[I.ROLL CALL ]
[00:00:03]
OKAY, OKAY. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY. THIS IS THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD, MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. IT'S OUR REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 11TH, 2026. IT'S OUR INTENTION TO CONCLUDE THIS MEETING NO LATER THAN 10 P.M. AND THE TIME IS 703. CHERIE, CAN WE HAVE ROLL CALL, PLEASE? HERE. HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE. TODD.
LOCKLEAR. SHARMA. IAN. CASEY. HERE. PRESENT. HERE. THANK YOU. OKAY. PLEASE JOIN ME IN. SALUTE TO THE FLAG. OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR
[III.PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA]
ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA. AND WE RESPECTFULLY ASK MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO LIMIT THEIR COMMENTS AND OR QUESTIONS TO FIVE MINUTES WHEN PROVIDING COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA OR FOR AN APPLICATION, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME. SPELL YOUR LAST NAME FOR THE RECORD.IF YOU PREFER NOT TO PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS, PLEASE ADVISE WHICH MUNICIPALITY YOU LIVE IN.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION? NOT ON THE AGENDA. COME ON UP. AND PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR NAME. SPELL THE LAST NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS IF YOU WISH. NANCY CASTELLANO, CASTELINOR MONTGOMERY RESIDENT OKAY, PLEASE. OKAY. THIS QUESTION IS FOR THE MAYOR. I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. THIS IS A LONGER THAN USUAL, BUT THIS CONSENT REFLECT WHAT MANY RESIDENTS ARE ASKING, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL IS CLEARLY STATED. I WOULD LIKE TO REFER TO THE RECENT STATEMENT ISSUED ON THE TOWNSHIP ON BEHALF OF THE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE, WHERE YOU SAID THE TOWNSHIP WAS SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY THE INCIDENT INVOLVING AI. IMAGE OF THE STUDENT. EXCUSE ME, MA'AM, WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING FOR PLANNING BOARD. YEAH, BUT NO, BUT BUT, MA'AM, IT'S GOT TO BE PERTINENT. YES. PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING A MATTER OF THE PLANNING BOARD HAS CONTROL OVER OR IT'S A LAND USE MATTER OR JURISDICTION ABOUT THE. CAN YOU CITE CAN I BRING IT UP. IS THAT PLANNING BOARD. NO. THE THE CAN BE SIDE. THERE IS NO ACTIVE APPLICATION IN FRONT OF US. BUT I HEARD IN THE PAPER THERE WAS SOME MIXED USED APPLICATION FOR CAN VIEW SITE. NO NO NO NO MIXED USE APPLICATION HAS BEEN FILED. NO APPLICATION HAS BEEN FILED. OKAY. NOT NOT NO APPLICATION. AN APPLICATION FOR THE PERMITTED USES HAS BEEN FILED. PERMITTED USES NON MIXED USED NOT MIXED USE. NO PERMITTED USES AS OKAY BUT I, I JUST SAW IN MONTGOMERY NEWS IT SAID MIXED USE. SO BASED ON THAT I WAS CONCERNED OKAY. IT WASN'T CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE FROM THE PUBLIC. GOOD EVENING. DEBORAH KEENAN KEENAN IN SKILLMAN, PART OF MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP. THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT WAS IN FRONT OF THE PLANNING BOARD LAST AT THE LAST MEETING, WHICH WAS THE POTENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT. I JUST WANT TO JUST ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WASN'T NOTED LAST TIME IS THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A REDEVELOPMENT, IT REALLY NEEDS TO MAKE SENSE FOR THE PEOPLE OF MONTGOMERY. AND IT WAS A LITTLE BIT DISCONCERTING TO SEE PICKLEBALL COURTS WAS CONSIDERED THE THING THAT WAS LIKE THE PUBLIC USE OF THIS. SO I JUST WANT TO JUST STATE THAT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A REDEVELOPMENT AND THE TAXATION RATABLES JUST MEANS SOMETHING IS TAXED. RATABLES IS NOT THE SAME THING, CAN'T BE EQUATED ACROSS THE BOARD, A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY VERSUS A RESIDENTIAL AND SO FORTH. REALLY, YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE SERVICE LOAD, HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THAT TYPE OF ZONING. SO WHEN A DEVELOPER COMES IN AND SAYS, I CAN'T INVEST IN A PROPERTY THAT I'VE ALREADY PURCHASED, THEREFORE I NEED A REDEVELOPMENT AND I NEED YOU TO PUT IN THIS TYPE OF SOMETHING ELSE, SAY MARKET RATE HOUSING THAT HAS A VERY, VERY HIGH SERVICE LOAD THAT REALLY IMPACTS THE PEOPLE OF THIS TOWN. OUR EMS, WHICH IS VOLUNTEER, LED OUR FIRE, WHICH IS VOLUNTEER LED. THEY ARE SERIOUSLY IMPACTED WHEN EVER MORE RESIDENTIAL COMES IN, AS IS POLICE SERVICES AND OF COURSE, SCHOOL SERVICES. SO JUST PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND NEXT TIME THE REDEVELOPMENT COMES IN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY,
[IV.RESOLUTION ]
[00:05:05]
LET'S GET TO THE NEXT ITEM. IT'S A RESOLUTION. IT IS CASE PB DASH 01-26. THE APPLICANT IS PRINCETON ORTHOPEDICS. IT'S BLOCKED 28006, LOT 43. THE ADDRESS IS 862 ROUTE 518. THIS IS AN AMENDED MINOR SITE PLAN. ITS BULK VARIANCE FOR SIGNAGE AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION? DO YOU HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE. YES. YES. YES.ROBERT. YES YES YES. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. OKAY. NEXT IS AN APPLICATION. IT'S CASE PB DASH
[V.APPLICATION ]
01-25. THE APPLICANT IS I'M GOING TO HOPEFULLY SAY IT RIGHT. IT'S PIEKLO LLC. IT'S BLOCK 3005 LOTS 11, 14, 16 AND 20 ON ROUTE 206. THIS IS FOR A MINOR SUBDIVISION WITH VARIANCE. THE EXPIRATION DATE IS JUNE 2ND OF THIS YEAR. AN AFFIDAVIT OF NOTIFICATION AND PUBLICATION IS REQUIRED AND I BELIEVE HAS BEEN DONE. AND FOR THE APPLICANT WE HAVE. GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, WOULD YOU MIND COMING UP TO THE MIC JUST SO WE CAN HEAR YOU? YEAH. ACOUSTICS ARE ROUGH IN HERE. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS BILL ROBERTSON. I'M AN ATTORNEY WITH LAW FIRM. IT'S DIFRANCESCO BATEMAN, KUNZMAN DAVIS, LARON FLOM AND WARREN, NEW JERSEY.I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT AND PIEKLO IS HOW I WOULD PRONOUNCE IT AS WELL. IN ANY EVENT, THIS IS A MINOR SUBDIVISION. IT'S REALLY JUST A LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT, A BOUNDARY LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT BETWEEN TWO EXISTING LOTS. LOT 20 IS PROPERTY OWNED BY THE APPLICANT PIEKLO. IT'S LOCATED ON ROUTE 206 AND CONTAINS EXISTING ABOUT 0.710 ACRES OF LOT AREA TO THE WEST. DIRECTLY BEHIND THAT LOT IS LOCATED LOT 16. THAT'S A LARGER LOT LOT. IT CONTAINS CURRENTLY SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THREE ACRES, ABOUT 3.153 ACRES. THE OWNER OF LOT 20 HAS BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OWNER OF LOT 16 THAT'S OWNED BY MEAD LLC. MR. HIGGINS IS THE OWNER, THE PRINCIPAL OF THAT LLC, AND THEY HAVE COME TO AN AGREEMENT WITH REGARD TO THE ACQUISITION OF A PORTION ABOUT POINT EIGHT ACRES OF ADDITIONAL LOT AREA FOR LOT 20. THERE ARE THERE'S NO SITE PLAN. THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED AT THIS TIME. THE. AS MR. SULLIVAN NOTED IN HIS THOROUGH REVIEW MEMO, THAT LOT 16 HAS NO LOT FRONTAGE. THAT CONDITION WILL REMAIN. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY WORSE, BUT IT CAN BE SOMEWHAT BETTER BECAUSE THROUGH DISCUSSIONS WITH THAT PROPERTY OWNER AND THE SURROUNDING LOT OWNERS, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME SORT OF ACCESS EASEMENT. INITIALLY, WE PROPOSED A 20 FOOT ACCESS CROSS LOT 14. I THINK IT'S REALLY AN EXISTING MEANS OF ACCESS TO THAT REAR LOT. BUT MR. SULLIVAN, I THINK, HAD A GOOD SUGGESTION, WHICH IN HIS REVIEW MEMO, WHICH WAS WE SHOULD CONSIDER A BLANKET EASEMENT FOR BOTH LOTS 11 AND 14. AND THAT SEEMED TO ME THAT SEEMED TO MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.
THE BOTH PROPERTY OWNERS ARE AGREEABLE TO THAT, AND WE WOULD AGREE TO MODIFY THE PLANS TO INDICATE THAT THERE WOULD BE A BLANKET ACCESS EASEMENT FOR LOT 20 ACROSS LOT 11 AND LOT 14. SO UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT, THE ONLY RELIEF REQUESTED IS A TECHNICALLY, I SUPPOSE, A VARIANCE. THERE'S AN EXISTING. LOT LACK OF LOT FRONTAGE. I WOULD NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT IN SECTION 35 OF LAND USE LAW REQUIRES THAT BEFORE ANY BUILDING PERMIT COULD BE ISSUED, THEY CAN'T BE ISSUED WITHOUT CONFIRMATION. THERE'S THERE'S ADEQUATE ACCESS FOR THAT USE. SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT WOULD CAUSE ANY PERMANENT HARM TO THE TOWN IF IT WAS GRANTED AT THIS POINT. AND AS I INDICATED, I THINK
[00:10:01]
IT'S SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY WOULD BE AN IMPROVED SITUATION BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE A FORMALIZED ACCESS ARRANGEMENT SO THAT THAT LOT WOULD NOT BE WOULD NOT, WOULD NEVER END UP AS PERMANENTLY LANDLOCKED. SO I THINK THAT IS AN IMPROVEMENT. THE ONLY OTHER RELIEF THAT'S INDICATED IN THE APPLICATION IS THE SIDEWALK. AND, YOU KNOW, LET MR. FORD ADDRESS IT. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING WE WOULD ASK THAT TO BE DEFERRED UNTIL FUTURE POINT IN TIME, WHEN THERE IS ACTUALLY AN APPLICATION BEFORE THE BOARD. SO ANY EVENT WITH ME TONIGHT, I HAVE MICHAEL FORD FROM VAN CLEEF ENGINEERING. UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS WITH ME, I WOULD. YES. THANK YOU. THIS DRAWING THAT WE HAVE, IT SHOWS WHERE LOT 20 IS AND LOT 16. BUT YOU MENTIONED SOME OTHER LOTS AND I CAN'T READ THE FINE. OH, OKAY. YEAH. AND TO GO ALONG WITH SARAH'S QUESTION, BECAUSE I HAVE A SIMILAR QUESTION. YOU SAID IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED WITH THE OWNERS OF LOT 14 ABOUT GRANTING AN EASEMENT AND THE LOT ABOVE DO WE HAVE WE WOULD MAKE THAT A CONDITION OF APPROVAL. OKAY. HE HAS SIGNED OFF AND GIVEN AN OWNER'S CONSENT TO THE APPLICATION. THERE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE APPLICANT, WITH THE OWNER'S ATTORNEY, AND WE WOULD CERTAINLY AGREE TO ANY CONDITION. WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S ACCEPTABLE, BUT I CAN'T SPEAK FOR HIM. BUT IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A YES. IT WOULD HAVE TO OBVIOUSLY BE CONDITIONED. YEAH. SO OKAY. OKAY. SO YEAH. SARAH, THAT'S 14, I BELIEVE. CORRECT. WHERE THE EASEMENT COMES DOWN. YES. WHAT'S SHOWN ON THAT PLAN? THAT WAS THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED EASEMENT IS CUTS ACROSS LOT 14 AND WHICH IS WHERE IF IF I'M LOOKING TO YOU, THAT'S LOT 14. THAT'S 14. THAT'S 14. AND YOU SEE THERE'S A THERE'S A 20 FOOT GARAGE, RIGHT? YES. PART OF THE BELL. YES. IT'S BELLEMEADE GARAGE AND. SO. YES. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE GRANTING AN EASEMENT. YES. YEAH. THEY HAVE NO OBJECTION TO THAT. WE WHAT WE WERE PROPOSING THOUGH, IS IN ADDITION TO THAT ACCESS, WHICH I THINK IS ALREADY CURRENTLY USED, THERE WOULD BE AN EASEMENT ACROSS LOT 11, WHICH IS A LARGER PARCEL THAT'S ALSO ADJACENT TO IT. SO IT WOULDN'T BE LIMITED TO JUST JUST THAT. SO WHICH IS LOT 1111 IS THE LARGE. YES. THE LARGER LOT THAT SURROUNDS LOT 14. I SEE. AND MR. ROBINSON, WHO OWNS A LOT.11 LOT 11 IS COMBINED. THAT IS ALSO MEAD LLC. OKAY. LOT 14 IS OWNED BY CHRISTOPHER HIGGINS.
