housing in Lincroft. The reality of the situation is that if the Avaya property had not been zoned to allow for the development of residential housing two years ago, Bamm Hollow would likely be building 1,200 court-ordered units on its property by now.

These are the unfortunate realities currently faced by the Township until the Legislature or the Courts act appropriately to eliminate these irrational mandates that do nothing but promote poor planning and development while wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. I would note, however, that the Avaya property is still also zoned to allow for commercial development, so the Township is not impeding that from taking place should market conditions allow for it. Further, the Township has been encouraging businesses to move into the site along with seeking economic development assistance for prospective tenants from the state.

Simply put, due to legislative inaction, the Township was left with no option but to include Avaya property as part of its housing plan three years ago to allow for residential development. The reality is that the alternative would be far worse for Lincroft and the Township as a whole. We would like to encourage all residents, as many of you have in the past, to write and call Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver who should be held accountable along with the entire State Legislature for failing to act on the Governor’s proposed COAH reforms. With those reforms, there is at least a chance that this project may not have advanced to this point.

Sincerely,
Anthony P. Mercantante, P.P. AICP
Township Administrator

Raw Video: Middletown Planning Board Discusses Avaya Re-Development

For those that were unable to attend the Middletown Planning Board meeting last night don't fret, I took a few picture and shot an hour's worth of video from the proceeding.

The meeting started at 6:30 pm but because of old business before the planning board, the discussions concerning the Avaya redevelopment project didn't start until 7:25 pm and lasted only an hour. It was explained that further meetings would be needed in front of the planning board over the course of the next few months before any decisions concerning the site would be made.

I would say that there were easily 250 or more Lincroft area residents in attendance for this initial site presentation. Unfortunately none were afforded an opportunity to speak their minds about it because no public comments on the project were allowed at this time. It was stated that after all testimony before the planning board was given, lawyers for various community groups would be given a chance to cross examine the witnesses and residents would have a chance to speak.

Below is raw video from the night's meeting, it lasts an hour and captured all but the first minute of the meeting (I wasn't fast enough turning on the camera, sorry)

Avaya Re-Development On Tonight's Planning Board Agenda In Middletown

Tonight's 6:30 pm meeting of the Middletown Planning Board should be interesting, at tonight's meeting plans for the controversial Avaya redevelopment project will be discussed.

This project calls for 342 housing units to be built off Middletown-Lincroft Rd. in Lincroft and has caused a major backlash of opposition against the project by area residents. The Lincroft Village Green Association and the citizens group SONIC ( Save Our Neighborhood's Integrity & Character), have each rallied their members and plan to have large contingencies there.

Redbankgreen.com's Dustin Racioppi has a good write-up on it:

Middletown’s planning board will meet Wednesday to hear a proposal that’s got neighbors up in arms and township officials grinding their teeth.

The proposed project, submitted by Four Ponds Associates, calls for the demolition of a large office building vacated by telecom giant Avaya and the construction of 342 residential units on 68 acres on Middletown-Lincroft Road.

For locals, the prospect of adding hundreds of homes to the tract is an unwelcome one, as traffic and safety top the concerns, not to mention a serious disruption to the Lincroft section’s quality of life, they say.

For township officials, the proposal represents “archaic and ridiculous” affordable housing laws imposed by the state. But until changes are made in Trenton, they’re handcuffed, they say.

“We oppose this development and every development we’ve been forced into under the guise of affordable housing regulations,” Mayor Tony Fiore said, “especially when they’re not in the best interest of Middletown. And that’s exactly what’s going on here.”

Currently, the property is zoned for office use but is able to add residential units since the town listed the property in its affordable housing plan, which was revised in 2009, Administrator Anthony Mercantante said. No variances are being sought.

A non-profit advocacy group made up of residents, the Lincroft Village Green Association, has called for the town to rezone the property back to residential single-family or commercial use.

But “We have no authority to simply rezone” the property, Fiore said. “We would be steadfast in doing that. Unfortunately, the legislature and the state assembly has given us no relief.”

