The June 26th Berkeley Heights Town Council meeting started with several presentations.  Troop 368 Life Scout, Ian Williams, laid out a proposal to build picnic benches for the Littell Lord Homestead property.  A representative from DMR architects went over the results of three Nokia Vision Sessions that were held with town residents and others.  Bill Hamilton from Bowman Consulting and Lance Blake, the architect for Terrace One on Springfield and Sherman Avenues, presented the design for the building of Terrace Two, next to the existing building.

Community input gathered by DMR showed historic preservation was high on the list of priorities for the 150 acre Nokia property.  The format for these listening sessions was created based on the results from the township survey.  It was noted that the survey is still active, though it wasn’t clear whether new survey submissions would be used going forward.  There was some support for mixed development and commercial applications, strong support for a pharmaceutical or biological use, and strong support for a specialty grocery store.  Residents expressed a desire for recreational facilities, outdoor spaces, and a community center, and community facilities, as well as a live/work/play development for seniors.  There was opposition to a mid-sized sporting arena.  Under the broad category of housing, senior living was widely supported.  A preference for diverse housing types, with single-family preferred, was expressed, along with an interest in multi-generational housing.  Approximately 200 people attended these sessions.  Ms. Viana reported that the full report will be available on the township website within a week or so.

One resident asked for an example of “community facilities”.  The DMR representative said this was further detailed in the report, but gave the example of an ice rink with community rooms.  A second resident asked how the township expected to dictate what happens with the property, as it isn’t owned by the township.  The answer is that the township can somewhat control the type of development through the use of zoning.  It was noted that Nokia is the townships largest taxpayer, and that if future development resulted in significantly less tax income – for example in the case of a public park, the town could face the need to cut services.  A third resident asked what the township learned from Connell, noting that the best lessons are learned from experience.  DMR responded that they would work with the Town Council and the Planning Board to look at both Connell and downtown Berkeley Heights, with both the representative and town council members stating that they would keep in mind a desire to protect both these areas’ current businesses.  The last resident to comment asked if Mike (Mistrada?) was, or would be, involved.  Ms. Viana answered that the township wanted to do their planning and research first, and noted that New Providence also is involved in the planning, as they own some of the frontage on Mountain Avenue.  Representatives from New Providence had attended the listening sessions.

Architect Lance Blake reviewed plans for a second, L-shaped “Terrace” building next to the first.  This structure will also have frontage on both Springfield and Sherman Avenues, and will be to the west of the existing apartments, with the Springfield side being the narrow part of the ‘L’.  The style is complementary to the first building, and there will be a walkway between the buildings connecting the two streets. The top floor of the building is set back, and will not be visible from the street. There will be 20% affordable units, with all but one unit being one- or two-bedrooms.  One resident asked about lighting along the walkway, and who would maintain it.  The upkeep will fall to the property owner.  Another resident asked if this building was permissible  by the town’s plan, and whether it needed approval.  Ms. Illis responded that the building is consistent with the town’s master plan to make Sherman Avenue walkable.  One last question arose as to how quickly the new units being built in town are being filled.  Mayor Devanney replied that the existing apartment buildings are all at or close to capacity.

There were ordinances up for final adoption: a stop sign ordinance, regulation of the number of library board members, pay rates for off-duty officers, and the creating of Complete and Green Streets Task Force.  Resident comments focused mainly on the stop sign ordinance.  One resident was concerned that the township wasn’t following state regulation in approving the stop signs included in the ordinance.  Mayor Devanny replied that the township engineer gave “engineering judgement” approval, and that is sufficient to comply with the state.  The resident told the council and mayor that any report must be written out and signed, and he appeared to believe that such a document does not exist at this time.

During the second public comment hearing, residents asked about the status of the Mountain Avenue sidewalk project, expressed gratitude and compliments to those working on the town’s affordable housing commitments, spoke on the grant money for Littell Lord preservation and the phases of the project, and asked questions about the purchase and use of license plate readers.  The sidewalk project will start at Park Avenue and progress toward Plainfield as money allows.  Some trees may need to be removed if their root systems interfere with the sidewalk.  There will not be Belgian block installed due to costs, and it was mentioned that many of the street that are lined were put in place using money received from the homeowners in those communities.  There is not currently enough funding to do the entire length of Mountain Avenue from Park to Plainfield.

On affordable housing, it was noted that mandates from the state left townships with a very tight timeline for approving the most recent round of housing.  There is a presentation on the township website about this fourth round.  The town is facing a deadline of June 30th to submit their plan to the state.  Mrs. Illis read a statement in which she praised the those involved for meeting the required number of affordable apartments with “fewer overall units”.

Concern was expressed about the data collected by license plate readers, though the resident speaking did not say he opposed the purchase.  The police captain, who was present at the meeting, noted that we have one reader already that was supplied by the state, and that there are others as well.  It wasn’t clear where or when we got the other license plate readers, with the Captain only noting “it’s complicated”.  Data storage is goverened by the state of New Jersey, similar to the information gathered by red light cameras.

The agreement with Plainfield Humane Society is similar to what was in place last year, but with a new ‘cost per pound’ for disposal of animal remains.  It was repeated several times that anyone who needs assistance with stray animals, injured, or deceased animals should first call the non-emergency police number, and the police would then determine if Plainfield Humane Society would be notified.  Residents should not call 911, and should not tag council member Bill Machado, as he has his hands full as an Animal Control officer for another town.

Ordinance moved forward for first reading at the next meeting included fees for food vendors and lead-based paint inspections.

All ordinances were passed by unanimous vote for this session.