AND, AND I DIDN'T SEE IN THE PICTURES. ARE THERE SIDEWALKS IN FRONT OF THERE NOW THERE ARE SIDEWALKS IS IN FRONT OF THE BELLEMEADE DEVELOPMENT. THERE IS A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF THE POST OFFICE. YES. AND THERE'S A SIDEWALK, I BELIEVE IN FRONT. THERE'S A THERE'S A I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. THE ADJOINING THE LOT TO THE NORTH OF THE POST OFFICE BUILDING. THERE IS A SIDEWALK THERE. THERE'S NO LOT ACROSS LOT 19, WHICH IS THE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT PARCEL TWO, LOT 20. AND THEN. ON THE OTHER SIDE IS IS HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY EXISTING SIDEWALK AT THE MOMENT. THE ONLY THE SIDEWALK THAT'S THAT WOULD BE LOCATED. THERE'S A PIECE IN FRONT OF THE ROBERT GRIGGS PLUMBING AND HEATING, WHICH WOULD LEAD TO NOWHERE RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. AND THOSE SIDEWALKS TO NOWHERE. WE'RE TRYING TO RECTIFY THAT. I UNDERSTOOD THE CONCEPT. WE UNDERSTAND, AND WE'RE NOT DEBATING IT. IT JUST SEEMED TO US THAT IF THE APPROPRIATE TIME MIGHT BE IF AND WHEN THERE'S A THERE'S A FURTHER APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF, OF THAT LOT THAT MIGHT FOR THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW. IT'S JUST THE LOT LINE ADJUSTMENTS. SO THE REQUEST IS THAT THAT BE DEFERRED TO A LATER POINT IN TIME WHEN THERE'S ACTUALLY A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION BEFORE THE BOARD. OKAY. OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CLARITY PURPOSES, DO YOU HAVE AGREEMENTS FROM THE OTHER TWO OWNERS OF THE LOT THAT THAT THERE WOULD BE A SALE OR, OR
[00:15:01]
THEY WOULD JUST GIVE ACCESS, ACCESS, ACCESS. SO THEY'RE JUST GIVING ACCESS RIGHTS. OKAY. AND THAT WOULD BE MEMORIALIZED THROUGH A AGREEMENT. YES IT WOULD. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME UP IN MR. SULLIVAN'S REVIEW MEMO. SO THE THE SPECIFIC DETAILS HAVE NOT BEEN FINALIZED, BUT IN MY VIEW, IT WOULD BE DONE BY EITHER A FORMALIZED ACCESS EASEMENT BETWEEN THE LOT OWNERS OR SOME FORM OF, YOU KNOW, DEED RESTRICTION OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THE THE REAR LOT WOULD HAVE ACCESS ACROSS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE SUBJECT.WE CERTAINLY WOULD MAKE IT SUBJECT TO A REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE BOARD PROFESSIONALS, BUT THE CONCEPT WOULD BE TO PERMIT THERE'S THERE'S FOUR DIFFERENT ROAD ACCESS POINTS THAT EXIST RIGHT NOW. AND THE THOUGHT WAS. AND AS MR. SULLIVAN NOTED, AND I THINK IT MADE A LOT OF SENSE, WAS THAT PENDING SOME FUTURE USE OF THAT, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE. THEY COULD ASSURE THAT THERE WOULD BE ACCESS TO THAT REAR LOT BY GRANTING BLANKET EASEMENT ACROSS BOTH 11 AND 14, SO IT COULD GO IN AND OUT THROUGH THE DIFFERENT ROAD ACCESS THAT EXIST RIGHT NOW AND AT SOME FUTURE TIME, THAT LOT 16 WAS EVER DEVELOPED. THEY'D HAVE TO BE BACK BEFORE THE BOARD SEEKING SITE PLAN APPROVAL WITH AN ACCESS THAT WOULD BE ADEQUATE FOR WHATEVER USE WAS PROPOSED. SO OKAY. AND THEY COULDN'T PROCEED WITHOUT BECAUSE OF SECTION 35 OF THE LAND USE ACT. THAT'S REALLY NICE OF THEM TO GRANT AN EASEMENT. YEAH. GO FIGURE. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, MR. FORD, DO YOU WANT TO DO YOU HAVE SOME TESTIMONY TO ADD? SEEMS LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TO SAY. YES. NO. MR. FORD, WE JUST NEED TO SWEAR YOU IN. DO YOU SWEAR OR AFFIRM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL. YES, I DO, THANK YOU. MICHAEL FORD, FORD LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER AND PLANNER IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY WITH VAN CLEEF ENGINEERING SINCE 1991, APPEARED BEFORE THIS BOARD NUMEROUS TIMES. AND NO, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY GENERAL THINGS TO ADD, MR. ROBERTSON. HE'S SUMMED IT UP ACCURATELY. WHAT I'D SAY IS, IN ADDITION TO THE EXISTING CONDITION, WITH NO FRONTAGE FOR LOT 16, BY VIRTUE OF ADDING LAND TO LOT 20, WE ACTUALLY CURE AN EXISTING NONCONFORMITY THERE WHERE THERE'S AN EXISTING IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE EXCEEDANCE FROM THE EXISTING LOT SIZE. BY ADDING 2.85 ACRES, WE BRING THAT INTO COMPLIANCE. AND LIKE WE'VE SAID, THE, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS APPLICATION WAS JUST TO SHIFT A LOT LINE BETWEEN THE TWO LOTS BY TWO LOCAL BUSINESSMEN THAT HAVE COME TO AN AGREEMENT REGARDING THIS SHIFT TO THE LOT LINES AND ANY IMPROVEMENTS, WHATEVER THEY ARE ON ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD. OKAY.
DISCUSSION THOUGHTS? BEFORE WE GO TO OUR PROFESSIONALS, KAREN, DOES AN EASEMENT HAVE TO HAVE A TIME LIMIT ON IT? IT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO. NO. OKAY. OKAY. IT CAN BE IN PERPETUITY. OKAY. BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T WANT AN EASEMENT TO EXPIRE ON SOMEBODY. BUT, BUT, BUT WHEN BUT IF THERE IS A SITE PLAN APPLICATION SUBSEQUENT TO THIS FOR LET'S SAY LOT 16, RIGHT, OR LOT 14 OR 14, THEY COULD THEY COULD EXTINGUISH THE EASEMENT AND ACTUALLY USE A VERY FOCUSED EASEMENT BASED ON HOW THAT SITE PLAN HAS WORKED OUT. THEY COULD WORK IT OUT AT THAT TIME SO IT COULD BE EXTINGUISHED, BUT IT HAS TO HAVE NO TIME LIMITS ON IT. YEP. OKAY. I JUST RECALL WITH PRINCETON ORTHOPEDICS, WE HAD A LITTLE EASEMENT ISSUE. SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PERFECTLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THAT IS. SO OKAY. MICHAEL. RAKESH. MICHAEL, YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? LET ME JUST SWEAR BOTH OF YOU IN. DO YOU BOTH SWEAR FROM YOUR TESTIMONY THIS EVENING WILL BE TRUTHFUL? YES. THANK YOU. I THINK MR. ROBERTSON SUMMED IT UP WELL. WE DUG INTO THE LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION OF THE EASEMENT. THEY SHOWED, AND WE NOTED A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH THAT AND UNCERTAINTY WITH THAT. AND I THINK THE SOLUTION OF HAVING A BLANKET EASEMENT, EITHER THROUGH DEED OR FILED WITH THIS PLAT, HOWEVER YOU'RE GOING TO FILE IT REVIEW BY KAREN AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT WORKS. I THINK THAT'S AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION FOR NOW. I ALSO AGREE THAT THE THE VARIANCE, THE PLANNING VARIANCE IS TECHNICALLY NOT UNDER SECTION C70C OF THE LAND USE LAW RELATING TO THE BUILDING LOT TO ABUT A STREET IS NOT RIPE FOR THIS HEARING. WE. WE CALLED IT OUT BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE TO BE. IF THERE'S EVER A SITE PLAN OR CONSTRUCTION ON THAT LOT WITH NO ACCESS. SO THAT CAN BE DEALT WITH AT THAT
[00:20:05]
TIME. AND I THINK THE THE EASEMENT SOLVES ALMOST EVERY ISSUE THAT WE HAD. THE VARIANCES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. OUR MEMO IS DATED APRIL 9TH. I THINK THE APPLICANT GAVE A GOOD, GOOD DESCRIPTION AND RUNDOWN OF OF THE OF THE APPLICATION. THE COMMENTS IN OUR MEMO ARE MOSTLY NOT MOSTLY ALL TECHNICAL IN NATURE HAVING TO DO WITH WITH SOME ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATIONS, SOME NOTATIONS ON THE PLANS, CLARIFICATIONS ON WHETHER THE APPLICATION BE FILED BY BY PLATT OR BY DEED. I DIDN'T HEAR THAT PART. IS IT WHAT'S YOUR INTENTION AS FAR AS PERFECTING THIS? IT'D BE ALL BY DEED. BY DEED. YEAH. AND THAT'S THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE WITH US. SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE, THE, THE, THE BULK OF OUR, OUR REVIEW, JUST A BUNCH OF, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF TECHNICAL MATTERS ON THE PLANS AND THE DEEDS AND ALL THAT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY, ANY THING THAT REQUIRES TESTIMONY RIGHT NOW. YEP. OKAY. OTHER COMMENTS. WHAT ARE OUR PROFESSIONALS THINK ABOUT THAT? WE REALLY DO NEED SIDEWALKS IN THIS TOWN AND WE NEED THEM CONNECTED TOGETHER. YEAH, I, I LIKE SIDEWALKS TOO, MR. CHAIRMAN. THE ONLY, I GUESS THE, THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST WITH REGARD TO SIDEWALK HERE MAKES MAKES SENSE. I MEAN, WE HAD A SIMILAR CONVERSATION WITH PSEG WHEN THEY CAME IN THE, THE THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MINOR SUBDIVISION APPLICATION. OUR ORDINANCE TECHNICALLY DOES SAY THAT SIDEWALKS SHOULD BE PROVIDED. THE. THE ISSUE THERE, THOUGH, IS EVENTUALLY THESE.THESE LOTS WILL BE DEVELOPED. AND AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, THE DESIGN OF OF THAT WHOLE THING WITH ACCESSES AND HOW THAT'S ALL GOING TO LAY OUT. THAT MAY BE ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE. AND RIGHT NOW THERE'S NO IMPROVEMENTS PROPOSED AT ALL. SO THE IMPOSITION OF A SIDEWALK AS PART OF A MINOR SUBDIVISION WOULD THEN REQUIRE DESIGN PLAN BONDING AND ALL THAT. AND THEN AND FOR A SIDEWALK THAT MAY ACTUALLY CHANGE EVENTUALLY WHEN, WHEN THE DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, GOES THROUGH. SO I THINK IT, IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO, TO DEFER THAT TO WHEN THE APPLICANT COMES IN TO DEVELOP THESE PARCELS. OKAY. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? OKAY. THEN DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. YEP. DO I HAVE A SECOND ROLL CALL PLEASE? ROGER.
