Thursday’s Morristown planning board meeting was more noteworthy for what did not occur than for what actually transpired over the course of two hours on Zoom.
The main event–discussion of 60 apartments proposed for Cory Road–never happened. After 19 months of plans, reports and reviews, and multiple hearings that stirred opposition from neighbors, the developer withdrew his application.
“That was probably one of the most arduous, meandering and often frustrating testimony that I’ve had to endure in the decades that I’ve been on this board. So I did not shed a tear when I heard the news,” Chairman Joe Stanley said of JMF/RD Morristown LLC‘s decision to scrap the project, which initially sought approvals for 90 units.
And a scheduled “courtesy” presentation by Morris County officials about their plans for an eight-story courthouse got punted to Jan. 25, 2024.
That also is when the board, likely with some new members, will hear a continuation of Thursday’s pitch from Jersey Central Power & Light for permission to proceed with a $76 million upgrade to a flood-prone, 90-year-old electrical substation near the Whippany River on Ridgedale Avenue.
The board seemed poised to vote on those plans–already the subject of several hearings–but the aesthetics of a 30-foot high, 200-foot-long concrete screening wall gave members pause. Mayor Tim Dougherty said an architectural rendering looked like a prison wall. Board Chairman Joe Stanley compared it to a warehouse.
Stanley also objected to a smaller section of fencing topped by barbed wire; he contended a no-climb chain link fence would be just as secure. A JCP&L engineer pushed back, noting the substation houses dangerous equipment. Barbed-wire fencing was approved in 2008 and is there now, he said.
“The town has progressed significantly since 2008,” countered Stanley, asserting Morristown has “a strong preference not to have barbed wire around.”
When JCP&L’s attorney, John Suminski, asked to expedite resolution of these matters, the mayor asserted it’s the utility’s fault things have dragged on so long. Prior meetings “were not very productive,” Dougherty said, pointing out how the town’s zoning officer had to help Suminski’s team with technical issues at last month’s virtual hearing.
The board requested more renderings from different angles, to better gauge the project’s scale and appearance. Town Planner Phil Abramson was tasked with collaborating with JCP&L over the next few weeks.
OPEN SPACE, WOODED BACKYARDS
Nobody from the Cory Road “Morristown Residential” project appeared at Thursday’s meeting, and no explanation was given for the withdrawal of that application.
The developer–who built a massive townhome/retail redevelopment next door in Morris Township, on the the former Colgate-Palmolive tract–could not be reached for comment on Thursday afternoon.
Original plans included 26 “affordable” apartments for seniors. That was whittled to 12 affordable units when the whole project got a haircut.
At hearings stretching back nearly a year, questions were raised about sidewalks, open space, parking and trash. Some people who bought places on the Township side were organizing opposition, claiming the Morristown development would encroach on the wooded backyards JMF had touted in its sales pitches.
On Thursday the board also unanimously adopted resolutions formalizing a pair of recent decisions.
One declared vacant storefronts along North Park Place near the Morristown Green as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment. The other killed plans for 38 apartments with retail near the Grasshopper Off the Green restaurant on Morris Street, by denying a third extension of the Bakod Holding Corporation’s 2018 approval.
Wrapping up the session, Stanley said he hoped longtime council liaison Stefan Armington, who leaves the council this month, and board member Chris Russo, who becomes a councilman in January, will be reappointed.
“There will be changes coming to the board,” was all Dougherty would say. The mayor hinted one of them may involve a return to in-person meetings; the board has met virtually since the pandemic.
Really glad there will be no apartments built on Cory Road. It is ALWAYS backed up during rush hour and an absolute pain to navigate at that time. This would’ve exacerbated that problem. When will enough building be enough in this area? Will developers and towns not stop until every bit of open space is sucked up and paved over?