December 7, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah Planning board carries Crossroads hearing to January by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Planning Board has agreed to carry the public hearing for the development of the International Crossroads property until Jan. 23. The agreement to postpone the hearing took place at last week’s board meeting, which was attended by about 75 people who came to hear testimony about the site plan application by Crossroads Developers, LLC, the developer of the 140-acre site, which is located on Route 17 North. James Jaworski, the attorney for the developer, requested the adjournment for two reasons. One was to provide his client time to address what he described as minor technical concerns expressed by Mahwah Township Engineer Michael Kelly about the plans, and concerns expressed by other township departments, including the police. The other reason was to allow the board to reorganize in the New Year with any new members who may be appointed by William Laforet, the township’s new mayor who was elected in November. Asked by board member Charles Jandris if the request had anything to do with the plans not being complete, Jaworski said, “Absolutely not. The modifications (to the plans) have nothing to do with the plans not being complete.” The planning board agreed to member Todd Scherer’s recommendation that the board retain its own outside experts to prepare traffic and physical impact reports and an environmental impact study that will be paid for from the $128,000 in escrow the developer posted to cover the board’s expenses. Board member Ward Donigian asked Jaworski to stake out the location of the buildings proposed for the site so they can be more easily visualized. Prior to the opening of the public hearing, a question was raised by Michael Richards of the Stop the Mahwah Mall Committee about a potential conflict of interest on the part of one of the planning board members. Richards claimed that alternate board member Ellen Stein publicly stated at a recent Candidates Night that she was in favor of the mall and lower taxes, and he questioned if that created a conflict of interest for her. Planning Board Attorney Peter Scandariato explained that a person does not lose his or her right to an opinion because he or she is a member of the board. He added, “A conflict of interest is for her to decide. Everyone is a resident and everyone has an opinion.” Stein pointed out later that other appointed and elected officials in the township have also expressed their opinions about the mall in public. She explained her own position by saying she does not yet know enough about the details of the Crossroads plan to make a final decision on it, but she is in favor of bringing in businesses to the township and lowering taxes. In January, the board will begin to hear testimony about the site plan to build a mixed use retail mall on the site, which is expected to include 600,000 square feet of retail space plus 150 000 square feet of office, hotel and movie theater space with two big box stores with a maximum of 50,000 square feet of professional office space over the retail stores on a 300 foot long pedestrian walkway. Plans also call for recreational fields. The developer describes the proposed development as a lifestyle center that will be a shopping center or mixedused commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented toward upscale consumers. After the developer left the meeting, the board held a discussion, which at times became an intense debate, about the screens that were in the room to reflect the presentation of the plans so the public could see them, and a video camera to record the meeting on videotape. Gary Montroy, the township’s planning/zoning administrative officer, explained that the screens were donated by Sharp Electronics to provide a larger surface on which to project the plans so they would be more visible to the board and the public. Peter Wendrychowicz, a member of the township’s Community Cable Television Committee, explained that he was asked by a member of the board to come and videotape the meeting. Board member Jeremiah Crean and Stein questioned (continued on page 10)