YES. YES YES YES. YES. ROBERT. YES. YES. SING. YES. AND SHARMA. YES. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE EXCUSE ME, MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST. YES, WE WE CAME IN KIND OF LATE. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW. I THINK I LET SHERRI AND LORI KNOW ISABEL RODRIGUEZ IS NO LONGER WITH THE FIRM. WE WE MISS HER. SHE WAS ONE OF OUR OUR TALENTED YOUNG PEOPLE. BUT I BROUGHT ERIC HARRIS TONIGHT, ONE OF OUR OTHER TALENTED PEOPLE. YOU'LL BE SEEING HIS NAME ON REPORTS AND MAYBE SEE HIM IN MEETINGS HERE AND THERE. BUT I WANTED TO INTRODUCE HIM TONIGHT AND LET HIM SEE HOW YOU GUYS OPERATE SUCH AN EFFICIENT AND COOL WAY. OKAY, SO VERY NICE TO MEET YOU, ERIC. GOOD LUCK. I'M JUST
[VI.BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL AT RUTGERS STUDENT PRESENTATION – PLAN4HEALTHNJ STUDIO]
KIDDING. OKAY. NEXT. SOUNDS LIKE FUN. GOTTA BE HONEST. THE BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL AT RUTGERS STUDENT PRESENTATION REGARDING PLAN FOR HEALTH, NEW JERSEY STUDIO. SO PLEASE COME ON UP.THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. IT IS FUN. I'M TOM TELESCO, I'M A LECTURER AT THE BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL, AND I'M PLEASED TO HAVE LED A STUDIO LAST SEMESTER AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, THE BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY, ON THE PLAN FOR HEALTH PROJECT. I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE. I JUST WANT TO SAY, THOUGH, THAT ERIC AND ISABEL WERE STUDENTS OF MINE. OH, AS ARE MATT AND JACOB. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE AWESOME, JUST SO YOU KNOW. THANKS, TOM.
I'M PROUD YOU CAN STAY. YOU CAN STAY. YOU'RE ALL PROUD. PLAN FOR HEALTH IS A PROJECT THAT THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION NEW JERSEY CHAPTER HAS INITIATED WITH A $1.5 MILLION GRANT FROM THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION. I WAS PLEASED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE TEAM THAT PUT TOGETHER THE GRANT APPLICATION AND WHEN IT WAS ACCEPTED, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION NOT ONLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE PUT TOGETHER THE TOOLKITS AND WORKED WITH MUNICIPALITIES SUCH AS MONTGOMERY THROUGH A GRANT PROCESS, BUT WE ALSO WROTE INTO THE CONTRACT THAT WE WOULD BETA TEST THE TOOLKITS BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY WERE. WE ASKED
[00:25:01]
MUNICIPALITIES TO WORK ON THEM. AND SO LAST SEMESTER WE HAD STUDENTS, EIGHT STUDENTS THAT YOU SEE THERE ACTUALLY BETA TEST EACH OF THE SIX DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE TOOLKITS AND ALSO APPLIED A PLACE BASED APPLICATION. AND WE USE THREE TOPOLOGIES THAT THE STUDENTS WILL TALK A BIT ABOUT. URBAN, SUBURBAN, AND RURAL. MONTGOMERY WAS OUR SUBURBAN. THE STUDENTS SPENT AN ENTIRE SEMESTER WORKING ON THE PROJECT, SPENT SEVERAL DAYS HERE IN MONTGOMERY, AND YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE SLIDES THERE. AND WE WERE PLEASED THAT WHEN THE STUDENTS PRESENTED THEIR WORK IN DECEMBER, MAYOR SINGH, YOUR PLANNER CHERIE, YOUR PLANNER LAURIE AND OTHERS, AND YOUR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER WERE THERE. SO THANK YOU AGAIN, MAYOR. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION. AS YOU MAY KNOW, MONTGOMERY HAS RECEIVED A GRANT TO CONTINUE THIS EFFORT. AND SO WE VIEW THIS AS THE STARTING POINT. AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, IF YOU CAN INDULGE MATT ZARZECKI AND JACOB MOFFITT, WHO ARE HERE TO PRESENT, THEY WILL SHOW YOU SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE. AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT. WE'D BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY OF THEM. THAT'S GREAT. PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU, TOM, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING US TODAY. VERY GRAND ROOM. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. MY NAME IS JACOB MOFFITT, AND ALONGSIDE MATTHEW ZARZECKI, WE'LL BE PRESENTING OUR FALL 2025 STUDIO ON PLAN FOR NEW JERSEY UNDER PROFESSOR TOM DALESSIO. AND THANK YOU TO THE OTHER STUDENTS IN OUR STUDIO WHOSE NAMES ARE LISTED HERE.AND AT THE CONCLUSION. SO AS TOM MENTIONED, PLAN FOR HEALTH. NEW JERSEY IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN EPA, NEW JERSEY AND THE DOVE FOUNDATION AIMED AT IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES THROUGH EFFECTIVE PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICY PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY CREATED A SERIES OF TOOLKITS THAT PLANNING PRACTITIONERS AND MUNICIPAL DECISION MAKERS CAN USE TO TARGET AND ADDRESS SPECIFIC PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES THROUGH THE LENS OF PLANNING.
IN OUR STUDIO, WE TOOK THESE TOOLKITS, CRITIQUED THEM AND BETA TESTED THEM. IN OUR THREE CASE STUDY MUNICIPALITIES BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP FOR OUR RURAL TYPOLOGY, MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP AS OUR SUBURBAN, AND AS PRESENTATION WILL BE, OF COURSE, FOCUSING EXCLUSIVELY ON MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP. AND SO THE. THE. THE METHODOLOGY OF OUR STUDIO WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO PHASES. IN THE FIRST PHASE, WE ANALYZED EACH OF THE FIVE TOOLKITS AND THEIR COMPONENTS THAT WERE JUST PRESENTED USING A SWOT FRAMEWORK, EXAMINING THEIR STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS. OUR STUDIO BRINGS TOGETHER STUDENTS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF CONCENTRATIONS LIKE ENVIRONMENT, LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, JUST TO NAME A FEW. THIS DIVERSITY ALLOWED US TO ENGAGE DEEPLY WITH TOPICS WHICH WERE DIFFERENT. MEMBERS HAD MORE EXPERTISE, AND WE ALSO LEARNED A GREAT DEAL FROM ONE ANOTHER THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. ANOTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS PHASE WAS THAT AS WE CONDUCTED OUR ANALYZES, THE PLAN FOR HEALTH PROJECT TEAM WAS ACTIVELY WORKING ON THESE TOOLKITS. STILL, THIS GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO BETA TEST THEM AND HELP THE TEAM REFINE THE TOOLKITS IN REAL TIME. AS WE CRITIQUED AND APPLIED THE TOOLKITS, WE EXAMINED A VARIETY OF PLANNING RELATED DOCUMENTS ISSUED IN EACH CASE STUDY MUNICIPALITY SUCH AS ZONING ORDINANCES, MASTER PLANS, COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLANS OR CHIPS AND REDEVELOPMENT PLANS. WE ALSO CONDUCTED QUALITATIVE RESEARCH THROUGH SITE VISITS, MEETINGS WITH, MEETINGS WITH AND PRESENTATIONS TO MUNICIPAL DECISION MAKERS, AND PRESENTATIONS OF TOOLKIT CRITIQUES TO PLAN FOR HEALTH. NEW JERSEY TEAM LEADERS. AND SO WE HAVE OUR LITTLE INTRODUCTION FOR MONTGOMERY. AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW, MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP IS KNOWN FOR ITS FARMLAND ESTHETIC AND ITS EXCELLENT PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. ITS DENSITY IS A LITTLE ABOVE 700 PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE, WHICH IS ON THE SMALL SIDE FOR A SUBURBAN COMMUNITY IN NEW JERSEY. OF NOTE, APPROXIMATELY 42% OF THE POPULATION AGE FIVE OR OLDER SPEAKS A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION WE WANT TO BRING UP IN THE POLICY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ANALYSIS ON ACCESSIBILITY. MONTGOMERY IS A MUCH WEALTHIER COMMUNITY THAN ITS PEERS, WITH A MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT OF THE STATE. ITS HOUSING SYSTEM IS LARGELY SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED HOUSING, AND THE HOUSING STOCK IS MUCH NEWER THAN THE COUNTY AT LARGE. ASSET LIMITED, INCOME CONSTRAINED EMPLOYED HOUSEHOLDS OR HOUSEHOLDS ARE LOW AT 14% COMPARED TO COUNTY AND STATE AVERAGES. THE SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED HOUSING TYPOLOGY HAS CREATED SOME ISSUES WITH LOW DENSITY AND LOW WALKABILITY, THOUGH RESIDENTS GENERALLY HAVE LOWER INCIDENCES OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND OTHER POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES. WITH A LIFE EXPECTANCY OF OVER 80 YEARS OLD, ONE NOTABLE POSSIBLE HEALTH HAZARD THAT WE SAW IN IN OUR RESEARCH WAS RADON EXPOSURE DUE TO UNDERLYING GEOLOGY. PER 2022 REPORT IN SOMERSET COUNTY, 41% OF HOMES TESTED HAD GREATER