Of the 342 units proposed, 68 are said in the builder’s application to satisfy the town’s affordable housing obligation, a murky mandate delivered by the state Council On Affordable Housing – which itself is in limbo, as Governor Chris Christie has recommended eliminating COAH and letting local municipalities decide how much affordable housing is necessary within their boundaries....

Finish reading >>> Here

LVGA Issues Statement Concerning Planned Four Ponds Housing Development

On it's website, the Lincroft Village Green Association has published the following statement regarding the planned Four Ponds project that is to be located at the Avaya complex on Middletown-Lincroft Road. The proposed site plan is also located on the website so that resident and those that are interested can see the size and scope of the project that will impact the area and the quality of life for those that live in it's proximity:

Re: Four Ponds Redevelopment Plan

The Lincroft Village Green Association and many of the residents of Lincroft Village are strongly opposed to the Four Ponds Redevelopment plan as is currently proposed. We have serious concerns this large scale housing development will bring negative change to our neighborhoods and adversely affect residents’ safety and quality of life.

Our specific concerns for opposing this development are as follows:

Density and Type of Housing:
The plan proposes to build 270 townhouse and 72 flats, with 68 of the flats being COAH affordable housing rental units. This represents an approximate 16% increase in the number of households in Lincroft Village. This is far too many households for the infrastructure of Lincroft to absorb.

Good planning requires that new construction should be similar in size and character to existing, neighboring homes. The style of homes being built, three story townhouses in clusters of 4, 6 and 8 units, and four 18 unit apartment buildings, is not in keeping with the style of the majority of the homes in Lincroft, which are single family homes on large lots, of 0.5 - 5.0 acres in size. The density and configuration of the proposed Four Ponds Development are more reminiscent of inner city row houses than existing construction in Lincroft. Therefore, this development would have a very negative impact on property values in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Traffic:
The current traffic conditions along CR520 and CR50 make any additional traffic-generating projects in Lincroft completely unacceptable.

• The intersection of CR50 & CR520 is already considered failed because of too much traffic (County Route 520 Corridor Study, 2002).
• Middletown-Lincroft Road is a major route to the following Lincroft establishments: Brookdale Community College (enrollment over 13,000-all commuters), Christian Brothers Academy (enrollment over 900), St. Leo the Great Church and School, Oak Hill Academy, Lincroft Elementary School, Multiple preschools, Lincroft Library, Lincroft business center and professional buildings, Two senior citizen complexes, Four churches, in addition to St. Leo the Great, One county and five township parks, Lincroft Fire and First Aid stations.
• CR50 is a major North-South route for many trash, recycling and construction trucks, and services all of Middletown and towns north.
• Both CR520 and CR50 are major E-W and N-S traffic routes and are used by many to access the GSP (Exit 109) and Red Bank to the east, Holmdel corporate center and residential areas to the west, Monmouth Mall to the south and the remainder of Middletown and other points north.

There is already dangerous cut-through traffic and speeding in surrounding neighborhoods, especially on Turnberry Drive and Leedsville Drive, which will only be worsened by the additional traffic generated by the housing complex, affecting the safety of the residents who walk, bike, and jog and drive on those streets.

Schools:
The Four Ponds development will bring many additional children to our local schools. Two and three bedroom townhouses will be more likely to have families with school-age children.
The Lincroft Elementary School is already filled to capacity. The building is over 50 years old and every classroom and available space inside is being utilized. Families are drawn to Lincroft for the quality of our public school system. By adding children and overburdening our classrooms and teachers, this will have a negative impact on the excellence of our schools.

Safety - Fire, First Aid, Police:

Lincroft and the surrounding neighborhoods are served by our all volunteer Fire Department and First Aid Station. Adding 342 new homes to Lincroft Village, a 16% increase in households, will overburden these services, including the Middletown Police force and Public Works and seriously impact the safety of the entire area.

