At the direction of Jackson Township Planning Board Chairman Tzvi Herman, police officers escorted Jennifer Cusanelli away from the podium after asking some uncomfortable questions.
The matter at hand - which the Board did not even bother to place on their public meeting agenda - involved laying the groundwork to add potentially thousands of houses in the Township, and turn Jackson into Lakewood.
Even more shocking, attempts are underway to inaccurately package this new move as part of the Township's settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. This was the uncomfortable part that Ms. Cusanelli was highlighting.
In 2017, the Township Council adopted ordinances which prohibited dormitories and massively restricted school development in the Township.
On June 15, 2022, the Township entered into a settlement agreement which requires the Township to void the 2017 ordinance and "replace it with an ordinance that will allow religious elementary and secondary schools, religious higher learning institutions and religious residential schools in numerous residential and other zoning districts, and permitting associated housing such as dormitories as an accessory to private, parochial, and public schools in certain zoning districts."
As previously reported here on FAA News, as part of this settlement process, back in July 2023, the Jackson Township Planning Board formally adopted a Master Plan Amendment Report which recommends that the Township adopt an Ordinance permitting dormitories in certain zones to comply with the Township's settlement agreement with the Justice Department.
That Master Plan Amendment Report included the following recommendation:
Where appropriate, permit dormitories and student residences as an accessory use in a new R- 3/R-5 overlay zone, PV, RG-2, RG-3, PM-1, LM, I, NC, and LC zoning districts.
The report did not specify the bulk requirements for the uses. Rather, the report simply recommends that the Township Council should introduce their own Ordinance "establishing area, bulk and design standards in order to protect the existing character of the Township."
As the news was first broken here on FAA News, at Monday night's public hearing, the Planning Board amended their previously adopted Master Plan Amendment Report to recommend as follows:
Where appropriate, permit dormitories, student residences, and faculty residences as an accessory use in a new R- 3/R-5 overlay zone, PV, RG-2, RG-3, PM-1, LM, I, NC, and LC zoning districts.
Where appropriate, permit dormitories, student residences, and faculty residences as a conditional use where the primary institution to which the use is associated is located in the new R- 3/R-5 overlay zone, PV, RG-2, RG-3, PM-1, LM, I, NC, and LC zoning districts.
This amended report states that the "objective" of this new recommendation is "to provide for limited non-residental development in residential zones while protecting the existing character of neighborhoods."
The amended report also does not specify the bulk requirements for the uses. Rather, like the first report, the amended report simply recommends that the Township Council should introduce their own Ordinance "establishing area, bulk and design standards in order to protect the existing character of the Township."
For the uninitiated, this "faculty residences" addition will permit for possibly thousands of homes to be built on what would otherwise be considered undersized lots and would not be permitted under the current zoning ordinances.
Are you wondering what type of housing and how small will the lots be? That is exactly where the big catch is - the Planning Board is not limiting their recommendation to a certain type of housing and size lots. Instead, the Planning Board is simply giving their blank check recommendation that the Township Council should make their own rules!
The way this cool catch works, whatever ordinance the Council eventually introduces, will safely be "recommended by the Master Plan." This clause gives the Township a freebie from needing to provide legal personal notice to all affected property owners. Additionally, it makes it much more difficult for opposition to file a lawsuit against such an ordinance.
Curiously, this massive plan isn't even listed on the Planning Board's meeting agenda. Apparently, someone wants this big move to get approved as quietly as possible (perhaps because public comments brings the possibility of uncomfortable questions being raised?).
Moreover, this amended report contains lots of references to the settlement with the Justice Department. However, faculty housing has absolutely nothing to do with the settlement with the Justice Department.
Jennifer Cusanelli and Eleanor Hanum took to the podium and offered public comments regarding the Amended Report.
Subsequently, Ms. Cusanelli returned to the podium and asked why this "Amended Report" contains lots of references to the settlement with the Justice Department when in fact it has absolutely nothing to do with the settlement with the Justice Department.
Board Chairman Tzvi Herman got uncomfortable with this question and ordered police officers to escort Ms. Cusanelli away from the podium.
With the adoption of this "amended report," Avi Schnall's hard work is finally paying off.
Rabbi Schnall got Agudath Israel, the New Jersey Attorney General, and even the U.S. Justice Department to file massive lawsuits against Jackson Township. These lawsuits were all cloaked in the name of the holy need for schools in the Township.
However, FAA News has learned that the true basis for all these lawsuits was to eventually figure out a way to coerce Township officials to permit for high density housing.
The first plan was for Mordechai Eichorn to submit plans to the Planning Board for a "fully conforming application" for schools and then to run to the Zoning Board and seek their blessing to permit for high density housing in lieu of the "unwanted schools." At the time, the Zoning Board didn't fall for this trick.
Now however, a new plan was hatched - convince Township officials that "schools" also require "faculty housing."
Ah, of course!
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1 comment:
Is there a video?
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