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THAN FOUR PICOCURIES PER LITER, COMPARED TO 12% OF TESTED HOMES STATEWIDE. THERE'S NO SAFE LEVEL OF RADON, AND RADON IS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF LUNG CANCER AFTER SMOKING. AND SO NEXT, HERE'S A SAMPLE SLIDE OF THE PLANNING DOCUMENT REVIEW. EACH TOOLKIT WILL BE LISTED AT THE TOP WITH THE SUBCATEGORIES OF THE TOOLKITS UNDERNEATH. EACH MUNICIPALITY IS THEN SCORED ALONG THESE CATEGORIES. AND SO FIRST, THE FIRST TOOLKIT WE WILL BEGIN WITH IS THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT, WHERE, WHERE EACH OF THE THREE MUNICIPALITIES HAD STRONG BUFFERING, STRONG BUFFERING. WHEREAS CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WERE FOUND IN HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND HEALTHY HOUSING UNITS, THE TOWNSHIP SHOWED A PARTICULAR STRENGTH IN HOW IT CALCULATES LOT AND BUILDING COVERAGES, A PROCEDURE LENDING NICELY TO ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE HOUSING. IN ADDITION TO THIS, THE TOWNSHIP'S DETAILED WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER ORDINANCES ALSO LENDS PROVISION TO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. CHALLENGES WERE FOUND IN DESIGN STANDARDS AND USAGE PERMISSIONS, AS THE TOWNSHIP IS PRIMARILY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL. WITH THIS, OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD AND DIVERSIFY PERMISSIONS FOR MORE NON SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING IN ADDITION TO OTHER PERMISSIONS SUCH AS ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES, CAN CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTHIER HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES. IN A CASE EXAMPLE TO CONSIDER OF THIS IS THE CHATTANOOGA MISSILE MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING PROJECT, AND THIS PROJECT CONVERTED 50 VACANT PARCELS INTO 181 HOUSING UNITS FOR ASSET LIMITED, INCOME CONSTRAINED AND EMPLOYED HOUSING HOUSEHOLDS OR ALICE HOUSEHOLDS. SO THE ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE TOOLKIT HAS SEVEN SUB TOPICS, WHICH WE GROUPED INTO FOUR BROADER TOPICS. HERE WE VIEWED A LOT OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC HEALTH DOCUMENTS THROUGH THE LENS OF THIS TOOLKIT AND IDENTIFIED THAT WHILE MONTGOMERY EXCELS, ESPECIALLY IN CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES FOR AG PRACTICES, WHICH WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT, WE DID FIND SOME CHALLENGES AROUND HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS GENERALLY AND HEALTHY FOODS FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SPECIFICALLY. AS A TOWNSHIP WHOSE IDENTITY IS IN FLUX, IT HAS. MONTGOMERY HAS RAPIDLY GROWN IN THE PAST FEW DECADES TO BECOME A FAMILY ORIENTED TOWN WITH EXCELLENT SCHOOLS. MONTGOMERY HAS MADE ACTIVE EFFORTS IN LAND USE TO PRESERVE LARGE SWATHS OF FARMLAND, INCLUDING AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM WHERE TOWNSHIP OWNED LANDS ARE LEASED AS FIVE YEAR LEASES TO FARMERS, REQUIRING THOSE FARMERS TO IMPLEMENT BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. COMMERCIAL FOOD ACCESS IS MORE DIFFICULT, HOWEVER. THERE'S TWO GROCERY STORES IN THE TOWN, BOTH FAR FROM THE WEST SIDE OF THE TOWNSHIP. OVERBURDEN POPULATIONS ARE DIFFICULT TO ASSESS WITH CENSUS TRACT LEVEL DATA, AND THERE ARE FEW WAYS TO ACCESS THE FOOD PANTRY, THE FARMER'S MARKET, OR THE GROCERY STORES WITHOUT A CAR, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY RELEVANT FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE IN THE TOWN. THE FARMER'S MARKET ALSO DOESN'T CURRENTLY INTEGRATE MANY FARMS OR BUSINESSES THAT ARE WITHIN TOWNSHIP BORDERS. SOME OPPORTUNITIES WE, WE FOUND, WERE AROUND MUNICIPAL PARKLAND AND VACANT PROPERTY, WHICH COULD BE LEVERAGED TO HELP SHORTEN SOME OF THESE FOOD ACCESS GAPS. COMMUNITY GARDENS, WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED IN MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC PLANNING, COULD BE SITED ON MUNICIPAL LAND. ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IS THE CREATION OF FOOD FORESTS, WHICH ARE A FORM OF LOW MAINTENANCE, RESILIENT PERMACULTURE THAT ALLOWS FOR SUSTAINABLE USE OF OPEN SPACE, ESPECIALLY IN COMPARISON TO UNDERUTILIZED AND ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE LAWN SPACE. VACANT PROPERTY AND MUNICIPAL PROPERTY COULD BE LEVERAGED FOR MOBILE FOOD PANTRIES OR MOBILE FOOD FARMERS MARKETS, AND THE TOWNSHIP COULD ALSO POSSIBLY ACQUIRE VACANT PROPERTY TO EXPAND THEIR FIVE YEAR AG LEASE PROGRAM. WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF FOOD ACCESS IN PUBLIC FOOD GARDENS. THIS IS THE REGENERATIVE COMMUNITIES PROJECT IN THE HUDSON VALLEY. THE PROGRAM HERE TRAINS LAND STEWARDS THROUGH APPRENTICESHIP ON THEIR FARM, AND THEN THEY LEASE PARKLAND FROM THE CITIES OF PEEKSKILL, NEWBURGH AND POUGHKEEPSIE FOR FIVE YEARS TO CREATE FREE PUBLIC FOOD GARDENS.LAND STEWARDS GRADUATE FROM THEIR ONE YEAR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND BECOME PAID LAND STEWARDS IN THE FOOD GARDENS IN EACH CITY, GROWING AND TENDING TO THE GARDEN WHILE ALSO RUNNING VARIOUS PROGRAMING, INCLUDING A YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM. ANY RESIDENT CAN HARVEST FOOD FROM THE GARDEN FOR FREE, AND THE GRADUATED YOUTH APPRENTICES CAN BECOME PAID LAND STEWARDS IN EXISTING OR NEW PUBLIC FOOD GARDENS. THIS CREATES A WIN WIN WIN WITH FOOD ACCESS AND EQUITY FOR RESIDENTS, PROGRAMING AND EVENTS, WITH COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES WITH PUBLIC HEALTH STAKEHOLDERS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH APPRENTICES AND LAND STEWARD APPRENTICES. NEXT IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY TOOLKIT. THIS ALSO HAS SEVEN SUB TOOLKITS, WHICH WE LIKEWISE GROUPED INTO FOUR BROAD
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CATEGORIES. MONTGOMERY HAS REALLY EXCELLED IN THIS TOOLKIT AREA, MAKING SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS TOWARD PROTECTING FARMLAND AND OPEN SPACE IN A REGION THAT HAS SEEN A LOT OF RAPID RESIDENTIAL GROWTH. WE FOUND THAT IT FACES SOME CHALLENGES IN REGULATING LIGHT, NOISE AND AIR POLLUTION, AS IT'S OFTEN SIMPLER TO TAILOR REGULATIONS AT SINGLE SOURCE NUISANCES LIKE A LOUD PARTY AND INDUSTRY THAT EMITS SIGNIFICANT POLLUTANTS OR BRIGHT EXTERIOR LIGHTING, IT IS MORE CHALLENGING TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL NUISANCES LIKE HIGHWAY NOISE AND THE LACK OF A DARK SKY AT NIGHT, THE LACK OF A DARK SKY AT NIGHT THAT ARE DISPERSED IN SOURCE AND COMPLEX TO REMEDY, THE TOWN HAS ADOPTED TREE PROTECTION AND REPLACEMENT ORDINANCES, AS WELL AS BUFFERING NATURAL RESOURCES FROM DEVELOPMENT. SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS HERE ARE AROUND EXPLORING AND EXPANDING ON THE COMPLETE STREETS POLICIES FOR EQUITABLE USE OF TRANSPORTATION FOR ALL USERS, WHICH CAN AFFECT ESPECIALLY AIR, AIR AND NOISE POLLUTION HERE, BUT OF COURSE ALSO MOBILITY. THE MOBILITY TOOLKIT LIKEWISE HAS SEVEN SUB CATEGORIES. AND HERE MONTGOMERY DOES STRUGGLE IN SOME WAYS DUE TO ITS LACK OF DENSITY AND PUBLIC TRANSIT. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF RECENT PROGRESS IN CONNECTED HOUSING, AS THE TOWNSHIP'S FOURTH ROUND HOUSING PLAN EMPHASIZES NEW AFFORDABLE UNITS NEAR THE REGIONAL BUS SERVICE AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS LIKE MONTGOMERY CROSSING AND VILLAGE WALK, WHICH HAVE INTENTIONAL DESIGN TO CONNECT WALK BIKE LINKS BETWEEN HOMES, COMMERCIAL AREAS AND TRANSIT.MONTGOMERY AS A WHOLE IS SOMEWHAT OF A TRANSIT DESERT, CREATING BARRIERS FOR VULNERABLE RESIDENTS. WE LEARNED THAT MANY SENIORS IN THE TOWNSHIP, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO DO NOT OWN OR OPERATE A VEHICLE, STRUGGLE TO REACH THE OFFICE ON OF AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES IN SOMERVILLE, AS WELL AS OTHER KEY HEALTH CARE DESTINATIONS.
THERE'S BEEN STRONG ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITMENT THROUGH ADOPTING A COMPLETE STREETS POLICY. THE 2023 OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PLAN ELEMENT HAS AN AMBITIOUS VISION TO CONNECT NEIGHBORHOODS AND KEY DESTINATIONS THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK OF HUBS, SPOKES, AND LOOPS. THOUGH THIS MODEL CAN CREATE SOME ISSUES WITH DIRECT TRANSIT FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER EFFICIENTLY, SOME OPPORTUNITIES HERE INCLUDE A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN MASTER PLAN TO EMPHASIZE SAFETY DESIGN, ESPECIALLY FOR ON ROAD BIKE LANES AND TO ADDRESS EMERGING MICRO MOBILITY NEEDS. DESIGNING FOR YOUTH AND FOR THOSE WITHOUT A CAR IS A KEY FOR REDUCING SOCIAL ISOLATION AND FOSTERING INDEPENDENCE. ADDITIONALLY, MICROTRANSIT PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COUNTY COULD HELP BRIDGE SOME OF THESE LOCAL TRANSIT GAPS AFFORDABLY. MODELS INCLUDE THE JERSEY CITY VIA SERVICE ON THE LEFT AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES RIDE SERVICE ON THE RIGHT. BOTH OFFER FLEXIBLE ON DEMAND, LOW COST SERVICE TO RIDERS THAT FILL SERVICE GAPS WHERE FIXED ROUTE SERVICE IS ABSENT OR INADEQUATE. AND SO THE NEXT TOOLKIT ANALYZED WAS HEALTHCARE ACCESS, WHICH CONSIDERED FOUR DIFFERENT METRICS WHICH WERE LAND USE PLANNING AND ZONING, MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY, EMERGENCY ROOM WAIT ROOM TIMES, AND DIGITAL EQUITY. I SHOULD NOTE BEFOREHAND IS THAT THE AMONGST THE THREE MUNICIPALITIES AND FURTHER ALONG, PATTERNED WITH THE STATE WAS A LACK OF. NOT AN INCLUSION OF DIGITAL EQUITY THROUGHOUT MECHANICS. AND SO THE TOWNSHIP HAS USED PERMISSIONS FOR HEALTH AND MEDICAL FACILITIES AND CERTAIN AREAS OF TOWN, WITH EVEN USAGE PERMISSIONS FOR HOSPITALS ON LARGER SITES.