In closing, as you can undoubtedly see from the above noted points, the Lincroft Village Green Association is extremely concerned, as are the residents who have already contacted us in large numbers, that a development of this size, in this location, would be seriously considered for approval at this time. The impact on the quality of life of current Lincroft residents, the strain on our schools and already diluted resources, and the associated safety concerns, should trump any desire to vote to permit this development.

Consequently, we respectfully request this proposed plan be tabled at the present time, and the current owner be instructed to work with key stakeholders in our community to determine the most appropriate alternative uses of this space. This has simply not taken place to date.
In fact, when this property was rezoned in 2010 to accommodate COAH obligations, the then sitting Township Committee went on record to say they would rezone the site back to either commercial or residential single family homes at the earliest opportunity. We implore you to consider rezoning this property now, and come up with a more thoughtful, rational plan, with more potential for positive impact for Lincroft Village and its residents.

Board of Directors

Lincroft Village Green Association

Middletown officials must block Avaya development

The following letter was published online last night over at the Asbury Park Press. The letter was written by Lincroft resident Walter L. Horan and implores the Middletown Township Committee to stop the planned development, which would contain 342 housing units, at the former Avaya site in Lincroft:

In Middletown’s race to meet a deadline set forth by the state Council on Affordable Housing to accommodate an irrational number of required housing units, the Middletown Township Committee has done a grave disservice to the residents of Lincroft by allowing a 342-unit townhouse and apartment complex development to be built at the Avaya property on Middletown-Lincroft Road.

Township Committee members are singularly responsible for this fiasco, since they alone changed the zoning to accommodate such a massive development. They reassured the residents this would not come to fruition.

To further allay our concerns, they promised they would rezone as soon as they were able. They said it would never be built due to the down economy. They said there are no developers on the horizon interested in such a large project.

They were wrong. And now here we are with the owner of the property proposing a development with 342 townhouses and rental apartment buildings, three stories high, which will forever change the landscape and character of Lincroft Village.

The Township Committee must right this inexcusable wrong and do whatever is necessary to block this development.

Walter L. Horan

MIDDLETOWN

342 Unit Avaya Development Moving Forward In Lincroft; 68 COAH Units Planned

If you didn't have a keen eye, you would have missed the public notice in yesterday's Asbury Park Press that announces the upcoming Middletown Planning Board's public hearing for the Four Ponds (a.k.a Avaya) housing project in Lincroft.

This is the development that everyone on the Township Committee approved of in 2009 and was suppose to not happen.

Gerry Scharfenberger, Tony Fiore, Pam Brightbill and Steve Massell (who wasn't on the Township Committee in 2009, but as a member of the Planning Board approved of and presented the plans to the Township Committee) have repeatedly vowed that they are against the project but have done nothing to try and prevent it.

I'm sure that they will be blaming Democrats in Trenton for not heeding Governor Christie's wish to reform the affordable housing law, COAH, even though the governor vetoed a reform of it earlier this year:

TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLETOWN
PLANNING BOARD
NOTICE OF HEARING
Case #2010-202

To: All Property Owners Within 200 Feet

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT Four Ponds Center Associates has applied to the Planning Board of the Township of Middletown for preliminary and final site plan approval, with no variances, so as to permit the applicant to develop and construct 342 residential dwelling units, and one community clubhouse, with associated roadways, parking, walkways, stormwater management, utilities, lighting and landscaping improvements. The proposed dwelling units shall consist of 270 townhouses and 72 flats, with 68 of the flats being restricted as affordable housing. This project is part of the Township Housing Element and Fair Share Plan for affordable housing.

The existing commercial building located on the subject property shall be demolished. The property is zoned RMF-2 (Residential Multi-Family Overlay Zone), The application conforms to the standards of the RMF-2 Zone; however, the Applicant will seek any and all variances and/or waivers necessary to accommodate the application as filed or as revised by the Planning Board on premises located at 307 Middletown-Lincroft Road, also known as Block 1063, Lot 10 on the Tax Map.

