Notes from Planning Board Meeting

Acting Fire Chief Frank Tidwell makes a capital improvement presentation to the Planning Board.

Planning Board meetings are always interesting to me and Thursday was no exception. Among the items were a final site plan approval that disappointed Edwin Place residents, a conceptual hearing for a Habitat for Humanity proposal that would place a second new home next to the latest one completed and several capital improvement plans.

Here are some informal notes:

- A small group of Edwin Place residents were disheartened to hear that a proposed store and two apartments will have traffic in and out of their small block after the Union County Planning Board rejected permitting use of Terrill Road for ingress and egress to the project's parking lot. The matter had gone to court, but apparently the residents received no notice of a hearing and cannot appeal the ruling. Resident Margaret Washington was incredulous at the decision and a 70-year resident of the block fretted over the change. Washington said the property currently has a driveway onto Terrill Road. However, the applicant was relieved to have a decision after four years, although no decision had yet been made on the type of store to be built.

- A conceptual hearing sought by Greater Plainfield Habitat for Humanity about subdividing a lot at Franklin Place and East Fifth Street did not yield a clear consensus from the board. The group completed construction of a four-bedroom home at one side of the lot and is now seeking to build a smaller, three-bedroom home on the other side. The smaller home would have the same design as two others previously built at 1208 West Fourth Street and 1038 West Third Street, and would fit in with the neighborhood on East Fifth Street, said The Rev. Jeremy Montgomery, the group's executive director.

Board member William Toth called the proposal "entirely compatible and consistent" with the neighborhood and said he thought it was "a desirable situation." Police Officer James Abney, also a board member, favored the proposal. But board member Ron Scott Bey declined comment and Chairman Ken Robertson said he was "wavering" over increasing the density. Montgomery said the group hoped to bring the matter before the board "as soon as possible," noting the project would "allow us to serve one more family."

Board attorney Michele Donato noted any position taken by the board at a conceptual hearing was "non-binding" on an actual application.

Meanwhile, Montgomery invited board members to a May 15 open house at the new home. Click here to learn more about the group, its work and the upcoming open house.

-The board heard several capital improvement budget plans. These proposals are for expenditures on items such as heavy equipment or building improvements that are expected to last a long time and may be funded by bonding. Capital improvement plans span several years.

- Library Director Joe Da Rold presented items including a phone system upgrade and architectural and engineering studies for a project to fill in the library's central core with an elevator and study rooms.

- Acting Fire Chief Frank Tidwell discussed needs such as new pumpers, a fire command vehicle and a heavy duty rescue truck to replace outdated equipment. Other Fire Division capital items included parking lot repairs, security cameras, plumbing upgrades, hose replacement, computers and a public address system to serve all three fire stations. Somewhere "down the road," Tidwell said, he hopes for a new fire station.

It was interesting to hear Tidwell, who is in line to become the next fire chief, talk about possibly having a "more green, more hybrid, more computer-friendly" fire station some day. He came across as a forward-thinking administrator of the kind needed by the city to adapt to changing times.

Planning for and funding capital improvements is supposed to be an ongoing function of municipal government, but to Plaintalker's knowledge it has not kept on a steady course. Click here to see a blog post from December 2009 on that subject. Now that the city has a chief finance officer after a gap of three years, perhaps the means can be found to keep capital improvements more on track.

--Bernice