WHILE PERMISSIONS EXIST IN SOME ZONES, ACCESS TO MEDICAL FACILITIES IS NOT PERMITTED IN THE MAJORITY OF TOWN. OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARISE IN THE ADDITION OF USE PERMISSIONS FOR MEDICAL OFFICES, IN ADDITION TO OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES WHICH PROMOTE ACCESSIBILITY TO HEALTH CARE. AND THE FINAL TOOLKIT ANALYZED WAS THE POLICY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT, AND THIS SERVED AS AN UNDERLAY FOR THE REST OF THE TOOLKITS ANALYZED. AND FOR THIS TOOLKIT, WE TOOK A TWO PRONGED APPROACH. THE FIRST POLICY DEVELOPMENT SERVES AS A STRUCTURE TO OUR SYSTEMS, WHERE WE FIND CONSIDERATIONS OF PROFESSIONAL SILOS OR SPECIALTIES MUST INTENTIONALLY COLLABORATE IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER TO AVOID FOCUSING ON SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY POLICIES ARE RECOMMENDED AT ALL LEVELS.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT SERVES AS THE ACTIVATION OF OUR SYSTEMS. WE RECOMMEND PRIORITIZING PRIORITIZATIONS AND INFORMING COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF PLANNING PROCESSES WHERE INPUT IS MOST CONSTRUCTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE. WE ADDITIONALLY RECOMMEND A RE APPROACH TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES FORM QUALITATIVE INTERPRETATIONS. THE PATTERN COLLECTION OF THOSE INTERPRETATIONS THEN BECOME THE QUANTITATIVE DATA OUTPUTS USED IN OUR COMPREHENSIONS AND
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ELABORATIONS OF THOSE SYSTEMS. WE PROVIDE PLANS FOR. ACCESSIBILITY IS THEN DEFINED AS THE USABILITY OF THESE SYSTEMS. THE GAP CONNECTING BRIDGE BETWEEN THE DECISION MAKERS AND THOSE WHO ADHERE TO THOSE DECISIONS. WE RECOMMEND THAT TRANSLATED VERSIONS OF MASTER PLANS OR OTHER PLANNING DOCUMENTS ARE PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION. IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE RECOMMEND THAT IN THOSE DOCUMENTS OR DEFINITIONS FOR INCLUDING JARGON AS NEEDED. THIS WAY, TRANSPARENCY AND EDUCATION ARE BOTH PROMOTED SIMULTANEOUSLY. ACCESSIBILITY CAN BE CONSIDERED ON MULTIPLE SCALES. TRANSPORTATION, HEALTH CARE, HOUSING, AND DIGITAL ACCESS MAY SEEM LIKE SEPARATE ISSUES, BUT THEY CONVERGE AT ACCESSIBILITY. TREATING ACCESSIBILITY AS A MULTI-SKILLED CONCEPT MEANS RECOGNIZING THAT A GAP IN ONE AREA OFTEN COMPOUNDS GAPS IN ANOTHER. ACKNOWLEDGING THE SCOPE OF THE MULTISCALE ISSUE AT THE GET GO ENSURES THAT COLLECTIVE UNDERSTANDING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES WAS AT LEAST ATTEMPTED. AND SO OUR LAST SECTION HERE IS THE IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK, WHICH WAS SET OUT BY PLAN FOR HEALTH. AND THIS IS IN THEIR TOOLKIT AS WELL. AND IT'S A SEVEN STEP FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTING TOOLKITS ESTIMATED TO TAKE PLACE OVER THE COURSE OF ABOUT A YEAR, WITH A CAVEAT FOR STEP SEVEN, AS THIS IS MORE OF A VISION SETTING GOAL THAN RATHER THAN SOMETHING TO IMPLEMENT WITHIN A SINGLE YEAR. SO STEP ONE IS TO BRING TOGETHER THE PLANNING AND PUBLIC HEALTH SIDES OF THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT, BUILDING CAPACITY AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS. STEP TWO IS TO THEN WIDEN THE TEAM, BRINGING IN AS MANY STAKEHOLDERS AS POSSIBLE, FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS. IN PARTICULAR. WE REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH DISABILITIES WHO MAY HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE THAT CAN'T BE SEEN. FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, THIS EFFORT AS A WHOLE SHOULDN'T BE A TOP DOWN TECHNOCRATIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK, BUT ONE THAT CENTERS COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IN A COLLABORATIVE POWER SHARING PROCESS. STEP THREE IS TO COLLECT AND ANALYZE DATA, BOTH QUALITATIVE THROUGH EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS AND QUANTITATIVE. THROUGH DETAILED ANALYSIS, INVESTIGATIONS CAN BEGIN WITH THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY MAPPING TOOL, AS IT ALLOWS PEOPLE WITHOUT MUCH MAPPING EXPERIENCE TO VISUALLY SEE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT HEALTH RELATED METRICS. I WANT TO STRESS THAT THE UPCOMING EXAMPLES HERE AREN'T A COMPREHENSIVE, EXHAUSTIVE ANALYSIS, BUT JUST A WAY TO GROUND THE IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK AND THE TOOL IN A VISUAL EXAMPLE. SO I'M GOING TO USE THE TOOL HERE TO ILLUSTRATE SOME OF THE ISSUES IDENTIFIED IN OUR ANALYSIS IN THE HEALTHY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SECTION.SPECIFICALLY, THESE ISSUES IN ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES AND HEALTHY FOODS FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. AND I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH FOUR EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE HOW TO BEGIN INVESTIGATING THESE ISSUES. EVEN IF YOU, LIKE MYSELF, HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE WITH MAPPING. SO AS WE COVERED IN THE SORRY, THIS IS THE THIS FIRST EXAMPLE HERE IS THE LAND USE BY PARCEL OVERLAY ON THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY WEBSITE, WHICH IS.
THEY HAVE THIS MAPPING TOOL. THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE TO USE. SO FOR EXAMPLE, SAY YOU'RE TRYING TO FIND SITE LOCATIONS FOR COMMUNITY GARDENS, FOOD FORESTS OR PUBLIC FOOD GARDENS.
THE GREEN LAND HERE IS USE TRACKS ARE MUNICIPAL PROPERTY, WHICH COULD BE A LOW COST LOCATION TO IMPLEMENT THESE MODELS. THE SECOND OVERLAY IS SHOWING THE TWO GROCERY STORES IN THE TOWNSHIP, LOCATED AT THE NORTHERN BELLE MEAD NODE AND THE SOUTHERN NODE NEAR THE PRINCETON AIRPORT, BOTH ALONG THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MUNICIPALITY. THESE TWO SITES LEAVE ACCESS ISSUES IN THE WESTERN, MORE RURAL SIDES OF THE TOWNSHIP. THIS MAP HERE NOW INCLUDES THE OVERLAY OF COMMERCIAL PARCELS, WHICH IN THIS CASE INCLUDES LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USES LIKE OFFICE PARKS, WITH SOME ZONING AMENDMENTS TO THESE NONRESIDENTIAL USES. THESE COULD REPRESENT SITES WHERE THE TOWNSHIP COULD ENCOURAGE NEW GROCERY STORES, FOOD MARKETS OR COOPERATIVES. FOR EXAMPLE, THREE SHOWS THE OVERALL DENSITY OF MONTGOMERY, WITH THE MOST DENSE AREAS IN THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE TOWNSHIP.
THE OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PLAN INDICATES THAT THE FOOD PANTRY AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER MAY BE MOVED, WHICH COULD BE A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR RELOCATING IT TO A HIGHER DENSITY AREA TO SERVE MORE PEOPLE. HOWEVER, DOING SO COULD ALSO LEAD TO DISTRIBUTION EQUITY ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN THE MORE RURAL, DISPARATE AREAS OF THE TOWNSHIP. THIS LEADS US TO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A MOBILE FOOD PANTRY TO HELP ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. AND SO WHEN THINKING ABOUT WHERE TO SITE A POSSIBLE MOBILE FOOD PANTRY, YOU COULD BEGIN TO INVESTIGATE THIS BY LOOKING AT THE OVERLAY SHOWING PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT OPEN SPACE IN NEW JERSEY. HERE ARE THE LIGHTEST GREEN SHOWS US MUNICIPAL PARKLAND, WHICH COULD HOST MOBILE FOOD PANTRIES OR MOBILE FARMERS MARKET DISTRIBUTION SITES. THE LAST EXAMPLE SHOWS VACANT PARCELS THAT COULD BE LEVERAGED TO ADDRESS FOOD ACCESS ISSUES A LITTLE MORE DIRECTLY. SO HERE I'VE SHOWN
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THE PRESERVED FARMLAND OF NEW JERSEY OVERLAY IN ORANGE AND HIGHLIGHTED THESE THREE SPECIFIC PARCELS THAT ARE CLOSE TO ALREADY PRESERVED FARMLAND. THESE PARCELS COULD BE POINTS OF INTEREST FOR NEW COMMUNITY GARDENS OR FOOD FORESTS LOCATED NEAR FARMS, ALLOWING FOR POTENTIAL COLLABORATIONS WITH THE NEARBY FARMERS WHO HAVE LOCAL AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE.THEY COULD ALSO BE POSSIBLE LOCATIONS FOR THE TOWN TO ACQUIRE. TO EXPAND THAT FIVE YEAR AG LEASING PROGRAM IN THE TOWNSHIP. HOWEVER, VACANT PARCELS ARE SOMETIMES VACANT FOR A REASON, AND HERE WE'RE SHOWING THE 100 YEAR FLOOD ZONE OVERLAY, WHICH INCLUDES AN ADDITIONAL THREE FEET, TO ACCOUNT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS PARCEL IN THE NORTHEAST WOULD HAVE TO BE INVESTIGATED ESPECIALLY THOROUGHLY, TO SEE IF THE FLOOD ZONE WOULD IMPACT THE USE OF THE PARCEL. SO OVERALL, I HOPE THAT THESE FOUR EXAMPLES CAN ILLUSTRATE HOW USERS WHO HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER WITH MAPPING CAN PLAY WITH OVERLAYS. TO BEGIN INVESTIGATING THE KINDS OF ISSUES THAT YOU WANT TO TACKLE WITH THE PLAN FOR HEALTH PROGRAM. SO IN THE IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK, STEP FOUR IS TO THEN CONSOLIDATE ALL THIS INFORMATION INTO A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS, INTO A VISUAL AND ENGAGING REPORT. AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS PHASE IS TO INFORM AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON THE IDENTIFIED ISSUES, ESPECIALLY FROM THE PUBLIC, AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY MATCH UP WITH BOTH THE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEALTH PRIORITIES OF THE RESIDENTS, AND ARE ADDRESSING THE MOST DISPARATE AND INEQUITABLE HEALTH ISSUES THAT IMPACT THE MOST OVERBURDENED POPULATIONS. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO EVALUATE THE CAPACITY OF MONTGOMERY TO IMPLEMENT SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS. STEP FIVE IS THEN DRAFT SOME LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMUNITY AND BY THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY TEAM'S ANALYSIS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS COULD LOOK LIKE PERMITTING MOBILE FOOD PANTRIES AND ALL MUNICIPALLY OWNED PROPERTY, AMENDING THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL ZONING TO ENCOURAGE GROCERY STORE OR FOOD COOPERATIVE USE, AND CREATING COMMUNITY GARDENS OR FOOD FORESTS ON MUNICIPALLY OWNED LAND. STEP SIX IS THEN ADOPT AND INTEGRATE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STEP FIVE AND CREATE SPECIFIC METRICS THAT ENSURE THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BOTH EFFECTIVE AND TIME BOUND. AND FINALLY, STEP SEVEN IS TO STEP BACK AND LOOK AT THE PROCESS AS A WHOLE, WORKING TOWARDS A HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES APPROACH.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY PROJECT IS TO INCORPORATE PUBLIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS INTO ALL PUBLIC DECISION MAKING CONSIDERATIONS. THIS STAGE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK FOR FURTHER COLLABORATIONS. IN OUR EXAMPLES THAT WE WERE SHOWING EARLIER, WE DIDN'T KNOW AT THE START OF THAT PROCESS HOW IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL LAND USE WOULD BE TOWARDS ADDRESSING THE ISSUES IDENTIFIED IN THE TOOLKITS IN MONTGOMERY. SO IN STEP SEVEN, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU COULD THEN CONSIDER INTEGRATING A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE AG ADVISORY COMMITTEE INTO THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NEW JERSEY TEAM GOING FORWARD. