The first phase of Morristown’s long-awaited Speedwell Avenue redevelopment now calls for dramatically fewer affordable housing units than were agreed upon previously, a change that provoked spirited and sometimes testy debate last night at a three-hour council meeting before a large crowd.
Revisions supported by Mayor Tim Dougherty would require the developer to set aside just 5 percent of 268 apartments as affordable units. An agreement approved by the prior administration imposed a 20 percent obligation on Trammell Crow.
Several residents joined council members Jim Smith and Raline Smith-Reid in arguing for the higher number.
But the Mayor asserted that the developer had opened his books and proven the project cannot fly, economically, if he must meet the tougher burden. Banks won’t lend money to the project if the developer is held to the old agreement, said Rich Murphy, spokesman for Trammell Crow subsidiary Morristown Development LLC.
“Affordable housing in the state of New Jersey is broken,” Rich said. “Everyone in this room should know that it doesn’t work.”
Resident Helen Arnold insisted the town has a “moral obligation” to create affordable housing, in addition to an ordinance mandating 12.5 percent of housing be affordable. Councilman Jim Smith said he was “really disappointed” with the 5 percent figure.
The Mayor said he favors creating affordable housing through town partnerships with Homeless Solutions and other social service agencies. Nonprofits have a good track record of building and managing affordable housing projects in town, he said.
STREETSCAPES
Responding to complaints from Speedwell business people and residents, the administration also announced it will pursue a state grant to spruce up Speedwell Avenue.
Business Administrator Michael Rogers said the town will assist the Morristown Partnership, the business organization that oversees the downtown “special improvement district,” in applying for a $400,000 Department of Community Affairs grant to beautify the Speedwell “streetscape.”
Speedwell business owners Marty Epstein, Thomas Rago and Keisha Johnson said the neighborhood has been overlooked for too long and needs attention now, regardless of the redevelopment status.
Better lighting, better sidewalks, and better zoning enforcement to ensure tidy storefronts are imperative, they said. Marty and area resident Carolle Huber, who helped build a community garden within the redevelopment zone, urged the town to earmark a portion of proceeds from the future sale of the public works building for Speedwell enhancements.
The phase one apartment building would be constructed on the DPW site, behind Early Street and Atno Avenue. Its proposed six-story height bothered at least one resident, who said too many tall structures will spoil Morristown’s charm.
When pressed by a resident, Michael Rogers acknowledged that the town does not yet have a new home for the DPW or for the ambulance squad, which also would be displaced by the phase one building.
Another resident said she hoped a neighborhood grocery store would be part of the redevelopment. Others praised the town planners, Jonathan Rose Companies, for incorporating green, pedestrian-friendly themes into the redevelopment mix.
Architect Dean Marchetto said he has striven to reflect the character of Morristown in preliminary sketches of the phase one design. Phase two would create a miniature version of the Morristown Green, complete with “woonerfs”–lanes shared by pedestrians and motorists.
Nobody, however, could furnish a timeline for any part of the four-phase redevelopment.
The planners reiterated that they have shelved plans for a costly realignment of Spring and Early streets, to the consternation of resident Ed Ramirez, who lamented daily traffic backups at the intersection.
Stay tuned for some video highlights from the meeting.
MORE ABOUT THE SPEEDWELL AVENUE REDEVELOPMENT
