New ordinance puts brakes on housing plans
BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer

METUCHEN — Borough officials are trying to curb high-density housing in the western section of the township.

The Borough Council unanimously adopted an ordinance at the Aug. 1 meeting that removed a previous ordinance already on the books.

“The original ordinance would allow people to build high-density housing on the Gulton property,” Mayor Edmund O’Brien said. “If the ordinance we are considering tonight passes, then it would essentially stop the building of high-density housing there.”

“This stops the process and opens it up for discussion,” said Councilman Richard Weber. “We put it back to where it was in 2000.”

The original ordinance refers to a section of the borough in the west designated as an R-5 overlay residential district.

The borough zoning map shows that the R-5 district is composed of two other districts, an R-2 residential district and a light industrial district.

The overlapping R-5 district permitted townhouses and apartments to be built in either the R-2 or LI districts, according to Metuchen’s land development code.

Ralph Salerno, an attorney who represents Metuchen Realty Acquisitions Associates, LLC, which owns property in the R-5 district, asked the council to take more time to consider the ordinance.

“There is no need to rush,” Salerno said. “Perhaps there is a middle ground, and it is a matter of balancing the public’s rights with the property owner’s rights. It seems that we are throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Salerno said his clients would agree to a moratorium on any development applications until the developer’s planner had a chance to meet with the borough planner.

Metuchen Realty is in the process of selling the property to Baker Residential, a residential developer, Salerno said.

Baker Residential is the home-building division of Baker Companies, a division that has built more than 14,000 homes in over 106 communities, according to the company’s Web site.

Metuchen resident Carol Duncan spoke out against further development.

“With more kids from housing units, there is no accountability for the developer to put money into the school system,” Duncan said. “It is annoying to hear we might have to do more school construction right after we were done with all that.”

Resident Tim Dacey also supported the new ordinance.

“To build 158 units on a handful of acres is not best for our town,” Dacey said. “By the town council amending the ordinance, it removes an immediate threat of 158 units to the borough. The number one concerns in Metuchen are traffic and school overcrowding. By doing what you are doing tonight, you will slow the process down and allow cooler heads to prevail.”

The next step in the process is a technical review committee meeting to be held on Sept. 16, for further discussion on the issue, Salerno said.