Wedding/Prom Planner.. .Pages 10-13 THE WESTFIELD LEADER Serving Westfield Since 1890 USPSUO2O NIh T\ NINTH YEAR, NO. 38 Second Citii Pouaic Piid WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1989 Published •I WmlVU. N.I. Every Thursday 28 Pages—30 Cents Master Recommends Additional Sites for Town's Mt. Laurel Housing Obligation George Raymond, the Planning Master ap- one site, that being vacant property along pointed by the Superior Court in the Mt. Laurel Dunham Avenue, and makes several changes in litigation involving the Town of Westfield has the Westfield plan for the site near the motor vehi- issued his report and recommendations to the cle inspection station. court. The Master is a planning expert appointed by the court to provide expert assistance and ad- In addition to the construction of senior citizen vice to the court about Westfield's Mt. Laurel housing described above, the report recommends obligation and plan. In formulating his report, Mr. the construction of 685 new housing units in West- Raymond made his own independent study of the field on 10 other sites, which will include 122 units town's zoning and development, analyzed the of low and moderate income housing. The pro- town's plan and studied recommendations made posal suggests that this be accomplished by rezon- by the other litigants. Mr. Raymond recommends ing these properties now in various single family Westfield's fair share of low and moderate income residential zones, to permit the density of develop- housing to be 468 units, a number higher than the ment suggested. Rezoning for higher densities 414 units suggested by the Council on Affordable would provide builders with an economic incen- Housing (COAH). tive for development of the lands as recommended . The report also recognizes that Westfield does in the report. Such rezoning would also#require the not have sufficient suitable land to meet this 20% of the new housing that is constructed be obligation. The report proposes to provide units of reserved for sale or rent at a price that would per- affordable housing by a variety of methods, mit low or moderate income persons to afford the including many of the proposals made by units. The balance of the new housing units would Westfield in its Fair Share Housing Plan prepared be sold at market price. This method is called' 'in- by Robert Catlin and Associates, which was sub- clusionary" zoning. mitted to the state in August. Mr. Raymond yv Not recommends that Westfield receive full credit for The new sites which are suggested for rezoning the 79 units of substandard housing which have for inclusionary development which would include been rehabilitated since 1980. He also recom- market rate units as well as affordable units are Site J (9.23 acres) is occupied by Steurnagels' Site H (1.69 acres) lies between Washington mends that an additional 41 such units be rehab- the following. plant nursery and a single family house. The Elementary School and Holy Trinity Greek Or- ilitated by Westfield in the future. The report fur- 1) The site described in the report as Site I com- Master proposes to rezone the property for multi- thodox Church across the street from the Fairview . ther recommends that Westfield be permitted to prises the property currently operated as family dwellings, making an allowance for the ex- Cemetery. The Master recommends that this site erect 131 units of senior citizen housing on the site William's Nursery on Springfield Avenue, con- isting business and dwelling. be included in the Mount Laurel compliance currently proposed adjacent to the present Senior taining approximately 6.55 acres which the report package. Citizen Housing Complex and to receive full credit proposes to be rezoned to permit it to be developed toward its low and moderate income obligation for with 85 units of housing including 17 units of affor- only 89 of these new units, providing there are con- dable housing with a density of 13 units per acre. trols on affordability built into the system for rent- 2) The site described in the report as Site J ing, as is the case with the current senior citizen presently comprises the property of Steuernagel's housing. ' Nursery as well as one adjacent residential pro- The report further recommends that Westfield perty abutting the Cranford line, one residential contribute an amoutt of money sufficient to property fronting on Springfield Avenue and va- rehabilitate 30 housing units in another cant property owned by the Cranford Swim Club to municipality by way of a Regional Contribution the rear comprising a toial of 9.23 acres. The Agreement known as an RCA. Mr. Raymond sug- report proposes rezoning to permit this site to be gests that part of the cost of the Regional Con- developed with 55 units of housing including 11 tribution Agreement be paid from a contribution units of affordable housing with a density of six made by the developer of a Site located adjacent units per acre. to Route 22 (described as Site D