A copy of the application has been filed in the Office of the Planning Board and may be inspected during regular business hours.

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday evening, the 4th day of May, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall, 1 Kings Highway, Middletown, New Jersey at which time you may appear either in person or by agent or attorney and present any objections which you may have to granting this application.

ANSELL GRIMM & AARON
Attorneys for Applicant
By:/s/ RICK BRODSKY, ESQ,
Dated: April 18, 2011

It's Your Town Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 23 10/18/10

It's Your Town newsletter Volume 2, Issue 23 is now available.

This edition of the newsletter chronicles the Middletown Township Committee meeting of Monday night October 18,2010.

The Oct.18th Committee meeting was the last regular meeting before the upcoming election(there will be a workshop meeting on Nov.1st). Discussions regarding shared services with the BOE, the dredging of Shadow Lake, televising Township meeting and the adoption of ordinances were just a few items worth reading about.

Read the newsletter >>> Here

As a companion to the newsletter, you can watch a few videos that I made last week from this meeting. The videos are about COAH, the dredging of Shadow Lake and televising meetings and can be scene by clicking on the hyper-links.

Byrnes States In Video That Avaya COAH Plan Can Not Move Forward Until All Pending Legal Action Is Settled

During Middletown's recent Township Committee Meeting which took place on Oct 17, 2010, resident Jeffrey Blumengold was concerned about what was going on with the Avaya property in Lincroft. The property was included as part of the Township's COAH (affordable housing) development plans.

He wanted to know if anything could be done to stop the development of the sight if the builder was ready to start building the planned housing development that is slated for the property.

Towards the end of the video, Sean Byrnes can be heard saying that the Township could not allow any of the currently proposed COAH projects in town to move forward until all of the current court challenges are settled

Letter: What Planet Do They Live On ?

Here is the first offical post that makes it up onto the blog after my return. It is a letter from Barbara Thorpe who asked the question "what planet do they live on? ", which references a letter written by Tristan Nelsen, the failed former running mate of Gerry Scharfenberger, from his last re-election bid.

It should be pointed out that Tristan owes much to the local GOP establishment, she sits on many boards and commissions in Middletown and is herself part of the problem. Anyone that can justify an increase of 45% to the local municipal tax rate over the past 5 years, must be living on another planet, that goes for Ms. Nelsen as well as all the other supporters of the Middletown GOP, who burry their heads in the sand and refuse to see the truth:

I read with a sense of disgust the repeated letters supporting the mayor of Middletown by his party's faithful cronies. The most recent one from the failed candidate who ran with Scharfenberger three years ago. Can't imagine what planet she has inhabited in recent years because there is no denying the mismanagement of this township. The near forty five percent increase in the municipal tax levy in the last five years tells the whole story. No denying those figures ....no way at all.

The repeated lies and deception that this man engages in is beyond comprehension except it is explained by this man's obsessive desire for re-election. He will do or say anything to achieve that goal. To hell with the people paying the bills in this township. He could not care less. He cannot be trusted to serve the people of Middletown. Far too engrossed in party politics !

It will take legislative action to ever remove supporting the schools from the property tax bill in New Jersey and to find a secure funding for the most important job the citizens of this community and this state have to do... the education of our youth. To think otherwise is delusional and selfish. It is incomprehensible to try and understand just when Mr.Scharfenberger thinks he could ever accomplish such a change in school funding without some extensive legal support for that kind of a change. But I guess I just forget that this man has never shown any regard for the rights of the people or respect for what is and is not legal. He never has had any reservation about what or who he tramples on to serve his own agenda.

COAH is the law in New Jersey. It has recently been reaffirmed and this state has been given five months to get back on track providing affordable housing. Only Sunday the Asbury Park Press printed an article regarding this very information There may be changes to COAH but it is not going away. Again this mayor is blowing in the wind !! Get real for a change !

