Consultant: Bad Traffic Intersections ‘Going To Get Worse’
Traffic conditions at eleven of 14 key intersections in the township’s Business and Industry Zone are bad and will get worse when all currently approved warehouse projects are operational, an engineering consultant told a group of residents on June 27. “We’re looking at a bad situation that’s going to get worse,” Dave Roberts, director of […]
Design Details Of Proposed Rutgers Plaza Apartment Building Heard By Zoning Board
The Rutgers Plaza retail center will get a complete facelift with the approval of a proposed 200-unit apartment building in the former K-Mart space, the Zoning Board of Adjustment was told during a contentious June 20 hearing. The current 13 retail spaces in the strip center will be increased to 17 spaces, mainly by cutting […]
Zoning Board Holds First Hearing On Rutgers Plaza Apartment Building Proposal
Township residents packed the Council Chamber on April 4 for the first of what promises to be several Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings on a proposal to convert the former K-Mart building in Rutgers Plaza into a four-story apartment building. The proposal is being made by Levin Properties, the owner of Rutgers Plaza at John […]
Zoning Board Approves Church In Veronica Plaza Retail Space
A 1,600-square-foot retail space at Veronica Plaza will become a house of worship following a March 21 approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The approval for ECG New Jersey came with conditions, including no more than 49 people in the church during Sunday worship, no more than 15 people in the church during Wednesday […]
It’s Back: Levin Resubmits Apartment Building Plan For Rutgers Plaza
The Levin Company has resubmitted its plan to turn the former Big Kmart building into a 200-unit apartment building. Plans were submitted to the Township on December 13. The plans are essentially identical to a submission made in November 2021. Those plans were met with stiff opposition from Township officials and residents. Levin wants to […]
New Home, ‘Financial Subdivision,’ Approved By Zoning Board
Applications to build a single-family home on Battle Place and for a “financial” subdivision off DeMott Lane were approved December 7 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Venkateswar and Padmaja Vakkalagadda applied to the Board to build a single-family home on a corner vacant lot at 76 Battle Place. The lot is undersized, so the […]
Strategy Session Set For Ask To Prohibit Trucks On County Roads
Township officials plan to put their heads together this week and strategize on how to ask Somerset County to decertify some County roads for truck traffic. The idea is the latest in a number of efforts to mitigate the effect Franklin’s burgeoning warehouse inventory is having on the township environment. The move to get the […]
Environmental Commission Says ‘No’ To Warehouse Application
The Environmental Commission on October 16 decided to recommend that the Township Zoning Board of Adjustment not approve an application for a warehouse at Weston Canal and Cottontail roads. The application, submitted by Somerset Properties Realty, calls for a 61,000-square-foot warehouse on a roughly 5-acre plot fronting Cottontail Lane. Plans call for 38 parking spaces, […]
Landscaping Business Approved For Bennetts Lane Property
A landscaper was given permission September 21 to run his business from a Bennetts Lane property. Fischer Contracting, co-owned by Howard Fischer, received unanimous Zoning Board of Adjustment approval to run the business from 221 Bennetts Lane. Fischer is also a principal in Fischer Realty. The property will be cleaned up from the debris that […]
Parker At Somerset Wins Zoning Board Approval For New Outpatient Area
The Parker at Somerset rehabilitation center won Zoning Board of Adjustment approval for its plan to re-stripe its parking lot and create an outpatient rehabilitation facility at the September 7 Board meeting. Meanwhile, a township couple wishing to build a home for themselves was told to return to the Board in October with more detailed […]
