Morris Township hotel hearing scuttled…again

Area view showing proposed location of hotel (red lines) at 340 Mt. Kemble Ave. in Morris Townshipm March 9, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin
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Morris Township neighbors worrying about a 225-room hotel going up in their backyard have nothing to fear.

The public hearings can’t even get off the ground.

Township officials had to pull the plug about an hour into a special meeting on Tuesday night, because the municipality’s Zoom site could not handle the traffic.

The virtual gathering had been postponed last month, when the wrong year was entered on public announcements.

“We reached our capacity with Zoom,” Mayor Jeff Grayzel told viewers around 8 pm, after officials tried for about 15 minutes to resolve the problem.

“We underestimated the number of people who were going to attend tonight and our account wasn’t big enough. And I apologize for that.

NOW YOU SEE THEM… Morris Township officials moments before they pulled the plug on special Zoom hearing, March 9, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin

“For that reason, we are going to cease the hearing tonight. And we are going to have to start all over again. So those of you who listened to the testimony tonight, we’re going to have to do that all over again, for the people who were not able to get into the meeting.”

Committeewoman Cathy Wilson said her computer indicated 99 people logged into the hearing. But others could not get in, according to Grayzel, who likened the situation to ancient times, before the pandemic, when hot meetings were adjourned because residents could not shoehorn into the packed council chambers.

The Township committee ultimately must decide whether to approve a redevelopment plan that would allow Onyx Equities LLC to add a four-story hotel next to former AT&T offices at 340 Mt. Kemble Ave.

Grayzel began the meeting by assuring viewers it was strictly an informational session for the public, and the committee would vote another time.  A new hearing date could be announced at next week’s regular monthly committee meeting, he said, noting a legal requirement of 10 days’ notice.

Morris Township Planner Paul Phillips at shortened virtual special meeting, March 9, 2021. Screenshot by Kevin Coughlin

Township Planner Paul Phillips was fielding committee members’ questions about signage and buffer zones between the proposed hotel and neighbors on Frederick Place, and public comments were about to start, when the meeting was halted.

Phillips had given a history of the 40-acre office park, and the Township’s 2017 master plan. That plan advocated innovative mixed-use development to help struggling office parks remain competitive, and preserve the municipal tax base, he said.

After Onyx acquired the 400,000-square-foot office building and surrounding property via foreclosure in 2016, the Woodbridge realty investment/management firm discussed scenarios including multi-family housing with the Township’s Technical Coordinating Committee, Phillips said.

By designating 340 Mt. Kemble Ave. as an “area in need of redevelopment” last year, the governing body gained more control to shape the project, the planner said.

The number of  rooms was capped, and size limits were imposed on conference areas and ballrooms to ensure the hotel caters to business travelers, and not large events, he said.

But don’t take our word for it. Stay tuned for an encore performance by Phillips, date and time TBD.

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