Mahwah April 13, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Crossroads rezoning approved despite public protest by Frank J. McMahon The three ordinances concerning the rezoning of the 140-acre International Crossroads property from office park to a mixed retail, office space, hotel, theater, and recreational use were adopted by the Mahwah Council. The 42 vote followed a controversial and confrontational public hearing that lasted four and a half hours. One ordinance pertains to the rezoning, a second pertains to the security that would be required at the new mixed-use site, and a third pertains to the creation of a fund that would result from fees that would be paid by any business owner who locates at the site. Councilmen Samuel Alderisio, Harry Williams, Roy Larson, and Council President John Roth voted to adopt all three ordinances. Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio and Councilman John Spiech voted against the adoption of the ordinances. The seventh seat on the council was vacant when the vote was taken. More than 400 members of the public attended the hearing, which was moved from the council/court room to the senior center in the municipal building to accommodate the large audience. The meeting began with a motion by Larson seconded by Alderisio to move the scheduled appointment of a new council member to the end of the meeting after the vote on the rezoning ordinances. That motion passed 4-2, with Williams and DiGiulio joining Larson and Alderisio in voting for the change, and Spiech and Roth voting against it. Then Spiech moved to place the rezoning ordinances on a non-binding referendum. DiGuilio seconded the motion, which failed when there was a tie vote as Alderisio joined DiGiulio and Spiech in voting for it. Larson, Williams, and Roth voted against it. That was followed by a presentation by James Jaworski, the attorney for Crossroads Developers, LLC, the owner of the Crossroads property. He explained that the plan would entail 600,000 square feet of retail space plus 150,000 square feet of office, hotel, and theater space with two big box stores on the Crossroads property with a maximum of 50,000 square feet of professional office space over the retail stores on a 300-foot long pedestrian walkway. Jaworski explained further that one of the ordinances would provide $6,750,000 in fees, 40 percent of which would be used for infrastructure construction at the site, and 60 percent, or $4 million, would be given to the township for its own use, such as for road improvements. Jaworski emphasized that the current office building zoning of the property would permit 1.8 million square feet of office building space. His traffic expert, Dan Disario, emphasized that if the property were developed under the current zoning, the site would create “multiple more times the traffic than from these ordinances.” Jaworski was heckled by the crowd when he criticized a petition signed by 400 people who oppose the ordinances, because the petition included out-of-state residents’ signatures. Prior to the public comment portion of the meeting, Joseph Burgis, the township’s professional planner, explained that while the planning board’s report to the council on the ordinances found that the rezoning ordinance was inconsistent with the township’s master plan, the board also found that it was consistent with the goals and objectives of the master plan. Forty-two of the people attending the meeting stood up before a microphone that was set up in front of the council table to voice their objection to the rezoning of the Crossroads property. The speakers ranged in age from high school students to senior citizens, and their objections were often expressed in an emotional manner that prompted Roth to admonish the crowd on several occasions for shouting out in opposition to comments by council members. None of the speakers spoke in favor of the ordinances. The members of the public who voiced their concerns about the potential for increased traffic on arterial roads in the township; the potential increase in traffic on the already congested Route 17; flooding from the development and the Ramapo River; the negative impact they claimed it would have on the township’s water supply and water quality; and the negative effect they claimed it would have on home values, which they said would prevent many homeowners from using the value of their homes to fund their children’s (continued on page 10) Richard A. Cutler, CFP® Craig R. Cutler, CFP® 48 South Franklin Turnpike Suite # 301, Ramsey, NJ 07446 201-934-6400 www.lpl.com/cutlerfinancial craig.cutler@lpl.com richard.cutler@lpl.com 4-13-11 janine Hedgewick4x9Color(4-13-11)