The disregard for the residents of this community can be seen in the proposals for turf fields in locations nobody wants and at a time when we cannot afford them. Just grandstanding in hope of deceiving the people about his motives.He needs something to try and look good for re-election. Fix the problems of the flooding in the Bayshore that have been neglected for more than twenty years. The sneaky, underhanded actions and the neglect that has surrounded those efforts tells it all !

Try an honest effort to contain expenses and make the hard decisions to reduce the workforce,reduce bond expenses,and institute the necessary measures to properly plan municipal financial obligations. Can't blame all the problems here on someone else so stop trying . Whatever plans this mayor claimed he had have never materialized . He never had any plan and the result is the exorbitant municipal tax increase this year.

Middletown will be a better community to live in when this man is gone from government here.

Barbara R. Thorpe
Middletown, NJ

No Smear Shall Go Unanswered: Latest By Vitkansas Is Not So "Amusing"

In the latest smear letter directed at Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes, I am glad that the writer finds it amusing to read other peoples letters that point out the short comings of Middletown’s mayor and other members of his beloved Republican Party. The letter, which is written by Michael Vitkansas, has appeared in various local publications recently.

Truth be told, Vitkansas is a strong and active member of the same, elite Middletown Republicans that he tries to protect by spreading misleading and sometimes inflammatory information about others. As a Republican County Committeeman representing his district in Middletown, Vitkansas has often allowed himself to be used as a tool for the local Republican machine and as a reward for his loyalty, he now sits on a number of local boards and commissions in Middletown, which makes his invocation of the “patriots of the TEA Party” in his letter, laughable in and of itself.

In his most recent lapdog attack letter, Vitkansas goes after a fellow letter writer, Jeff Blumengold, for criticizing the poor job that mayor Gerard Scharfenberger and his GOP majority has done in their planning efforts while trying to run Middletown Township over the past 5 years, by attacking Democrat Sean Byrnes.

In his letter, Vitkansas tries to label Byrnes as a socialist liberal who favors COAH, supports teachers, unions and high property taxes in his attempt to persuade readers into believing something that just is not so.

Those that know Committeeman Byrnes would describe him as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. Over the 3 years that he has been a Middletown committeeman, Byrnes has made many suggestions on how to reign in the local spending that has resulted in tax hikes that total over 39% to the municipal tax rate over the past 5 years (since mayor Scharfenberger has sat on the committee), only to be rebuked by his fellow committee members. He has never voted in support of a Township budget that has included a tax increase, including the most recently adopted 2010 budget which raises the municipal tax rate by nearly12%

Committeeman Byrnes has repeatedly stated over his 3 years on the Township Committee that programs like COAH need to be revamped and revised so that the burden of such programs do not fall onto local taxpayers. Mr. Vitkansas and others that oppose Mr. Byrnes however, point out his vote to rezone the Avaya property in Lincroft, that rezoned the property from industrial to residential in order to meet Middletown’s state mandated COAH obligation, as proof that he is not sincere or straightforward. Allow me to point out though, that the ones that are not being straightforward and sincere with Middletown residents are Vitkansas and his fellow GOP supporters that attack Byrnes on this issue. After all, it was his friends on the republican dominated Middletown Planning & Zoning Boards that came up with the plan to rezone the Avaya property so that the Township would be in compliance with COAH, not Byrnes. At the time, mayor Scharfenberger, Pam Brightbill and Tony Fiore, all current Republican members of the Township Committee, approved and voted for this rezoning as well.

Sean Byrnes knows that having a strong middle-class is the backbone and foundation of our State as well as our Country. He realizes that education plays a leading role in establishing that foundation and supports teachers and unions in general, knowing that without them there would be no middle-class as we know it today. That being said however, Mr. Byrnes has repeatedly been on the record as saying that he supports Gov. Christie’s “Tool Kit”, that reforms need to be made in order to level the playing field during contract negotiations and that state union members should be expected to contribute more to their healthcare costs.