in the report) in exchange for permission to develop his site with a 3) The site described in the report as Site H is density of 13 units per acre which is contrary to currently vacant land located at the corner of St. Marks Avenue and Gallows Hill Road which abuts current zoning. MAP NO. 7 Washington Elementary School PJayfield and the • SITE Q Mr. Raymond generally accepts Westfield's Greek Orthodox Church. This site consists of 1.69 BJIACRES proposals with respect to the use of vacant sites acres. The report recommends that it be rezoned Consisting of relative shallow lots along one side of Dunham Avenue, a paper street, Site G (4.10 acres) which were suggested in the Westfield housing ele- to permit development of 13 units of housing in- ment and fair share plan but suggests several new is split in two by a stream which runs through a gully. The Master feels the lots backing up to the cluding two units of affordable housing with a den- Dunham Avenue strip are of "exceptional depth" and could be included in Westfield's Mount Laurel sites for affordable housing some of which contain sity of eight units per acre. existing residential development. The report compliance package. disagrees with the Westfield plan with respect to [continued on PSQOi IB) Council Gives Final MacRitchie To Seek GOP Engineer Champions Cause Nomination in Ward III Of Summit Ct. Residents Approval of Budget Third Ward Republican voters Members of the Westfield since agreed to place the tank will have a choice for their underground to eliminate certain Final reading of Westfield's tion, Party's Town Council nominee in Board of Adjustment listened Councilman Corbet said it is Monday night to the testimony of safety hazards. $16.5 million municipal budget the June 6 Primary Election with Mr. Isaacson contended that for 1989, an increase of $867,000 or expected that Westfield will raise the announcement today that a Summit Court resident and licensed engineer, who is cham- locating the tank on the property 5.5 percent over 1988, was ap- $8,041,000 from various non-tax Kenneth L. MacRitchie, an at- in question (adjacent to the revenue sources, an increase of torney and accountant, of 515 pioning the cause of his neighbors proved by the Mayor and Town opposed to a Clark-based hair Lehigh Valley Railroad which Council at Tuesday night's public $140,000 over 1988. "Last minute Trinity PI,, will seek the GOP crosses Rahway Avenue), would changes in the state of New nomination. products manufacturer's pro- meeting. posal to locate a 6,000-gallon li- pose a hazard to Westfield The amount to be raised Jersey revenue sharing program Mr. MacRitchie actively sup- residents, if the tank were to rup- cost the town $185,000 in quid propane gas (LPG) tank through municipal taxes will be ports United Homeowners of used in an aerosol can - filling ture. $8,535,000, according to Council- income," he said. Westfield, a grass-roots Major areas of increase in the operation, on residentially zoned Mr. Isaacson compared the man W. Jubb Corbet, chairman organization dedicated to making Westfield property. potential energy of the LPG of the Finance Committee; this is budget are municipal employees' Westfield's affordable housing Armed with two boxes filled stored in the tank to 46 tons of ex- an increase of $727,000 or 9.3 per- salaries, $431,000; debt services, plan equitable.' However, he op- plosives (TNT). cent over 1988. $185,000; group medical in- poses plans for a parking deck in with documents, books and tangi- ' ble evidence to substantiate his He also remarked that there For the average home assessed surance, $368,000; library, the Westfield central business was a potential for train derail- $92,000; Rahway Valley district. "Parking decks are nor- objections to Cosmair, Inc.'s pro- at $178,000, this would amount to posal, Franklyn Isaacson of 25 ment with in 600 feet of the a municipal tax of $850 or 48 cents Sewerage Authority, $88,000; and mally not self-supporting proj- Rahway grade crossing, citing a (continued on tha lait pago of thFs section) ects; they normally must be sup- Summit Ct., focussed his 2"2 per $100 of the assessed valua- hours of testimony on the safety derailment which took place ported by additional funding several years ago toward the sources," he commented. of the tank, which was originally Kenneth L. MacRllchle proposed to be above ground. Scotch Plains border. Mr. MacRitchie has served as Finance and Budget Committee Cosmair representatives'have (coiulnuoct on pogo 23} treasurer of the Union County of the Union County Utilities Pollution Control Financing Authority, chairman of that Authority, chairman of the (contlnuod on Iho tatt pogo of thll sactlon) Recycling Information Residents are reminded that tpken to the Watterson Street Bagger Will Not Seek there will be curbside pick-up of municipal parking lot the second recyclables (aluminum cans, and fourth Saturdays of the Re-election to Council glass bottles are jars and news- month,8:30a.m.