Planners Want Review of Boarded Homes, Redevelopment

I heard a lot of hopeful things at Thursday's Planning Board meeting, but hesitated to write about them because I wanted to get more details, However, even an overview will let readers see that 2014 will be a year for progress on several fronts.

Boarded-up homes

Planning Director Bill Nierstedt noted that Plainfield has more than its share of foreclosures in recent years. The board will work on a plan to "make them viable and restore them to neighborhoods." He said the Housing Authority of Plainfield or neighborhood organizations may have a role in the plan. In addition, the city will encourage banks holding properties to do more than just maintain them and cut the grass.

(Residents including Councilman William Reid have deplored the effect vacant houses have on a neighborhood. Reid said his small St. Mark's Place block has several vacant properties.)

Nierstedt also warned that if a property goes to sheriff's sale, the city will not be able to recoup liens on it. As council watchers know, recent agendas have included long lists of cleanups at vacant properties, the cost of which becomes a lien to be paid at the time of sale to a new owner.

The city also has an ordinance addressing the problem of abandoned houses and it will be brought to bear on the current situation.

Open space

The city needs more open space. One possible location is East Ninth Street, where two city-owned lots flank a privately-owned parcel that the city hopes to acquire.

Nierstedt said there is also a notion to restore a pond in the East End that was filled in. Tier's Pond was the subject of many a 19th Century photograph. Click here to see one.

The Lampkin House site is still being explored as open space. Nierstedt said the city does not own the site but is in talks with the owner over a land swap and the city is still pursuing funding that relies on the site being eligible for inclusion on state and national historic registers. The city would not ultimately own the site, but is seeking a 501(c)3 entity to take charge of the acreage off Terrill Road.

Old Redevelopment Plans

To those who have tried to keep track of more than a dozen old redevelopment "Marino's" refers to a former car dealership site off West Front Street that was targeted for a supermarket about a decade ago. Nierstedt said the redevelopment plan is 14 years old and needs review.

Plans for redevelopment on East Third Street fell through way back in 2008 (see Plaintalker post here), and Nierstedt recommended a review for that site also.

The Union County Improvement Authority's downtown office and commercial building never got a formal name, but is known as "Park-Madison" for a plan dating back many years. The UCIA recently settled unresolved issues with the city (see post here) and Nierstedt said the redevelopment plan "needs to end." Across West Front Street, the Tepper's block still has city-owned parcels, but Nierstedt said redevelopment plans have "gone nowhere" for ten years, meaning developers "are not interested." That site also needs review.

Joint Board Meeting

Land use boards including the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment and Historic Preservation Commission will hold a joint meeting, tentatively scheduled for March 15. For the first time, the Shade Tree Commission will be invited as well. The commission closely coordinates its tree planting efforts with the Planning Division and has review powers over redevelopment applications. Nierstedt said he hopes Mayor Adrian O. Mapp will be able to attend as well.

The boards have held joint meetings at times in the past, but with a new administration after eight years, it seems especially timely and in order for the city's future.

--Bernice