N.J. Senate approves senior housing bill

Here’s the article from Thursday’s Courier.

So here’s the thing… Crystal Ridge almost attempted this a few years ago.  A portion of their development is in North Plainfield and without our asking, they OFFERED to make it age-restricted housing as a means of getting us to agree to letting them build on the North Plainfield portion of the lot.  They later kind of “felt out” members of the Planning Board to see if they were open to the idea of removing the age restriction.

I (Heather) was on the Planning Board when they were doing the “feeling out”, but not when the application was in front of the Board.  So I asked them if we required it of them.  Our attorney said that we did not: they offered.  My answer was that I would assume they had done their market analysis and research when they made that offer and/or could move the rental price (which is, by the way, outrageous) to fill the requirement although it may cut into their profits.  After all–that’s their business, right?  It’s not my place to tell them their business.  They offered.  We didn’t require.

People don’t see that real estate is pretty much no different than the stock market: you make an educated decision to take a level of risk and you deal with the consequences the market brings to bear.  If the stock market tanks, nobody’s restoring the life savings you dumped into it back to 75% of it’s purchase price… I’m not sure why anyone would make the same concessions for real estate.  It’s no different: you ride out the market.  Eventually, it comes back–it’s just a matter of how many years that will take.  I’m sure you can talk to countless 50-somethings who can fully explain this agony to you in terms of their retirement portfolio.  When it comes to real estate–it’s not different.  Markets are markets.  You have to live in a house you wanted to move from longer.  When it’s business, you have to cut into the profit margin, file bankruptcy or suffer whatever other loss comes with the risks you took.  And frankly, with so many of our homes in foreclosure, I fail to see where a business should be spared the same fate for similar “hard times”.  I mean, they have way more education and experience backing their decisions.  If they don’t, then they’re subject to the same “learning pains”–are they not?  Because if not, let me incorporate myself and buy my home as a business.

Personally, if the Villa Maria property isn’t going to be open space (and I’m not even close to satisfied with the fact that they couldn’t simply make formal application for the space and instead are expecting the public to believe the “he said, she said” crap when putting it to bed costs us NOTHING), then I’m glad we decided on ARC zoning.  Of course, there’s some bias in that statement because I introduced it in May or June of 2003 before the developers even came into all of this; and I’m not thrilled about the density although it is lower than all the prior plans (by at least half of the originals).

But the bigger question has yet to be answered.  You see, many residents believe that the Council and Mayor are “in bed” with the developer.  They profess that they are doing what is within their power to spare the town the worst of development impact on that property.  In light of the fact that it’s not going to be open space, yes–I believe this WOULD spare us to some extent (if only in impact to the schools and some of the traffic).  Let’s see how willing they are to fight for that “protection”.  Are they going to cave under the premise of “they’ll take it to Trenton and win anyway” veiled as money-savings for our town (just like not undertaking open space for that property)?

Time will tell…

C.H.A.T.S. Meeting, Monday, June 22, 2009

C.H.A.T.S.

Connected Hearts Adoption
Triad Support Group

We are proudly announcing guest speaker:

Somerset County Surrogate, Frank Bruno.
Joining him will be Deputy Surrogate Layton who has been a DYFS Attorney before
joining Somerset County.

Topics:
Legal policies and procedures concerning adoption of children, benefits of open v. closed adoptions,
role of attorneys in formalizing adoptions

Monday – June 22, 2009
7:15 p.m.

Watchung Ave. Pres. Church (WAPC)
170 Watchung Ave.
No. Plainfield, NJ 07060

Contact: Joann  jhoppe123@aol.com / Sue (908)561-9654 / Gretchen   mamagigi@comcast.net
Light refreshments  & sharing time included

Courier News coverage of June 8, 2009 Council meeting

Here’s the link…

Letter To Courier Editor Regarding North Plainfield Rezoning of Villa Maria Property – Barbara Habeeb

The North Plainfield Borough Council has unanimously voted “yes” to an ordinance that would rezone the property at Villa Maria from R-2 residential to R-9 Age Restricted Condos. ARC zoning is about 10 years past it’s prime, and a bill recently went through the Senate and Assembly that would allow age-restrictions to be lifted by builders who claim hardship, but nonetheless, they voted “yes.”

