Jones Lang LaSalle
Neighbors fear influx of traffic from Jets camp
Business will increase, but so will the crush
Sunday, May 14, 2006
BY JOHN WIHBEY
Star-Ledger Staff
Madison's mayor loves that the Jets will be moving next door in Florham Park. The NFL franchise is expected to bring business to the area.
But Mayor Woody Kerkeslager isn't too keen on having in his backyard all of the 550 townhouses, condos and other homes tied to the project on the site of the former Exxon headquarters.
"Certainly, Madison is very concerned that this is done right," Kerkeslager said. "It will have a major impact on Madison's water supply and traffic."
The mayor figures that many of the drivers leaving the development -- which will include a 200-room hotel, day care center and 600,000 square feet of office space, as well as the Jets' facility -- will drive to Madison to catch the train, find entertainment and shop.
He's not alone among area officials.
Jitters about how the new development will affect the environment and roads continue to ripple through towns surrounding Florham Park. Officials from Madison, the Chathams and Morris Township, among others, are watching the project carefully. The major concern is traffic created by the hundreds of new residents and employees who will live and work at the site, still owned by ExxonMobil, once it's redeveloped.
K. Hovananian Homes will develop the hundreds of age-restricted housing units, according to documents submitted to the state by Florham Park.
Ray Zabihach, the county's planning board director, said the project is likely the county's largest current development proposal. Even so, he said, it's not an overwhelming plan given the sizable office parks that have been built in the past decade.
"We've had a respite since Exxon was at full tilt. People tend to forget about what came before," Zabihach said. "We've got Route 24, a state road, and Park Avenue, a county road, there. If we all work together, we can do it. It really does entail coordination and planning."
The issue of traffic in the area has been a sore subject since Madison and the Chathams took Florham Park to court in 2002 over a previous plan for the site. Two years later, a settlement was reached requiring Florham Park to meet new state stormwater management regulations and conduct a joint traffic study for the development proposed at the time.
That traffic study could be a contentious issue.
Florham Park Mayor Frank Tinari said the 2004 settlement was based on a more aggressive plan to put 1.8 million square feet of office space on the site. Now, with the new plan, there should be "very light traffic, relatively speaking."
Tinari said there's no need for Florham Park to conduct a traffic study jointly with the other towns, "although it seems to me it would be good to reassure the neighboring towns."
Morris Township Mayor Robert Nace said he believes "this whole project should be contingent on this traffic study since it wasn't done before."
The study is also something Chatham Borough Mayor Richard Plambeck said he expects to be consulted on. "From just a good faith standpoint, the mayors agreed that there were issues that need to be addressed and the traffic is part of that," he said.
Plambeck proposes a direct access artery from Route 24 eastbound to Park Avenue southbound. Congestion at Columbia Turnpike and Park Avenue also must be addressed, officials say.
Florham Park planning board chairman Sam McNulty said he understands the concerns. "There are people in the other towns that are wary, as well they should be," he said. "We're not going to sit back and wait for a developer, any developer, to solve a problem."
The Gale Co., a firm partnering with the Rockefeller Group Development Corp. to develop the site, has missed two Florham Park meetings where it was expected and delayed presenting plans for a month now, officials said.
Gale Co. president Mark Yeager did not return calls seeking comment.
Florham Park officials will review the plans and then hold a final vote on an ordinance tailored to each part of the project. That will streamline a process that could get bogged down before zoning and planning boards, borough officials say.
"We want a traffic study, and we want it done before the ordinance," Kerkeslager said.
McNulty said he, too, is waiting for Gale Co.'s plan to come in.
"When that occurs, I'm going to pull -- and my planning board is going to pull -- the thing apart," he said.
Kerkeslager notes the current Florham Park rezoning ordinance, which the borough council has given a first reading and passed, contains some puzzling provisions, including:
An exemption for the sweeping residential housing plans from limits on the total amount of ground covered by development. It could be a key issue in protecting the aquifer that lies beneath the site, area officials and environmentalists say.
A rule stating the developer may not reduce the nonresidential floor space or housing density by more than 15 percent, allowing little room for compromise if traffic or environmental concerns arise.
McNulty and Tinari said those are precisely the kinds of issues that the planning board will address after they see the site plan.
In any case, Jets officials -- who intend to move to Florham Park in 2008 -- say the team may expand on their campus, which would initially include an office building, air-supported dome and three fields. Their option on another 12-acre parcel is spelled out in the letter of intent signed by the state, Florham Park, the team and developers.
"As you know, our business is constantly expanding," Jets spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein said. "When we first moved into Hofstra we would never have imagined that we would now be overflowing. Thus, we want to keep our options open regarding future expansion."
A welcoming event for the Jets to be held at Florham Park's municipal building from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday will be attended by the team's 2006 draft picks as well as owner Woody Johnson and team president Jay Cross, Shorenstein said.
