Development

EXPLAINING THE PLAN – Malvika Apte, an engineer who created the Township’s proposed affordable housing plan covering the next 10 years, describes the plan before the Planning Board on June 18. UPDATE: The Township Council at its June 24 meeting endorsed the Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan. Next stop is the state Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program. …

More than 150 people gathered in and around the township Cultural Arts Gazebo June 12 to renew their opposition to a project they thought they’d already defeated. The group rallied in the wake of the decision by Texas-based Williams-Transco to petition the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate their three-state project that would include building a 32,000-horsepower, natural gas-powered twin-turbine …

TARGET AREA – An aerial view of the properties targeted in the Planning Board’s June 4 resolution. Five parcels totaling about 3.5 acres, located along Franklin Boulevard near Lewis Street, were designated as being in need of redevelopment by the Planning Board at its June 4 meeting. The five lots are being eyed by Township officials for affordable housing, a …

Artist’s rendering of proposed compressor station in Franklin. A Texas-based natural gas pipeline company has asked a federal agency to reinstate its authorization for the company’s 3-state pipeline project that includes a large compressor station in the township. The petition for reinstatement of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the project, called the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, or …

ENGINEER TESTIFIES – Craig Stires, the applicant’s project engineer, talks about the warehouse extension at the Planning Board meeting. More than 64,000 square feet of warehouse space will be added to a Cottontail Lane building through an approval recently given by the township Planning Board. The Board on May 21 approved the plan for the 64,515-square-foot addition to the building, located …

EXPLAINING THE PLAN – Shri Kotdawla, the retail/office project’s engineer, testifies to the Planning Board at its May 21 hearing. A developer wanting to erect a two-building mixed-use office and retail center across from the Somerset Run housing development was told by the Planning Board on May 21 to rethink its plans. The plan, submitted by NPH Real Estate, calls …

OUT IN FORCE – Residents – most of whom live in the Somerset Run 55-and-over development – packed the Board of Education’s community room on May 7 for the latest Planning Board hearing on the proposed Onyx warehouse application. Modifications to a plan to build a 91,000-square-foot warehouse at the intersection of New Brunswick and Old New Brunswick roads were …

MAKING HIS CASE – Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States, left, tells the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission why the church needs to sell the Ukrainian Cultural Center and 18 acres on Davidson Avenue. Financial concerns led officials of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States to decide to sell the Ukrainian Cultural Center to …

“GOLD STANDARD” – Township Attorney Lou Rainone said at the April 8 Township Council meeting that Franklin has become an example of how towns should plan for affordable housing. The Township will be obligated to provide for the construction of 659 more affordable housing units over the next 10 years, according to a settlement it reached with a builder industry …

CONVERSION PROPOSAL – Manjit Bajwa answers question posed by his attorney during the April 3 Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on his application. An application to covert an auto repair garage at Elizabeth and Cedar avenues into a small convenience center raised more questions than it provided answers at the April 3 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. The triangular-shaped property …