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD TIME TO REEVALUATE CURRENT POLICIES TO INTEGRATE MORE PUBLIC HEALTH OBJECTIVES, IF POSSIBLE. ONE EXAMPLE COULD BE AMENDING NEW TOWNSHIP OWNED FARMLAND LEASES TO REQUIRE COLLABORATION WITH THE THE TOWN FOOD PANTRY OR NEARBY COMMUNITY GARDEN PROGRAMING. AND SO WITH ALL OF OUR TOOLS PRESENTED THEIR CONTENTS DISSEMINATED, WE CAN ASK OURSELVES, WHY SHOULD WE USE THEM? WHY SHOULD WE PLAN FOR HELP? AND THE ANSWER IS IN THE PROJECT'S PROVISION OF UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, OF COMPREHENDING PUBLIC HEALTH, THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, AND THEIR INTERCONNECTIONS TO PROFESSIONAL PLANNING. UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE PREVENTS SUBJECTIVITY OF MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND THIS WAS A KEY LESSON THAT CAME UP IN OUR STUDIO RESEARCH THAT MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP DOES NOT PLAN FOR HEALTH THE SAME WAY BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP PLANS FOR HEALTH. AND NEITHER OF THE TWO PLAN FOR HEALTH THE SAME WAY THE CITY OF PATERSON PLANS FOR HEALTH. THE TOOLKITS. THEREFORE. STREAMLINER PLANNING MECHANICS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. AND. SO, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHY WE PLAN FOR HEALTH, WE CAN ASK, WELL, WHY DO WE USE TOOLS? WE USE TOOLS BECAUSE THEY MAKE OUR HARD WORK EASIER. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING US AGAIN. HERE ARE THE NAMES OF OUR OTHER STUDIO MEMBERS. WE ALSO PRINTED OUT A COUPLE COPIES OF OUR STUDIO REPORT SO I CAN PUT THEM OVER ON THE TABLE OVER THERE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS AGAIN. THE INITIAL IDEA WAS HOW DO WE INCORPORATE PUBLIC HEALTH INTO OUR PLANNING PROCESSES? AND THOSE OF US THAT HAVE STUDIED PLANNING, AND THOSE OF YOU THAT SERVE ON THE PLANNING BOARD, KNOW THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS THE FOUNDATION OF PLANNING. BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MUNICIPAL LAND USE LAW, PUBLIC HEALTH IS ONLY MENTIONED ONCE. AND SO WE NEED TO START THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE REMIND OURSELVES THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE HEALTH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS A FOUNDATION AND THAT WE USE THE STATISTICS AND DATA THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WORKS. WE BREAK DOWN THE SILOS, WE BRING FOLKS TOGETHER, AND WE USE THIS AS A TRUE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE US ALL HEALTHIER. SO WITH THAT, WE WELCOME ANY
[00:50:05]
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. I HAVE A QUESTION. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, COMMENT. NICE JOB GENTLEMEN.THANK YOU SO MUCH. NICE JOB PROFESSOR. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR BOTH OF YOU. SO YOU'VE YOU'VE STUDIED MONTGOMERY. YOU'VE YOU KNOW, YOU'VE COME UP WITH THE TOOLKIT IN IN HEARING EVERYTHING THAT YOU PUT INTO THIS. IF YOU WERE US, WHICH OF THESE THAT YOU IDENTIFIED WOULD YOU START WITH? YEAH. SO THIS IS LIKE A YOU DIDN'T THINK WE'D HAVE CLASS TONIGHT? OH, I, I, I, I'M JUST THINKING BECAUSE THIS IS THE, THE SAME KIND OF ISSUE THAT WE WERE DEALING WITH THE ENTIRE TIME THROUGH THE STUDIO, THAT THERE ARE SO MANY TOOLKITS AND SO MANY SUB TOOLKITS. EACH ONE HAS 6 TO 7 OR 6 TO 8 SUB TOOLKITS. YEP. SO YOU HAVE 40 ODD DOCUMENTS TO START WITH. AND EACH ONE IS 5 TO 10 PAGES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE WE NOTICED IS THAT AS YOU STARTED TO PULL ON THE THREAD OF ANY ONE GIVEN ISSUE, YOU WOULD INSTANTLY BEGIN TO SEE THE WAYS IN WHICH THAT WOULD AFFECT OTHER ISSUES. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE HEALTH CARE ACCESS TOOLKIT, THERE'S ONE ON MOBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY GET TO HEALTHCARE. AND OBVIOUSLY THAT TIES INTO THE MOBILITY TOOLKIT, WHICH TALKS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE ACCESSIBLE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO USE OF ALL AGES AND OF ALL, YOU KNOW, DISABILITY LEVELS. AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT, YOU BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT, OKAY, WELL, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE HOUSING AND THE PLACES THAT CAN MAKE IT SO THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO WALK TO, YOU KNOW, HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. AND THEN THAT LINKS BACK AROUND BACK TO HEALTH CARE, WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT LAND USE AND ZONING TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HEALTH CARE FACILITIES ARE ABLE TO BE IN DENSE AREAS. SO I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS. LIKE ONE IS TO JUST PULL ON ONE THAT YOU, YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, COULD USE SOME SPECIFIC WORK. AND NATURALLY, AS YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, YOU'LL START TO CONNECT TO ALL THESE OTHER ISSUES. I THINK ANOTHER THING THOUGH, IS TO, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT ANY OF THE GIVEN TOOLKITS ARE STILL USEFUL IN ANY TOWNSHIP. YOU KNOW, MONTGOMERY HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PLANNING FOR A LOT OF THE THINGS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE TOOLKIT. BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, HEAT ISLANDS AREN'T SOMETHING I WOULD FIRST CONSIDER AS AN ISSUE, RIGHT IN MONTGOMERY. BUT DESPITE THAT, THERE ARE STILL LOCALIZED AREAS WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A LOT OF PAVEMENT AND NO, NO TREE CANOPY COVER OR WAYS TO DEAL WITH FLOODING. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS TOM WILL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND HERE ALSO, I THINK THE WEBSITE MAKES IT QUITE EASY TO SEE ALL THOSE CONNECTIONS AND DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO START WITH. WE ALSO RECOMMEND THAT YOU LOOK IN PARTICULAR AT THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, IN PARTICULAR IN MONTGOMERY AND GROUNDED. SO IF RADON IS AN ISSUE, IF ASTHMA IS AN ISSUE, IF HEART DISEASE IS AN ISSUE, LUNG CANCER, WHATEVER IT IS, LOOK IN PARTICULAR AT THE DATA THAT'S PRODUCED IN THE THE CHIP AND THE CHA THE ANALYZES THAT ARE DONE. ALSO, WHEN THE TEAM IS FORMED AND YOU START WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY ACCESS A LOT OF DATA POINTS DIRECTLY FROM THE PLAN FOR HEALTH NJ TOOLKIT.
SOME OF THEM AREN'T SPECIFIC TO MONTGOMERY, BUT MANY OF THEM ARE. AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HAVE PRODUCED A REPORT FOR EVERY MUNICIPALITY. SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO START LOOKING IN PARTICULAR AT SOME OF THOSE. AND THIS IS WHERE, AGAIN, PLANNING IS MOVING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. I SAID ABOUT A DECADE OR TWO AGO, YOU KNOW, AFTER SANDY, AFTER A LOT OF THE NATURAL DISASTERS STARTED HAPPENING, THAT SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE WAS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE. IT STILL IS. BUT I'M CONVINCED PUBLIC HEALTH IS THE NEXT WAVE OF THE FUTURE. AND THE MORE WE CAN PAY ATTENTION TO THESE ISSUES BY STARTING FIRST WITH THE DATA, STARTING FIRST, IN PARTICULAR, LOOKING WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT? THEN I THINK YOU START THINKING A BIT ABOUT WHAT THE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ARE. AND AS JACOB AND MATT HAVE SAID, IT COULD BE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS. AND THE BEAUTY OF THE TOOLKIT IS IF YOU CLICK ON THE ASTHMA BUTTON, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT SUB TOOLKITS, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN MOBILITY OR IF IT'S IN HOUSING OR IF IT'S IN ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. YEP. THAT WAS ONE THING WE TALKED ABOUT WAS WHAT WAS THAT NOISE POLLUTION FOR SURE, WAS AROUND ORDINANCES, AROUND LOUD GAS POWERED MATERIALS. AND THIS IS ALSO WHERE, AGAIN, BRINGING THE PUBLIC IN THE CONVERSATIONS MATTERS. BECAUSE WHAT IS AN ISSUE TO ONE PERSON MAY BE AN ISSUE SOMEONE ELSE GOING THROUGH, WHETHER IT'S NOISE, WHETHER IT'S LIGHT POLLUTION, WHETHER AGAIN, IT'S AROUND POLLUTION, WHETHER IT'S THE
[00:55:04]
FACT THAT TRYING TO GET TO A HEALTH CARE FACILITY IN THE MIDDLE OF MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP IS A CHALLENGE GOING THROUGH. IF YOU ARE AN ALICE WORKING POOR, BASICALLY, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THESE SITUATIONS IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A CAR? HOW DO WE DO THAT NOW? I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN AND PROFESSOR. I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET YOU BEFORE, AND I THINK THIS IS GREAT. AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THAT $50,000 GRANT TO START WORKING AND. YES. AND THAT'S THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY IMPERATIVE. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED ABOUT THE HEALTH PART, I'VE HEARD FOR THE LAST AT LEAST THREE AND A HALF, FOUR YEARS FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER, DEVON PATEL, WHO KEEPS BRINGING UP THAT, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME WE'RE LOOKING AT ANY ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO IN THE TOWNSHIP, HEALTH COMES FIRST. AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AND OF COURSE, TRANSPORTATION IS ANOTHER ONE THAT WE KEEP CONSISTENTLY HEARING PARATRANSIT FROM CROSSINGS, WHICH IS THE DEVELOPMENT HERE AND HOW WE CAN GET PEOPLE TO, AS YOU SAID, TO THEIR APPOINTMENTS AND HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE A CAR OR DO NOT HAVE THAT AVAILABILITY OF, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE DRIVING THEM, HOW HOW CAN THE TOWNSHIP HELP? BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, AS YOU SAID, IF THERE IS NO HEALTH, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE GRANT AWARD AS WELL. AND THERE IS A COMMITTEE THAT'S GOING TO BE FORMED. AND THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE SOMETHING THAT WE WILL LOOK TO YOU AS WELL AS AS WE GO THROUGH THE THE PROCESS. AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, OF COURSE, CHOOSING MONTGOMERY TO BE ONE OF THOSE TOWNS THAT CAN WORK ON THIS. AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR, AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU MENTIONED DEVANG PATEL. YES, SHE'S BEEN A PHENOMENAL RESOURCE TO US. AND THE IDEA, AGAIN, THAT YOU HAVE SOMEONE OF THAT ABILITY AND THAT CONNECTION, WORKING WITH SHERRY, WORKING WITH LORI HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL. AGAIN, I GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, A DECADE AND A HALF AGO IN SANDY HIT BEFORE THAT, PLANNING BOARDS AND OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RARELY TALKED TO EACH OTHER. AND WE START THINKING, WHAT WERE WE THINKING? I, I PREDICT THE SAME THING'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE START REALIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR PLANNING BOARDS AND OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE WORKING TOGETHER. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU ALL. TRULY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO JUST MAKE ONE COMMENT, ONE MORE COMMENT.THANK THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PROJECT. EXCELLENT WORK. I WOULD RECOMMEND TO ALSO COORDINATE WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. I'M FROM THE BOARD OF HEALTH ALSO.