If supporting Committeeman Sean Byrnes and his record as a member of the Middletown Township Committee in his re-election bid this November labels me as being a “socialist liberal” so be it. I love being a socialist liberal who opposes high taxes, government mismanagement and the entrenchment of the long-standing Republican ruling class.

I also happen to think that those “remarkable patriots in the Tea Party movement” that are “growing in numbers more and more with each passing day” are intelligent enough to know the difference and will also support Sean Byrnes and his running mate Mary Mahoney against Republicans that have borrowed, spent and raised local taxes to the point that it will soon become unaffordable to raise a family and live in Middletown.

Scharfenberger Videos Are Just Another Example Of His Ignorance Of Facts.

Have you seen the two videos of Middletown's acting mayor Gerry Scharfenberger being interviewed by another local blogger? The videos were made a number of weeks ago, just before the 4th of July holiday, so if you have not you can seem them, you can do so >>> here and here .

These videos are a classic examples of how Gerry Scharfenberger ignores the truth to promote his own agenda.

Scharfenbeger stated in the first video that the 13% increase in the municipal tax rate stated by Committeeman Sean Byrnes at the budget introduction meeting was not accurate, which is untrue.

In 2009 there was $40,001,112.58 raised by property taxes and this year (2010) there will be $45,549,733.91, the difference being $5,548,621.33. If you divide this difference by the 2009 amount and multiply it by 100 you will get the percentage increase for 2010, which is 13.87%. Byrnes was rounding down to 13%.

Scharfenbeger mentioned about how the lack of state aid was a factor behind the increase in the municipal tax rate. In 2009 Middletown lost, I believe $800K in state aid and Scharfenberger stated that then Gov. Jon Corzine was strangling the municipalities. In 2010 Gov. Christie has shorted Middletown twice that much,$1.6M. Now, Scharfenberger has stated that Gov. Christie is doing what is necessary to set the State on the right course, but he had no plan to deal with the loss of aid. The mayor had to have seen this coming just by the shear climate of the economy and planned appropriately for it.

This brings up a point that I am surprised others haven't talked about much; why should Middletown rely on State aid to begin with? Middletown is larger enough and should be supporting itself, not looking for handouts from the State or Federal Governments. If aid comes down from the State it should be applied to the town's surplus and the following years' budget.

When asked about the adoption of the township budget and why after 6 months into the year a budget had not been adopted yet, our acting mayor stated that each month thus far Middletown has been operating with a temporary budget that has been kept to within 75% of what was expected to spent each month.

If that's the case, why not make a yearly budget to do the same? A budget could have been made in January to include 90% of what was expected to be spent. That would leave 10% to go toward surplus. Why put off the enevitable? Given this statement Gerry expected a 13% increase, therefore he saw it coming.

In the second video, the mayor talks about unfunded mandates like COAH and opting out of the civil service system. Scharfenberger stated that millions have been spent over the years on lawyers fees to to fight lawsuits on COAH, but the reality is, if the Middletown was COAH compliant for all of those years then most of the lawsuits would not have taken place. As a matter of fact, if Middletown was compliant in many other areas of the law, then lawsuits would not have had to be fought. Many times Middletown has enabled the lawsuits to continue only to have the lawyers profit.

In wishing to opt-out of the Civil Service system, Scharfenberger stated that shared service agreements can't be reached with other towns that do not have civil service employees. He says that because of civil service requirements agreements between Middletown and other towns are nearly impossible. Now I might be wrong in presuming this but, if an agreement can be made between two municipalities whether they are civil service or not, that complies with the civil service contracts, it should be acceptable to the non-civil service employees from another towns.

Finally, the mayor claims that he had no idea of what the Governor was going to do, which has to be the furthest thing from the truth. After all, Scharfenberger was on the Governors' Transition Team writing policy for what the new Governor was going to do and he loves to tell everyone that he is in constant contact with him or Lieutenant Gov. Guadagno.

So to be taken by surprise or caught off guard by anything coming from Trenton has to be taken with a grain of salt and chalked up as nothing more than the continued issuance of half-truths an blubbery from him, in order to promote his own self interests.

