Residents disagree with Hartz Mountain plans

Big box stores, small open space disputed at old Ford site meeting

BY JOHN DUNPHY

Staff Writer

It’s back to the drawing board for Hartz Mountain.That was the general consensus of many residents who filled the council chambers last week for the presentation by developer Hartz Mountain of the Edison Town Square proposal on the former site of the Ford Motor Co. plant.

Hartz Mountain, a Secaucas-based developer, purchased the 97-acre tract of land from Ford in 2004. Several public meetings were held last year, allowing residents to voice their opinion on what should and what shouldn’t be built on the land.

Although the proposal for the Edison Town Square concept by Hartz Mountain took only 45 minutes, the meeting lasted almost four hours, as resident after resident stood up to give their take.

The initial proposal by Hartz, a preliminary draft, showed what presenter Alan Smith described as an outdoor lifestyle center, which he said differed from an indoor mall.

Main access would be gained via Route 1 southbound, with the possibility of a secondary entrance along Vineyard Road. The center would feature retail stores, restaurants as well as a movie theater. A landscaped buffer of 50 feet would be set up on the north side of the property, while 2.8 acres would be donated to the township as open space.

In addition, two large areas equaling roughly 130,000 square feet each anchored the site from east to west — the potential sites of large retail chains, what are commonly known as “big box stores.”

“If there was one universal feeling from everyone, it was that we did not want big box stores,” said resident Arnold Singer.

“The impression I got is you didn’t want Wal-mart,” Smith retaliated, prompting audible groans from the audience. “This is not a site plan. We just believe this is an appropriate use.”

Many members of the audience came to speak before the dais, echoing similar complaints. Besides a lack of approval at the potential “big box stores,” residents disagreed with several other issues, including the potentially large volumes of traffic created by the new development, and a proposal to build up to 275 age-restricted units on the site.

“We have enough housing,” said Irene Wall. “We already have more housing coming in. I don’t think we need housing here.”

Robert Spiegel, executive director of the Edison Wetlands Association, called the plan a joke.

“The public had some great ideas,” he said. “It was a balanced redevelopment. This has no balance, this is about how much money they can make.”

Residents said some of the things they would like to see on the site are a community center, a library and possibly a new building for the increasingly overcrowded public school system.

“What Edison needs more than anything else is a school,” said resident Dan Kovak. “Could Hartz give us a school? That might be something that will make everyone happy.”

Although council member Anthony Massaro called the redevelopment of the Ford site “an awesome opportunity,” he echoed the statements of most people in council chambers.

“What needs to happen is we need to take the comments from the residents and go back to the drawing board,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

Council member Charles Tomaro said he thought Hartz Mountain would donate far more land than what they brought to the table last week.

“We thought we’d get 15 acres, maybe 20 acres, not 2.8,” he said.

“You can’t put anything on 2.8 acres. That’s a parking lot,” said a man in the audience.

While most of the comments voiced by residents in attendance were less than favorable of the proposal, most agreed actual redevelopment was needed on the site.

“This presents us with the opportunity to improve our quality of life,” said resident Stephen Shuey. “We’ve been overdeveloped and saturated. I’ve seen the beautiful open space here deteriorated. There once was an actual vineyard on Vineyard Road.”

Mayor Jun Choi later said a balance would need to be made between what was good for the community and developer.

“I like the Edison Town Square concept, but I am personally concerned with big box companies,” he said. “I would like to have a community center or a library.”

Choi also said he was concerned with the open space donation, calling it a “token measure.” He noted, however, that last week’s presentation was only the first step in a multi-step process that would likely stretch on for several months.

Edison has requested $100,000 be placed in an escrow account by Hartz Mountain to allow the township the opportunity to conduct its own independent traffic impact studies, economic analysis and to receive an independent planner’s view of the entire concept, the mayor said.

Ultimately, Choi said, it would be up to the council to eventually decide on the future of the site.

“What we’re having is full public discussion,” he said. “We’ll weigh the options and move forward. We’re going to listen to the community and see what they want.”

Spiegel said this presentation wasn’t the end of the process.

“We can’t look back, but we can look forward to what we want our town to be,” he said. “This isn’t it; this is sprawl.”