Township Council

A Hamilton Street developer is suing the Township over claims that political pressure scuttled an apartment building project targeted for the Hamilton Business District. The developer, John Park, claims in the suit that after township officials became aware of his project – comprised of two four-story buildings holding 233 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and retail space, and a covered …

Attorney Francis Linnus led the charge of lawyers speaking against the proposed ordinance amendments. Update: The Township had to re-do the ordinance’s public hearing on February 14 because the notice advertising the first hearing did not include the Municipal Building’s address, making it defective. No new arguments were presented either for or against the ordinance during the second public hearing, …

A mistake in the public notice about the January 24 public hearing on the proposed zoning ordinance amendments banning new warehouse development in the township requires a second public hearing, a township official said on February 1. The initial public hearing notice left out the hearing’s location, which was the Township Council Chamber in the municipal building. That rendered the …

Another six state Cannabis Regulatory Commission applications for potential businesses in the township received resolutions of support at the January 24 Township Council meeting. Four of the applications will be for retail establishments while two will be for either cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler or distributor licenses.

Deputy Mayor Ram Anbarasan is given the Oath of Office by Shanel Robinson, the Somerset County Board of Commissioners Director and a former Township Councilwoman. The ceremony was delayed by several weeks, but Deputy Mayor Ram Anbarasan was finally sworn in at the January 24 Township Council meeting. Anbarasan was out of the country during the January 3 reorganization meeting …

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 …

Ordinances increasing the amount some developers must pay into the township’s Tree Fund, and creating a flat late fee for dog licenses were introduced at the December 13 Township Council meeting. Developers who cannot meet township requirements for tree replacement when a development results in tree clearing must pay $300 per tree that they cannot replace to the Tree Fund, …

Mark Healey, the township’s Principal Planner, talks about the Master Plan during a special Town Hall meeting December 12 in the Council Chamber. Dozens of township residents showed up to a sometimes contentious December 12 town hall meeting on the process behind creating a Master Plan. The residents came armed with questions, most of them about the meeting’s topic. But …

Update: The Township Council introduced the ordinance as expected at its December 13 meeting. Warehouses would be removed as a permitted conditional use in Franklin’s Business and Industrial Zone under a proposed ordinance set to be introduced at the December 13 Township Council meeting.

Township Councilman James Vassanella said at the November 22 Council meeting that the Township should be more aggressive in limiting new warehouse development. Township government needs to be more aggressive in finding ways to stop the influx of warehouses in Franklin, a Township Councilman said on November 22. Councilman James Vassanella (D-Ward 5) made the comment during a Township Council …