Comments Made By Sean Byrnes During The March 15th Township Committee Meeting: The Budget, COAH And Trezza Field

When it came time for Committee comments after the business part of the March 15th Middletown Township Committee Meeting, Committeeman Sean Byrnes had a lot to say.

Sean Byrnes address his support of the efforts that Governor Christie was making towards potentially solving the State's budget crisis and how he hoped that Middletown would be able to address it's own budget problems. Byrnes went on the discuss the potential changes to the COAH laws and hoped that once COAH was redefined Middeltown would be able to zone back recent rezoned properties around town to their prior pre- COAH zoning, most noticably the Avaya property in Lincroft.

Byrnes then went on to address the issue of turf fields in town and his potential support to relook at the fesiblity of expanding Trezza Field, the current home of the Pop Warner Chargers, instead of supporting the planned sports complex at West Front Street that has been loudly opposed by the Chargers and the citizens group SONIC.

As you can imaging, Byrnes gained a rousing and vocal show of support for his comments by the members of the Chargers and SONIC that were in attendance.

His comments about Trezza Field start about 4 minutes into the audio clip below for those that are interested in hearing what Sean Byrnes had to say.

N.J. Senate panel considers plan to transfer affordable housing control to towns

(Question - How would this new proposal be enforced to ensure that towns did not shirk their responsibilities to provide affordabled housing and if RCA's are reinstated how do you ensure that wealthier towns make timely payments to the towns receiving the compensation?)

NJ.Com -
By Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON -- The state Senate began work today on a bill to transform the way affordable housing is handled in New Jersey, including transferring control to towns and abolishing a council that has been criticized as ineffective.

The proposal, still a very much a draft, would disband the controversial Council on Affordable Housing and turn its powers over to the State Planning Commission, ending 25 years of state power over municipal planning.

The goal is to create a standard level of affordable housing and allow municipalities to determine for themselves whether they meet that standard, said Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), the bill’s sponsor.

“This bill is an attempt to simplify the process,” Lesniak said, noting he’s never met anyone who was happy with the council, known as COAH.

New Jersey’s current approach stems from the state Supreme Court’s 1975 and 1983 Mount Laurel decisions, which are named for the Burlington County township that was sued. The court said every resident is entitled to access to affordable housing.

A decade later, the state passed the Fair Housing Act and created COAH to implement policy. Critics of the policy say the models for determining the need for housing are outdated and saddle cities and towns with unnecessary extra housing and residents — and the accompanying cost of providing services to them.

Municipalities without enough housing would be able to offer builders incentives to make 20 percent of their developments affordable.

Under the legislation, builders still can legally challenge towns on whether they provide their required affordable housing. That provision allows developers the right to build units against a town’s wishes.

Dozens of people who came to testify at today’s hearing were cut off as time ran out, but Lesniak said they would have many more chances to speak. The committee will hold another hearing on the bill Monday but does not expect to vote.

Critics of the bill say it is a giveaway to developers, would allow municipalities to shirk their responsibilities and could endanger housing for the disabled. Lesniak said disabled residents would be protected in the legislation’s final version.

Low-income housing advocates say the bill would return New Jersey to pre-Mount Laurel practices and needs to be more targeted toward economic development goals.

“It’s shortsighted. It’s narrow-minded,” said Joseph Picard, spokesman for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “We need to be thinking in terms of building housing near jobs and transportation.”

The bill also would temporarily bring back agreements between municipalities that allow towns, in essence, to sell off their affordable-housing requirements to other cities or towns. That practice was outlawed in 2008 with 5,000 units worth $116 million in the pipeline. The bill would allow those stalled deals to move forward if they are approved by the state by the end of 2011.

Though Lesniak said he has not spoken with Gov. Chris Christie, he thinks the proposal will have a “better opportunity” to pass than it would have under the Corzine administration. Christie has said he wanted to “gut” COAH but yesterday said he did not know enough about the bill to comment.

