Hazlet committee puts off vote on zoning amendment Belasco proposes public forum be held BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer The Hazlet Township Committee postponed a vote on a new zoning ordinance last week, and instead will hold a public meeting on the controversial measure. The catalyst for the deferred vote was Committeeman Joseph Belasco, who said he was not ready to vote on an amendment to zoning ordinances that has been in front of the Township Committee for the past two months. The rest of the committee members agreed with Belasco that a public meeting should be held where residents and the committee would get all of the answers that they have been seeking on the amendment, which would create a new Medium Density Residential Transition (MDRT) zone and amend the zoning maps. As the second public hearing of the ordinance was about to begin Feb. 19, the committeeman said he had prepared a statement but didn't need to look at it to get his point across. "I had a whole thing written out, but I'm not going to do that," Belasco said. "I'm going to speak from the heart and tell the residents how I feel on this issue." He went on to tell the residents who filled the seats in Town Hall that in his day job as a Jersey City crisis intervention teacher, he has to mediate situations on a regular basis. Belasco asked the mayor to hold an open forum so that everyone could receive more information and the longrange consequences of any decision on the proposed ordinance. He said he wants residents to understand all of the facts involved in the new ordinance, which would rezone the property for town-home development. "If after this public forum, the consensus is that we still do not want to rezone, then I will vote no," Belasco said. The amendment, introduced at the Township Committee'smeeting on Jan. 15, creates a new zone for town-house development and would allow for up to 26 town homes on the 4-acre site behind the Walgreens on PooleAvenue. TownshipAttorney DanielMcCarthy confirmed previously that developer Elegant Properties has sued the township's Zoning Board in the past for denial of a land use application and has said the ordinance "emanates from the litigation." Elegant Properties had previously received permission to build 11 houses on the property after failing to gain approval for building 26 town homes on the site. The new ordinance would make it possible for Elegant Properties to build the town homes. Belasco suggested a March 25 workshop, but Committeeman Scott Aagre wanted to know why the matter was being postponed. "What's the difference between March 25 and tonight?" Aagre asked Belasco. "We have the public forum here and now." Belasco said that he neededmore information, and the other members agreed. DeputyMayor Kevin Lavan said that he wanted to give the publicmore information first. "I want to give the public more information on the previous administration and their backdoor dealings," Lavan said. "So this open forum is something that sounds like a great idea to me." Committeeman JosephMarques agreed that the open meeting was important. "If we can get the majority of the town along with our professionals there, then we can all make a fair decision," he said. "I think it's important we get all of the facts straight before we make a decision that everyone seems to be against." ResidentAlberta Fuller spoke wanted to know how the committee could even consider the ordinance that the Planning Board ruled was not consistent with the township's master plan on Feb. 8- a matter thatMcCarthy said can be factored into a decision by the committee. "The master plan is 30 years old with the last amendments to it taking place in 2002," Mc- Carthy said. "The township is working on a new master plan with the professionals, but they have to start from the beginning because of how old it is." He also dispelled the notion that Elegant Properties, as well as issues with Council onAffordableHousing regulations, are threatening the township. "There are no threats fromdevelopers," McCarthy said. "There is no affordable housing issue. "This ordinance would help to protect from overdevelopment and developers in the future who may come at us for fairshare housing issues because we do not have rules in place as of now." He said that the committee inherited the problem and that they are taking steps such as this rezoning, as well as preparing for a new master plan to keep the township from having problems in the future with developers who want to build homes in the township that this new ordinance as well as the master plan would curtail. Resident Jack Shaw, who lives near the property that would be rezoned, said he is frustrated by the way the matter has been handled to this point. "I feel like we have been bullied," Shaw said. "It's common sense that this is not right." Mayor James DiNardo, who has been quiet about the issue over the past two months, decided that this meeting was the time to let his opinion on the matter be known to the public. "This has all been one big headache," DiNardo said. "It's not to appease any builder; we were stuck with this matter." All five committeemen agreed that a public forum with all of the major players in the matter would help to clear the air and would let the public help to decide this matter's fate.