SO SO THAT'S WHY I HAVE THAT THING IN MIND TO, TO, TO INTERTWINE THAT THE THE OTHER COMMENT I WANTED TO MAKE IS YOU ALL THESE POINTS ARE OF YOUR RESEARCH AND WORK. YOU HAVE POINTED OUT THEY, THEY MAY NOT MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO WORK IN ISOLATION. SO THEY ARE INTERTWINED. SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR HEALTH RELATED ISSUES, IF THERE IS ACCESSIBILITY ISSUE OR THERE IS LIKE ROADS OR CARS, AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. SO THESE ARE ALL INTERTWINED. SO I THINK SOME OF THE FACTORS ONE HAS TO COME UP WITH, LIKE THEY COULD BE WORKED SIMULTANEOUSLY, NOT LIKE TAKING A FEW POINTS AND THEN WORK ON THOSE MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE. ACTUALLY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT WAS VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU. OKAY. I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO GO BACKWARDS ON THE AGENDA. AND IN MY ERROR, I DID NOT CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE THE PICCOLO APPLICATION. SO EVEN THOUGH THE APPLICANTS HAVE GONE AND WE HAVE VOTED, I STILL WANT TO GIVE ANYONE WHO WANTS TO HAVE A COMMENT OR TALK ABOUT THAT THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME UP ENDEAVOR. I KNOW THAT YOU. YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO. SO PLEASE AGAIN, MY APOLOGIES AND. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. IT'S A LITTLE LATE, BUT AND IT'LL PROBABLY BE MORE RELEVANT IF THEY DO COME FORWARD WITH A SITE PLAN. SO I GET THAT. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONCERNED ME WHEN I FIRST LOOKED AT IT, THERE'S A LOT OF TREES THAT ARE BEING TAKEN DOWN CURRENTLY IN THE IN LOT 20. SO I HOPE THAT THE TOWNSHIP MAY LOOK AT THAT AND SEE DO THEY HAVE TREE. HAVE THEY TAKEN OUT ANY PERMITS FOR IT FOR THAT AREA? THE OTHER THING THAT I FOUND WORRISOME IS THAT THE EASEMENT THAT THEY ARE DOING IS ON ROUTE TWO OF 206, AND THERE'S A CURB THERE, AND WHERE THE CURB OPENS GOES DIRECTLY INTO THE SERVICE BAY OF BELLE MEAD GARAGE. SO AN EASEMENT THAT IS ACTUALLY THROUGH A SERVICE BAY MAY NOT BE THE BEST PLACE TO PUT AN EASEMENT. SO THAT WAS AND AGAIN, IT IS CONTINGENT UPON TOTALLY COMING WITH A REAL EASEMENT. EXACTLY. AGREED. BUT I JUST LOOKING AT
[01:00:01]
THAT, I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE THE TREES THAT ARE BEING TAKEN DOWN NOW AND KIND OF WHAT'S GOING ON THERE. AND THAT IS AN EXCELLENT POINT. OKAY, GREAT. AND I JUST HAD A COMMENT ABOUT SOME OF THE PRESENTATION. YEAH. JUST IN TERMS OF THERE WAS A LOT OF ACTIVITY THAT MONTGOMERY'S ALREADY DONE, THAT SOME OF IT GOT PUT ON HOLD DURING COVID.AND MARVIN, YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THESE THINGS. SO WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT. SO OTTO KAUFMAN, WE'RE SET UP. WE WERE SET UP TO SETTING UP TO DO A GARDENS THERE AND WE PUT WATER.
THE WATER WAS PUT IN THEIR PUBLIC WATER. SO THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY. ALSO, THE OLD MUNICIPAL BUILDING SITE, WE LOOKED AT SKILLMAN PARK AND THE SCHOOLS TALKING TO THEM ABOUT GETTING WATER THERE. THEY WERE GOING TO GIVE US A NICE PRICE TAG FOR THAT. BUT SO THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITY THAT'S PROBABLY ALREADY GONE ON IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH THING THAT CAN DUST OFF.
AND I THINK YOU'LL BE WAY AHEAD OF OTHER THINGS, SUCH AS EVEN LOOKING AT LIKE LEAF BLOWER BANDS AND ORDINANCES. YEAH, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND WE'D ALSO TALKED ABOUT FROM A MUNICIPALITY ITSELF THAT THE WE WOULD MAYBE NOT EVEN PURCHASE ANY MORE OF THESE KIND OF GAS BLOWERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK ALREADY DONE, AND I'M SURE DUSTING OFF SOME OF THE STUFF PREVIOUSLY HAPPENED DURING PROBABLY A GLOBAL HEALTH PANDEMIC WOULD BE HELPFUL. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS, DEBORAH. COME ON UP. AND PLEASE YOUR NAME AND SPELL YOUR LAST NAME. AND IF YOU'RE IN THE TOWNSHIP AND YOU CARE TO GIVE YOUR ADDRESS. YEAH. I AM PAVIT SINGH, PEVITSINGH. I LIVE IN BELLE MEAD EVENING. SO AS THIS IS LIKE MY FIRST ONE OF THESE. SO I WAS ACTUALLY KIND OF WORRIED WHEN, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE APPLICATION. YEAH. BUT ANYWAY, THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS THERE, THE ATTORNEY FOR PICCOLO, HE DID NOTE THAT THAT ALL FUTURE DEVELOPMENT ON LIKE THE LOTS WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PLANNING BOARD, OF COURSE, BUT, BUT LOT 16 ESPECIALLY IS CURRENTLY A WOODED AREA AND IT'S CONNECTED THROUGH HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP. SO AS LIKE MISS HEENAN NOTED, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT LIKE WHAT THEY WOULD BE PLANNING ON DOING THERE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE THE APPLICANT, I BELIEVE, ASKED FOR ONE OF LOTS TO BE REZONED FOR COMMERCIAL USE. SO DOWN THE LINE, IF YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NO, IT WASN'T REZONING, IT WAS JUST MOVING THE LOT LINE. OKAY, SO THAT WAS IT. OKAY. BUT WHEN SOMEONE COMES FOR AN APPLICATION, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN ON IF THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE TREES OUT, HOW AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO REPLACE THEM. SO YEAH, AND, AND THE MONTGOMERY POLICE DEPARTMENT ALSO VOICED CONCERN ABOUT LIKE, LIKE ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC GOING THROUGH AND, AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, I DRIVE ON 206 LIKE ALL THE TIME OVER THERE. SO IT'S PRETTY CONGESTED. I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, THOUGH, THAT WE CAN ONLY RULE ON WHAT'S BROUGHT IN FRONT OF US. AND THAT WAS MOVING THE LOT LINE. YEAH. I WANTED TO KNOW ANY, ANY DEVELOPMENT OR ANY BUILDING ON ANY OF THOSE LOTS. THEY HAVE TO COME IN WITH THE TRAFFIC ENGINEER AND, AND WE HAVE OUR PROFESSIONALS AS WELL. SO IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY LENGTHY PROCESS.
YEAH. I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT AS I WAS LOOKING THROUGH MR. SULLIVAN'S MEMO, HE NOTED SECTION FOUR, SUB BULLET ONE, THAT IT WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE MORE INFORMATION LIKE REGARDING FUTURE PLANS. THAT'S ALL. BUT IF I MAY SHARE, I LOVE LIKE THE PRESENTATION, MATT AND JACOB, THEY'RE NOW THEY'VE NOW LEFT.
BUT IF I MAY SHARE A PERSONAL ANECDOTE ABOUT LIKE THE MOBILITY TOOLKIT, I KNOW LIKE THERE'S AN EXCEEDING NUMBER OF LIKE SENIORS IN OUR TOWN, SENIORS, LIKE WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE TOWNSHIP FOR THEIR WHOLE LIFE, AS WELL AS LIKE FAMILIES WITH, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOUNG CHILDREN AND STUFF. THEY ALSO HAVE BROUGHT IN THEIR PARENTS AND THEIR IN-LAWS. AND SO LIKE, THE MOBILITY IS A BIG CONCERN BECAUSE LIKE I'VE SEEN WITH MY OWN FAMILY, MY GRANDMA, YOU KNOW, SHE LIKE FOR HER TO GET PLACES TO LIKE, SAY, LIKE BUY GROCERIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT IS A CONCERN. SO WHAT I SAW IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY, THE LOW FARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE VANS, THAT WAS A PRETTY COOL IDEA. SO IF THAT THERE'S YEAH, I MEAN, OKAY, YES, YOU'RE 100% RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND I WOULD SUGGEST HONESTLY COME TO FUTURE MEETINGS AND DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, NOT HAVING TO DO WITH APPLICATIONS, JUST COME UP AND GIVE YOUR THOUGHTS. THANK YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD, ON FRIDAYS, WE DO HAVE A FREE BUS FOR OUR SENIORS AND OTHERS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR GRANDMA COULD DEFINITELY AVAIL OF. THAT GOES TO THE GROCERY STORES AS WELL.
YEAH, I KNOW ABOUT THAT. BUT THE THING IS, LIKE MY GRANDMOTHER WAS CONCERNED ABOUT DOING THAT BECAUSE SHE REALLY ENJOYS THE ENGAGEMENT WITH LIKE THIS AT LIKE THE SENIOR CENTER AT THE KAUFFMAN CENTER. AND THE BUS BRINGS YOU TO, I BELIEVE, KEISHA AND, AND SHOPRITE FOR ABOUT LIKE TWO HOURS. AND LIKE, SHE WOULD HAVE TO NOT GO TO THE SENIOR CENTER FOR THE ENTIRE DAY. SO IT'S A CONFLICT WITH THE TIMINGS OF THE SENIOR CENTER. YES. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD
[01:05:03]
TO KNOW. WE'LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT. THAT COULD BE COORDINATED. SO LIKE THE BUS, LIKE TRANSPORTATION BUS THAT COMES FROM THE HOME AND GOES TO THE SENIOR CENTER. IF LIKE A BUS FROM THE SENIOR CENTER COULD THEN GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND THEN RETURN TO THE SENIOR CENTER, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE THEY COULD TAKE THEM BACK TO THEIR HOMES. THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION. WE WILL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE I THINK SHERRY'S NOTING IT DOWN, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. I DIDN'T REALIZE ABOUT THE CONFLICT THAT THEY WOULD MISS THE SENIOR CENTER ACTIVITIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THE.PIEKLO, ABOUT THE PIEKLO APPLICATION? GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. I'M SORRY. PUBLIC COMMENT. HE'S SAYING PUBLIC. I THINK HE SAID PUBLIC COMMENT. OH, THAT'S AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, SIR. I'M SORRY. I THINK LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN LIVING IN THE TOWN FOR LIKE MY NAME IS SIR. SO I HAVE TO STOP. I HAVE TO STOP YOU. PUBLIC COMMENT. WE'RE GOING INTO CLOSED SESSION NOW. PUBLIC COMMENT IS AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY MEETING. OKAY. SO I GUESS LIKE I HAVE TO COME IN NEXT TIME I GUESS THEN YOU YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME BACK NEXT MEETING. PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. NO PROBLEM. I MEAN, CAN WE REOPEN PUBLIC COMMENT? I MEAN, HE IS I, I WOULD AFFORD TO HEAR THIS IDEA. I'M SORRY FOR SURE. YEAH, YEAH. SO I'VE BEEN LIVING IN THE TOWN FOR ALMOST LIKE IF YOU COULD SAY YOUR NAME AGAIN. DID YOU GET IT? SHERRY 16.
RIGHT. NAIK, YEAH. THANK YOU. AND SURPRISINGLY THAT I SAW LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HELPER, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT TOPIC WAS VERY, VERY INTERESTING. AND I WAS IMPRESSED, RIGHT? I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS AN OUTLIER THINKING IN THAT SENSE. BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE THINKING IN THAT SENSE, RIGHT, WHICH IS VERY GOOD. SO I JUST WANTED TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, SHARE A COUPLE OF THINGS, RIGHT? I THINK IN THE LAST ABOUT A MONTH OR SO, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT TOPIC. AND I THINK THE SCHOOL BUDGET GOT PASSED AND THE PROPERTY TAXES WENT UP. AND EVEN LIKE I THINK WE HEARD LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE TOWNSHIP TAXES ARE ALSO GOING UP. AND I ALSO HEARD ABOUT SOME OF THE, THE PROJECTS THAT ARE KIND OF ON HOLD. AND THERE IS A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT FROM THE TOWNSHIP 23 ORCHARD AND ALSO KENWOOD SITE. RIGHT. AND I KNOW THAT I HAVE SEEN THE TOPICS ON MULTIPLE THINGS. MAYBE I HAVE MISSED SOME OF THE INFORMATION.
IF YOU GUYS CAN PUBLISH THAT INFORMATION A LITTLE BIT MORE, BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST FROM THE PUBLIC, WANT TO ENGAGE AND TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE WITH THIS RATE, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, IT'S GOING TO BECOME UNAFFORDABLE PRETTY SOON FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE, RIGHT? ESPECIALLY OLDER COMMUNITY WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR DECADES. RIGHT. AND MY SUGGESTION IS, I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB IN LIKE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT EVERY ASPECT OF IT. AND I WOULD SUGGEST, LIKE, LOOK AT HOW VIABLE IT CAN MAKE GOOD FOR THE TOWNSHIP. AND ESPECIALLY I HEARD ABOUT THE PILOT PROGRAM THAT YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT FOR 23 ORCHARD, WHICH I THINK SHOULD BE LOOKED AT. AND I DEFINITELY LIKE, YOU KNOW, 100% OF THE PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO SUPPORT IT. AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS WE CAN GET A DECENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO AGREE, IT'S A GOOD DECISION. I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT LIKE ALL THE OPTIONS TO MOVE FORWARD, RIGHT? AS LONG AS IT CAN BENEFIT, AS LONG AS IT CAN REDUCE THE BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE. RIGHT. THAT WOULD BE A GOOD OPTION, RIGHT? I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT SO THAT AT LEAST YOU GUYS CAN KIND OF THINK THROUGH THAT ONE AND MAYBE SHARE INFORMATION A LITTLE BIT BEFORE THE MEETING.