Letter: Byrnes & Short; Working For Solutions While Republicans Ignored Or Litigated COAH Obligations

I do not understand how the Middletown Republicans can continue to blame Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short for the township's affordable housing obligations. The Fair Housing Act and the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) mandates were initiated when Republican Gov. Thomas Kean was in office. They are a matter of state law, not township preference.

It was also a Republican-majority on the Township Committee that tried to ignore or litigate its COAH obligations for years, only to find out that it would have to scramble to build affordable housing on the Avaya and Town Center sites to meet its affordable housing obligations.

By deciding to fight the law, we missed a golden opportunity to enter into regional contribution agreements (RCAs) with neighboring towns. In one such opportunity, Middletown gave up the chance to purchase 80 units of affordable housing from Red Bank by not allocating the money required to satisfy the agreement. Red Bank nullified the agreement and chose to partner with the Township of Manalapan instead. After litigation attempts failed, Middletown tried to rekindle a deal with Red Bank, but it was too late. Middletown and its Republican committee were left with the obligation to build 75 affordable housing units at the Avaya site. The Avaya obligation is causing much controversy in Lincroft today, which is unfortunate because it could have all been avoided if the township had gone through with the Red Bank deal in the first place.

Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short are not shirking responsibility and leaving our township's fate to costly litigation, like their predecessors did. They have consistently voted in favor of challenging the method COAH uses to determine affordable housing obligations. What Byrnes and Short have not supported are township resolutions that are purely political and do not offer solutions to Middletown's housing challenges. Republican committee members got our township into this COAH confusion, yet they are more concerned about pointing fingers than finding a way ahead. Byrnes and Short are working for real solutions and that is why I will be voting for them in November.

Don Watson

New Monmouth

Byrnes Sends Open Letter To Corzine Asking For 3 Year Moratorium on COAH

Middletown Democratic Committeeman and candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder, Sean F. Byrnes, sent this open letter to Governor Jon Corzine recently asking him to consider placing a 3 year moratorium on COAH regulations while our state "wrestles with the financial crises that has cripples our economy".

I think Byrnes's request is a sensible one when considering the state of the economy and falling real estate values. I hope that the Governor will consider it:

Dear Governor Corzine,

I write to you as an elected official in the Township of Middletown. In compliance with the most recent guidance from the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), we submitted our Affordable Housing Plan to COAH in December 2008. Although our Township Committee met its legal obligation, we did so with great reservation.

Middletown is an economically diverse Township whose history is free from any effort or intention to exclude or restrict the growth of a base of affordable housing. Nevertheless, because of the calculations that we must employ under COAH regulations, we must now expand our base of affordable housing. To meet the goals imposed by COAH, we must compel land owners and developers to add additional housing units that might not otherwise be constructed in the Township. We do so at a time when the marketability of these units, due to the current housing crisis, is open to question.

While I recognize that COAH was created in response to a legal mandate from the New Jersey Supreme Court, I write now to ask that you consider a three year moratorium on imposition of the most recent round of COAH regulations. As I know you are keenly aware, our country continues to wrestle with a financial crisis that has crippled our economy. I commend you for making hard choices this year to counter a $4.0 billion dollar loss of budgeted revenue, and I am asking for this additional step to assist local municipalities in their efforts to engage in thoughtful use of their land and to balance their budgets during these difficult times.

A moratorium would take the pressure off and allow all parties, including the Legislature, to assess the financial impact of this most recent round of legislation in the light of this recent financial downturn and to engage in this implementation process at a future time when this crisis will have abated and not loom so largely over our decision-making.

I am concerned that we are making very permanent decisions on the future of our housing stock and the use of our limited, undeveloped property at a time when the full impact of this financial crisis has yet to be fully measured and its long-term consequences assessed. I thank you for your consideration on this very important matter.

Very truly yours,
Committeeman Sean F. Byrnes
Township of Middletown