John Wihbey is a reporter in the Morris County bureau. He may be reached at jwihbey@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Neighbors fear influx of traffic from Jets camp
Business will increase, but so will the crush
Sunday, May 14, 2006
BY JOHN WIHBEY
Star-Ledger Staff
Madison's mayor loves that the Jets will be moving next door in Florham Park. The NFL franchise is expected to bring business to the area.
But Mayor Woody Kerkeslager isn't too keen on having in his backyard all of the 550 townhouses, condos and other homes tied to the project on the site of the former Exxon headquarters.
"Certainly, Madison is very concerned that this is done right," Kerkeslager said. "It will have a major impact on Madison's water supply and traffic."
The mayor figures that many of the drivers leaving the development -- which will include a 200-room hotel, day care center and 600,000 square feet of office space, as well as the Jets' facility -- will drive to Madison to catch the train, find entertainment and shop.
He's not alone among area officials.
Jitters about how the new development will affect the environment and roads continue to ripple through towns surrounding Florham Park. Officials from Madison, the Chathams and Morris Township, among others, are watching the project carefully. The major concern is traffic created by the hundreds of new residents and employees who will live and work at the site, still owned by ExxonMobil, once it's redeveloped.
K. Hovananian Homes will develop the hundreds of age-restricted housing units, according to documents submitted to the state by Florham Park.
Ray Zabihach, the county's planning board director, said the project is likely the county's largest current development proposal. Even so, he said, it's not an overwhelming plan given the sizable office parks that have been built in the past decade.
"We've had a respite since Exxon was at full tilt. People tend to forget about what came before," Zabihach said. "We've got Route 24, a state road, and Park Avenue, a county road, there. If we all work together, we can do it. It really does entail coordination and planning."
The issue of traffic in the area has been a sore subject since Madison and the Chathams took Florham Park to court in 2002 over a previous plan for the site. Two years later, a settlement was reached requiring Florham Park to meet new state stormwater management regulations and conduct a joint traffic study for the development proposed at the time.
That traffic study could be a contentious issue.
Florham Park Mayor Frank Tinari said the 2004 settlement was based on a more aggressive plan to put 1.8 million square feet of office space on the site. Now, with the new plan, there should be "very light traffic, relatively speaking."
Tinari said there's no need for Florham Park to conduct a traffic study jointly with the other towns, "although it seems to me it would be good to reassure the neighboring towns."
Morris Township Mayor Robert Nace said he believes "this whole project should be contingent on this traffic study since it wasn't done before."
The study is also something Chatham Borough Mayor Richard Plambeck said he expects to be consulted on. "From just a good faith standpoint, the mayors agreed that there were issues that need to be addressed and the traffic is part of that," he said.
Plambeck proposes a direct access artery from Route 24 eastbound to Park Avenue southbound. Congestion at Columbia Turnpike and Park Avenue also must be addressed, officials say.
Florham Park planning board chairman Sam McNulty said he understands the concerns. "There are people in the other towns that are wary, as well they should be," he said. "We're not going to sit back and wait for a developer, any developer, to solve a problem."
The Gale Co., a firm partnering with the Rockefeller Group Development Corp. to develop the site, has missed two Florham Park meetings where it was expected and delayed presenting plans for a month now, officials said.
Gale Co. president Mark Yeager did not return calls seeking comment.
Florham Park officials will review the plans and then hold a final vote on an ordinance tailored to each part of the project. That will streamline a process that could get bogged down before zoning and planning boards, borough officials say.
"We want a traffic study, and we want it done before the ordinance," Kerkeslager said.
McNulty said he, too, is waiting for Gale Co.'s plan to come in.
"When that occurs, I'm going to pull -- and my planning board is going to pull -- the thing apart," he said.
Kerkeslager notes the current Florham Park rezoning ordinance, which the borough council has given a first reading and passed, contains some puzzling provisions, including:
An exemption for the sweeping residential housing plans from limits on the total amount of ground covered by development. It could be a key issue in protecting the aquifer that lies beneath the site, area officials and environmentalists say.
A rule stating the developer may not reduce the nonresidential floor space or housing density by more than 15 percent, allowing little room for compromise if traffic or environmental concerns arise.
McNulty and Tinari said those are precisely the kinds of issues that the planning board will address after they see the site plan.
In any case, Jets officials -- who intend to move to Florham Park in 2008 -- say the team may expand on their campus, which would initially include an office building, air-supported dome and three fields. Their option on another 12-acre parcel is spelled out in the letter of intent signed by the state, Florham Park, the team and developers.
"As you know, our business is constantly expanding," Jets spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein said. "When we first moved into Hofstra we would never have imagined that we would now be overflowing. Thus, we want to keep our options open regarding future expansion."
A welcoming event for the Jets to be held at Florham Park's municipal building from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday will be attended by the team's 2006 draft picks as well as owner Woody Johnson and team president Jay Cross, Shorenstein said.
John Wihbey is a reporter in the Morris County bureau. He may be reached at jwihbey@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
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