News-pourri

The Tour de Franklin is the Franklin Food Bank’s largest fundraiser. (Photo: Franklin Food Bank.) The 34th annual Tour de Franklin Charity Bike Ride, the largest fundraiser for the Franklin Food Bank, will be held on April 30 at Franklin High School.  The Tour de Franklin consists of seven events including 62-, 40-, 25-, 10-, and 5-mile rides through Somerset …

Zoning Board of Adjustment attorney Francis Regan reads off the list of conditions attached to the approval of the Saharose bus company’s application. The Zoning Board of Adjustment was forced on January 19 to approve a bus company’s application to park 15 buses in the rear lot at JFK Plaza on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The application for a Use …

Mark Healey, the Township’s principal planner, describes the Master Plan changes to the Planning Board at the January 18 meeting. The ban on warehouse development in the township came a step closer to reality on January 18 with two actions taken by the Planning Board. The Board approved amendments to the Master Plan that excised any mention of warehouses from …

The ballroom at the Double Tree Hotel on Davidson Avenue was packed for the 25th annual Franklin Community Breakfast. More than 300 people were encouraged to keep Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial equality and equity alive January 18 at the 25th annual Franklin Township Community Breakfast, sponsored by the Franklin Township Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community …

Township Planning Director Mark Healey described the proposed zoning changes that would effectively ban new warehouses in the township. Planning Board members didn’t have a lot to say about proposed ordinance amendments that would effectively ban new warehouses in every zoning in the township. The Board considered the amendments during a special Master Plan review meeting on January 11. The …

FTPD officers stand with the remaining boxes of produce at the January 4 food distribution. A food distribution program that is estimated to have given out about 12,000 pounds of produce a month for more than a year is still going strong, police say. The program is run by the Franklin Township Police Department’s Community Relations Bureau at 935 Hamilton …

PSE&G and contractors are working on power lines and utility poles throughout the township. This crew was on Franklin Boulevard on January 4. Utility work being carried out throughout the township by PSE&G crews over the past several weeks will continue for some weeks to come, a company spokesman said. The work entails upgrading power lines and the utility poles …

Concerned residents packed the School District office community room at the January 4 Planning Board meeting to hear testimony on the proposed B9 Schoolhouse warehouse project. A proposal to construct two warehouses totaling nearly 250,000 square feet at Mettlers and Schoolhouse roads was given a chilly reception by the Planning Board at its January 4 meeting. With about 200 people …

Township Councilman Carl Wright objecting to an appointment to the Zoning Board of Adjustment at the January 2 Council meeting. A one-year appointment to the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a vocal warehouse critic caused a brief dust-up at the January 2 Township Council reorganization meeting. The disagreement between Mayor Phil Kramer and Township Councilman Carl Wright (D-Ward 4) had …

Christmas tree pickups will be conducted by the township Department of Public Works on January 9 and January 17. All tree should be on curbs by 7 a.m. January 9.