I knew, of course, that the ordinance would be passed. But I expected at least a couple of “no” votes. I was really taken by surprise.  I am floored. I am stunned. I am speechless. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves. That includes our Mayor, Mr. Giordano, who hasn’t the gumption to make a decision on his own. It is obvious that our Mayor and Council allow themselves to be led by the nose by a town attorney who has no regard for North Plainfield whatsoever. Think about that. They respect Mr. Bernstein more than they respect the people they are supposed to represent. Looks like they respect the Villa Maria developer even more. They must be omnipotent. They seem to know what’s best for North Plainfield better than any one else who lives here. Even though residents pleaded with them and asked them to think twice before making the biggest blunder North Plainfield will ever encounter, it didn’t matter. People poured their hearts out, but the Mayor and Council didn’t even pretend to care what the citizens of North Plainfield had to say. This was a done deal, long before last night. No listening, no pondering, no discussion. In spite of every good reason not to rezone, they went ahead and voted “yes.” Mrs. Forbes barely got the word out. The hearing was held because it was required by law. The players were only there because they HAD to be. I observed our Council and Mayor daydreaming, twiddling their fingers, eating candy, whispering to each other, laughing and looking at Mr.Bernstein as he reassured them with signals not to worry.   What does this say about the character of the people who represent North Plainfield? Not very much in my mind. Any respect I had for them went out the window on June 8, 2009. I have never in my life enountered such a group of hypocrites.

I would have thought that Mr. Merrill, with school aged children, would have taken his own kids future into consideration when making his decision. With the new bill that the Senate passed, Age Restriction will surely be lifted, and the schools will become increasingly overcrowded. Will you be sending your children to private schools Mr. Merrill? I hope you can afford it.

I would have thought that Mr. Hitchcock (aka, The tree man), would have thought twice about destroying all those beautiful healthy trees. Especially our NJ champion white pine. Why be on a tree committee if you don’t care about killing healthy trees, Mr. Hitchcock?

I would have thought that Mrs. Forbes, who claims to be such an expert on Historic Preservation and supposedly cares so much about it, would have taken into consideration the history of a building that dates back to 1876. Why bother discussing Historic Preservation when you just helped us lose a huge chunk of our towns history, Mrs. Forbes?

I would have thought that Mr. Singleterry, who wants to be a County Freeholder (you know, the people who advocate for open space), would consider the fact that our last parcel of open space will be forever lost. Why are you running for County Freeholder when you don’t even care about losing your own towns last parcel of open space, Mr. Singleterry?

I would have thought that Mr. LaRonde, the man who supposedly believes in the will of the people, would have had the guts to stand up and vote no upon hearing the testimony of so many who are against this. Why pretend that you are there for the will of the people, Mr. LaRonde, when you are in fact doing the will of the Mayor and Council?

I would have thought that Mr. Righetti, a long time resident of North Plainfield, a senior citizen and a member of the Planning Board, would have taken into consideration that most seniors cannot afford such housing, and that the age restriction will surely be lifted. Why are you even on the Planning Board if you don’t care about our town’s Master Plan, Mr. Righetti?

I would have thought that Mr. Stabile, who has lived in North Plainfield all his life and claims how much he cares about the town, would have considered all the negative ramifications that this development will bring. He lives in an apartment, so he doesn’t have to worry about selling his home when he wants to bail out. Do you plan on staying here, Mr. Stabile? And by the way, yes, it is personal.

Oh, I forgot. They don’t have to answer questions.

June 8th Agenda and Regular Council Meeting Audio

In all its glory…..

June 8th Agenda and Regular Council Meeting Audio

The audio is more than 2 hours given the amount of public comments. For those of you who left the meeting before it was adjourned, Mr. Bernstein, Mr. Hollod, Mayor Giordano and the council representatives provided their remarks at the end. These start at around 2:15, beginning with Mr. Bernstein.

Villa Maria public hearing–Mon. June 8, 2009

On Monday, June 8,  7:30 P.M. at West End School there will be a public hearing on an ordinance that if passed would rezone the Villa Maria Property to permit  220 age restricted housing units.  You will have the opportunity to express you view on this matter.  Everyone that wants to speak will have as much time as they need to convey their point to our elected officials.

Please ask your neighbors to attend this meeting.

East End Annual Fair – Sat. June 6th

Sorry folks… just got this one!

The East End Annual Fair will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2009 from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm at East End School, 170 Oneida Avenue, North Plainfield.

Come out and enjoy the awesome amusements, pony rides, music, great food, basket auctions and all around family fun!!!

Sophomore class fundraiser–Sat. June 6th

Sophmore Class Fundraiser at Car Nutz Sho

Our last fundraiser of the year will be the Car Nutz Car Club 4th Annual Car Show, to be held on Saturday, June 6 from 8:00 am – 3:00pm at the St. Lukes Church on 300 Clinton Avenue in North Plainfield.

The rain date will be Saturday, June 13, same times and place.  The Sophomore Class is responsible for the selling of refreshments, including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, sausages, hotdogs, cans of soda, and bottles of water.  The Car Nutz Car Club will be donating the meat products, the condiments, the cheese, the grill, tables and chairs, and some baked goods.