Lucent is crucial property for quality of life

Mayor Serena DiMaso is confused over local government's role in protecting its residents and the idyllic quality of life in Holmdel Township. Her recent statement, "I don't know if a resident would want us planning their property, let alone a large development company," is misguided. She was referring to the Lucent citizen advisory committee's recommendation to employ a professional planning team to decide the future of the Lucent property. Her statement defends the right of a developer to plan the property to his liking over the desires of the town.

All homeowners and commercial landowners have to abide by existing zoning codes for their properties. They must formally petition for changes should they care to deviate from those plans. I cannot convert my single family home to a gas station or a convenience store because I want to turn a profit. So why would Holmdel Township give preferential treatment to a large development company to the detriment of the town? Our township Planning Board, Zoning Board, and master plan are in existence to prevent this very thing.

Somerset Development, the new prospective buyer of the former Bell Labs, proclaims it will listen to the residents of Holmdel in designing the optimum use for the property. Holmdel's Township Committee (TC) needs to help Somerset keep its word by prohibiting zoning changes that will allow significant increases in residential housing or traffic. Another step the TC can take is to enlist a planner, engineer, financial and marketing consultant, as well as current township professionals to determine the best long-term use for the land, as recommended by the advisory committee. A report by this planning team will enlighten the governing body about the interests of the residents, the environmental, financial, and traffic impacts, as well as the ever-present pressures from Committee on Affordable Housing (COAH) and will be money well spent.

TC members Larry Fink and Janet Berk have long fought against "quick fixes" which give us shortterm ratables that later drain our resources. They are backing the advisory committee's recommendation for a professional planning project. Hopefully, Berk and Fink will soon be joined by Democrats Mike Sockol and Richard Mausner as our representatives on the TC. Unlike their Republican opponents, Sockol and Mausner have strong records of supporting a planned approach to protect the town's natural and financial resources.

Sockol helped lead the fight against a prior proposal to put 300 housing units on the Lucent tract. Mausner, a former Planning Board chairman, helped devise the town's award-winning master plan, which guides the community's future. Both candidates support the recommendation of the professional planning project for this crucial 400-acre property.

The Lucent property is a crucial piece of property for historical, environmental, quality of life, and financial reasons. Our mayor and the Republican majority on the TC need to be penny-wise and hire a professional planning group. There will be serious ramifications affecting Holmdel residents on many levels if they become "pound-foolish" instead.

Regina Criscione

Holmdel