Development

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED – Township resident Dave Robinson said he was pleasantly surprised by the proposed ordinance amendment limiting warehouses and banning data centers. The Township Council on May 12 made it’s latest attempt to limit the impact of warehouses in the township with the introduction of an ordinance amendment creating design standards for warehouses. Don’t Miss Out! No other media …

DETAILING OBJECTIONS – Peter Steck, a planner hired by opponents to a plan to raze the Ukrainian Cultural Center, testifies about his objections to the application at the May 7 Zoning Board hearing. A planner testified May 7 that a proposal to demolish the Ukrainian Orthodox cultural center on Davidson Avenue and replace it with a 258,150-square-foot warehouse is riddled …

GUIDING THE DISCUSSION – Township Planner Mark Healey led the Planning Board in its initial review of recommendations made in the 2026 Master Plan Reexamination Report at the May 6 meeting. The Franklin Township Planning Board on May 6 began its review of a series of proposed zoning ordinance changes drawn from the township’s 2026 Master Plan Reexamination, with Board members …

MORE TESTIMONY – Engineer Mitchell Ardman testifies on an application to build a mosque on South Middlebush Road at the April 16 zoning board meeting. The Franklin Township Zoning Board of Adjustment heard a third round of testimony April 16 on an application to build a 19,350-square-foot mosque on South Middlebush Road, with Board members pressing the applicant on the …

DESIGN EXPLANATION – Architect Bill Feinberg talks about the materials that will be used on the proposed shopping center at Route 27 and Clover Place. A proposed shopping center and restaurant on a site that once housed Somerset County’s first courthouse drew scrutiny from the Township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission on April 7, with members calling for ground-penetrating radar surveys, …

EXPLAINING THE NEED – Somerset Bible Baptist Church Pastor Brian Fisher tells the Zoning Board why the church needs the proposed gymnasium at the April 2 hearing. Variances that would help pave the way for construction of a 1-story gymnasium behind the Somerset Bible Baptist Church on Cedar Grove Lane were approved April 2 by the township Zoning Board of …

MAKING THE CASE – Engineer Michael Ford, foreground, testifies for a minor subdivision application at the April 1 Planning Board hearing. The township Planning Board on April 1 approved a minor subdivision application that will carve out a 1-acre residential lot from a preserved farm along Skillman’s Lane, though not before a lively exchange over whether a future fence might …

EXPLAINING THE DESIGN – Shaun Joseph, an architectural consultant for VDS Development Partners & Advisors, explains aspects to the company’s conceptual plan to finish the Renaissance 2000 project along Route 27 to the Redevelopment Agency on March 30. The company that wants to take over the unfinished Renaissance 2000 development project along Route 27 introduced itself to the township Redevelopment …

A schematic view of the proposed Catalpa Park. It was déjà vu all over again March 24 when the Township Council went out for bids on the construction of Catalpa Park. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. Period. We are the only truly …

ENGINEER TESTIFIES – Greg Oman, center, the project’s engineer, tells the Planning Board that his firm employed an arborist to study the trees on the target land. An application for a 14-unit housing development on Cedar Grove Lane was approved March 4 by the Planning Board, but there was a hitch. The applicant, Odin Duhn, wanted to make the development …