SO THERE IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE READING IT, ESPECIALLY NOW LOOKING AT LIKE, YOU KNOW, TAXES GOING UP. LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN LIKE SEEING, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE PARTICIPATE? HOW CAN WE CONTRIBUTE? THAT IS AN EXCELLENT POINT. SHERRY. WHERE DO WE PUBLISH EVERYTHING NOW PRIOR TO THE MEETINGS? IT'S PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE. IT IS.
SO APPLICATIONS ARE AND ALL THE INFORMATION BACKUP INFORMATION ARE PUBLISHED ON THE PROJECTS PAGE. YOU GO TO THE ACTIVE PAGE AND YOU CLICK ON THE APPLICATION AND YOU GET EVERYTHING. THE REPORTS, THE PLANS, THE AGENDAS ARE POSTED ON THE MEETINGS PAGE AND THE CALENDAR PAGE. THERE ARE THE REDEVELOPMENT. THERE'S A REDEVELOPMENT PAGE THAT HAS THE AREA NEED REPORTS THE PLANS. SO IT'S DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE THE WEBSITE. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TWO MEETINGS A MONTH. SO THE AGENDAS ARE ALWAYS POSTED BEFORE THAT. WE'LL TRY TO PARTICIPATE MORE AND TRY TO GIVE INPUT TO IT. WE WE WELCOME IT. TRUST ME, WE DO. AND ONLY ONE REQUEST, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE LINKS MIGHT BE THERE. AND IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT CAN BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA AS A LINK SO THAT PEOPLE CAN EASILY FIND IT? IF YOU SEND IT? I THINK YOU CAN DO THAT YOURSELF. OKAY, SO THERE'S THE NEW WEBSITE. I'LL HAVE TO IF YOU WANT TO GIVE ME A CALL IN THE MORNING, I CAN LOOK AT THE WEBSITE. I CAN WALK YOU THROUGH,
[01:10:01]
BUT I THINK YOU CAN SIGN UP BECAUSE NOW WHEN WE SEND OUT AGENDAS, I CAN SAY EMAIL IT.AND WHOEVER SIGNS UP FOR IT IS SUPPOSED TO GET A COPY OF IT. YEP. OKAY. NO PROBLEM. I'LL GIVE ME A CALL IN THE MORNING AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH HOW TO DO IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU FOR COMING. BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE DO HEAR FROM RESIDENTS CHAIR. YEAH. ABOUT REVENUE. AND IF THERE IS ANY REDEVELOPMENT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE RESIDENTS? IT'S CRITICAL WITHIN WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, WANT THEM. YEAH. THANK
[VIII.CLOSED SESSION]
YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. RIGHT NOW WE ARE GOING TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION AND I'M GOING TO READ OUT THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A CLOSED SESSION. THE MINUTES. MINUTES. MINUTES. MINUTES. OH YEAH. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE DAYS. OKAY. WE HAVE THE MINUTES OF APRIL 27TH. DO I HAVE A[VII.MINUTES – April 27, 2026 ]
MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED. SECOND. ROLL CALL PLEASE. BONNIE. YES. YES. YES. ROBERTS.YES. SINGH. YES. SCHULDINER. YES. AND SHARMA. YES. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. SHERRY. ANYTHING ELSE I'M MISSING? THE RESOLUTION. IT'S BEEN A DAY. OKAY. WHEREAS NJSA TEN COLON 4-12. THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETING ACT AUTHORIZES THIS BOARD TO EXCLUDE THE PUBLIC FROM THAT PORTION OF A MEETING AT WHICH THIS BOARD DISCUSSES CERTAIN MATTERS. WHEREAS THE BOARD IS ABOUT TO DISCUSS SUCH A MATTER, SPECIFICALLY EMPLOYMENT AND OR APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL PLANNING CONSULTANT. WHEREAS, THE PUBLIC MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM SUCH DISCUSSION PURSUANT TO SECTION SEVEN B OF THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT NOW. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD ON THIS 11TH DAY OF MAY 2026, THAT THE BOARD NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION AND THE PUBLIC BE EXCLUDED, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD THAT IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE GENERAL SCOPE OF THE DISCUSSION WILL BE DISCLOSED AND INCLUDED IN THE MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE BOARD MEETING, BUT THE SPECIFICS OF THIS DISCUSSION WILL BE MADE PUBLIC ONLY WHEN THE NEED FOR CONFIDENTIALITY NO LONGER EXISTS, AND CAN WE HAVE A VOTE? CORRECT. KAREN OF THE BOARD.
ALL IN FAVOR, SAY I, I. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY, THEN. WE'VE APPROVED THIS ON THE 11TH DAY OF MAY 2026. AND UNFORTU DO I HO REOPEN THE MEETING? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY.
SO. NOW WE LOOK AT KAREN. OUR PLANS. WELL, AT THIS MOMENT. YOU HAVEN'T RESOLVED YET WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO WITH THE PLANNER AND. YEP. OKAY. SO WE STILL HAVE AN OPEN QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH. ASSIGNING OR CONTRACTING WITH PLANNER TO DO THE CORRECT TO DO THE STUDY. SO OKAY. SO IS, IS THERE AS A PLANNING BOARD, WHAT IS OUR STEP FORWARD? IF SOMEONE IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING? WOULD YOU ADVISE US, KAREN, AS TO WHAT WE ARE DOING, HOW WE MOVE FORWARD? WELL, IF THERE IS AN INTEREST IN BRINGING IN AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, THEN ONE OPTION TO FOLLOW MIGHT BE FOR STAFF TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THEY COULD GET FROM THE COUNTY. AND IF THERE IS, THEN THERE CAN BE A SMALLER GROUP OF THE BOARD THAT MAY INTERVIEW THAT CANDIDATE INITIALLY. IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER CANDIDATES, AND THEN THEY COULD COME TO THE FULL BOARD. THAT PERSON FOR NOW, CLOSED SESSION INTERVIEW. YEP. AND THAT MAY INFORM EVENTUALLY WHAT YOU END UP DOING IN TERMS OF THE PREPARATION OF THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN. OKAY. SO KAREN, YOU'RE BASICALLY SAYING THAT WE AS A PLANNING BOARD NEED TO HAVE GOALS AND MAYBE THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT COULD ASSIST YOU IN FORMULATING THE GOALS NOW. OKAY.
FOR THE PROJECT. OKAY. GOOD. SO AND DO WE DO THE COMMITTEE NOW? THE SMALL THE WHATEVER. WELL, DO WE HAVE. ALL RIGHT. ARE THERE. OF COURSE WE THERE THERE ARE NO RECOMMENDATIONS YET OR
[01:15:02]
CANDIDATES. BUT IF AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, ARE THERE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BEING ON THAT SUBGROUP? YES. AND I THINK WE DO HAVE FOUR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST. OKAY. SO CAN WE IDENTIFY THEM? SURE. SO THAT WOULD BE SARAH ROBERTS.SARAH ROBERTS. ROMANI. RAHMANI. PAUL BLODGETT AND MARVIN SHELDON. OKAY. OKAY. IT'S A GOOD FIRST STEP, EVERYBODY. ALL RIGHT. FINALLY, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WE HAVE THE CNG
[IX.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
HARLINGEN SUBSTATION AGAIN. GTP ACQUISITIONS THRIVE AT MONTGOMERY. OF COURSE WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE ON THE 23 ORCHARD ROAD REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND THE BLOOMBERG WALKING PATH AS WELL. IN THE SPIRIT OF TRYING TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS THE BOARD, WOULD WE LIKE TO KIND OF IN SOME WAY SUMMARIZE OR REHASH THE SITE PLANNING COMMITTEE THAT WE HAD WITH CNG AND ACQUISITIONS? WAS THERE? I'D BE HAPPY TO KIND OF TRY TO SUMMARIZE THAT. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT WE WHAT THEY SAID AND SENT THEM BACK AND, AND TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT. SO IF I COULD JUST MAYBE TAKE. PLEASE. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA FOR ME. SO YEAH, I, AND I JUST IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR CONVERSATION TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS. SO CNG HARLINGEN SUBSTATION IS AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION THAT IS PLANNED TO GO ON. WHAT I KNOW IS THE GREAT ROAD, I GUESS IT'S TRACY PLACE, WHICH IS RIGHT OFF. RIGHT OFF. YEAH, YEAH. 601 AND SOME OF THE MAIN POINTS THAT WE, THIS, THIS SUBCOMMITTEE WAS THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF THE LIGHTNING RODS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ON THAT AND HOW TALL THEY'RE GOING TO BE. AND ALSO MAKING THE FRONTAGE OF THE PROPERTY LOOK A LITTLE LESS INDUSTRIAL, LIKE A STATION AND LIKE A SUBSTATION TO KIND OF OBSCURE THAT. THAT WAS SOME OF THE POINTS THAT WE SENT THEM BACK WITH. AND THEN ANOTHER POINT THAT WAS ADDRESSED WAS ALSO THE, THE NAMING, THIS IS NOT HARLINGEN, IN FACT, WHERE IT'S AT. AND SO WE ASKED THEM TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT NAME. SO WHICH THEY HAVE, I BELIEVE MAYBE THEY HAVE. YEAH. THAT'S GREAT. AND THEN THE GTP ACQUISITIONS. THIS IS THE THRIVE. THIS IS THE COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES PROPERTY ADJACENT WITH THE CORNER OF 206 AND THE BELLEMEADE TRAIN STATION AREA. AND I THINK THERE'S SOME MAIN POINTS THERE. WE'VE SEEN THAT PLAN ALREADY A FEW TIMES. WHAT WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE, WHEN THEY PRESENT IT TO THE WHOLE BOARD WAS VISUALS OF, OF HOW IT'S GOING TO LOOK FROM 206. YEAH. VERY CLEARLY, BECAUSE 206 IS MUCH HIGHER ELEVATION THAN THIS.SO LOOKING DOWN ON THAT PROPERTY, I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR FOR US. SO WE ASKED THEM TO DO THAT. AND THEN WE ALSO EXPRESSED SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE RETENTION BASIN THAT WAS GOING TO BE RIGHT THERE ON THE CORNER OF I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE THE ROAD THAT GOES INTO COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES. SCARBOROUGH, SCARBOROUGH. YEAH. YEAH. ON THAT CORNER THAT IT MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN. SO WE KIND OF ASKED THEM. YEAH. SO WE'LL LOOK AT THAT. OKAY. THAT'S IT. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. NO THAT'S GOOD. AND YEAH, LET'S GET THE SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES ANYTIME WE CAN. YEAH. OKAY, GREAT. SHERRY, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. SITE SITE PLAN AND SUBDIVISION REVIEW COMMITTEE. IS THAT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC? YES IT IS. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO HEAR, BUT NO COMMENTS. GOT IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. FUTURE MEETINGS. THE AFOREMENTIONED SITE PLAN. SUBDIVISION COMMITTEE, JUNE 2ND, 2026, 8:30 A.M. AND THEN THE NEXT TWO PLANNING BOARD MEETINGS SCHEDULED ARE JUNE 8TH AND JUNE 22ND OF 2026 AT 7 P.M. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. SECOND. SECOND. ALL
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.