Mayor Adrian O. Mapp has called a special meeting with two items related to the South Avenue Gateway development.
The meeting is 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31 in City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Ave.
One item is the financial agreement sought by the developer for the $50 million 212-unit residential development on South Avenue next to the Plainwood Square park. A council majority rejected the 30-year "payment in lieu of taxes," or PILOT that the developer sought, first by declining on Aug. 10 to move it to the regular meeting and then by refusing on Aug. 17 to add it as a new item after developer Joseph Forgione made a presentation.
See links for additional information on the Aug. 10 agenda-fixing session and the Aug. 17 regular meeting.
Among reasons cited for rejecting the PILOT were that some council members felt they had not been apprised of the plan earlier and said they had been disrespected by the mayor and administration. At the regular meeting, members praised the project, but said the administration could not defy council rules by asking to have the PILOT added as a "walk-on" item that night.
The other item is a request to approve vacation, or relinquishing city control, of a portion of Old South Avenue right-of-way in order the add it to the development site. Eleven private properties will be acquired and consolidated into one large lot to make way for the two four-story buildings containing the 212 rental units plus numerous amenities including a fitness facilities, a common area for gatherings, a tech center and a theater for films or televised events.
Developer Joseph Forgione and a team of expert witnesses met with the Planning Board on Aug. 6 and completed testimony on Aug. 20, garnering preliminary and final site plan approval. As explained by Forgione and Economic Director Carlos Sanchez, the project also needs the two council approvals to go forward with financing and land acquisition.
"Time is of the essence," Sanchez told the council on Aug. 17.
Forgione's presentation to the council and their comments in response were caught on video by David Rutherford, who posted them on his blog (click the link to view).
--Bernice
If any watched the Council on video they were probably appalled at the members of the Council who were trying to make political points instead of looking out for the city. I still wonder why those with so many questions were not at the Planning Board meeting last week. How can they honestly say they have been left out of the loop when they chose to be out of it. What a bunch of hypocritical, self-serving morons.
ReplyDeletePlainfield will always be a welfare and food stamps city full of illegal immigrants because this council will fight against development and thereby restrict the influx of more affluent residents who pay attention to politics and vote. They will do everything in their power to kill the project.
ReplyDeleteYou are so correct, as long as we have the likes of JG controlling the council anything the Mayor puts forth to improve the city will be denied by the council. JG is deathly afraid of new, financially secure, intelligent people that don’t need a job from him taking over the city. So much for his staying out of Plainfield politics.
DeleteLet's talk about the PILOT. The regressive, job-killing majority on the City Council insist it is being brought up out of thin air and is being jammed down their throats. They say they've been left out of the loop and want to be included in the decision making process. They didn't know there would be a PILOT.
ReplyDeleteGo back to the open meeting held on July 15, 2014, and as reported on the Plainfield Today blog you can read for yourself that there was considerable talk of a PILOT agreement.
- http://ptoday.blogspot.com/2014/07/proposed-south-avenue-project-well.html
In August last year, the Council passed a resolution requesting the Planning Board initiate a study to find the area "in need of redevelopment". The Board held three public meetings in September and October and found the need. On November 14th, the City Council adopted the study with resolution 440-14, officially declaring the area "in need", and told the Planning Board to create a redevelopment plan. The study the Council adopted "concluded that some parcels within the Study Area qualified as an Area in Need of Redevelopment for the purpose of granting tax exemptions pursuant to the provisions of the Long Term Tax Exemption Law" (Item 7). You can download the Board's resolution at this link- http://plainfieldcitynj.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?MeetingID=1070&ID=1585
The Planning Board held two public meetings in February 2015 before adopting the redevelopment plan. It sent the plan to the Council for its approval, and between Agenda and Regular meetings, 1st and 2nd Readings (four meetings in total), the governing body passed Ordinance MC 2015-11. Between the two readings, in March and April, ALL seven councilors voted yes. Criteria G of the now-official plan notes that state law "automatically qualifies an area in need of redevelopment for the purpose of granting long and short-term tax abatements and exceptions".
So do we really believe the Mapp administration pulled the PILOT out of a hat, and is now trying to jam it down the Council's collective throat? I count at least 12 public meetings before this latest mess when anyone could have voiced objections, and the very first one mentioned a PILOT.
OK, maybe there are aspects to the PILOT agreement that can be improved. But the 'no' voters would be hard-pressed to articulate any of them, and what appears to be a complete fabrication that they weren't told or didn't know, despite their own actions up to this point, makes you wonder if they are just asleep at the wheel and unfit to serve. How much of the public's time are they permitted to waste just because they don't do their job?
Thank God they won't be on the regular Democratic ticket when they come up for re-election and hopefully, the people in their Wards are tired of their BS and show it at the polls.
DeleteWhat a difference a day makes. Now your a regular democrat. Lol.
DeleteWhat a difference an election can make if people care about Plainfield and their future. Now we don't have a Chair who tells us who he wants and aren't given the opportunity to voice our opinions. The majority are not Jerry's people, but people working to make Plainfield better.
DeleteWe all need to attend that special meeting Monday to make sure council members know that we are watching them and that we care about improving OUR city!
ReplyDeleteTo add to Alan's comment here is what was reported about the 7/15/14 meeting with the business merchants at which the idea of a PILOT was discussed extensively:
ReplyDelete"The only really unpleasant moment came when Councilor Gloria Taylor complained that she had not been informed of the meeting and learned about it through a constituent.... Taylor is a Council liaison to the SID and SID officials assured me that she is included in every email circulated by the group -- including the invitation to this meeting." Taylor should be reporting back to the council on meetings like this not pretending she wasn't at them. She is an embarrassment.
At least it looks as though Plainfield is getting something. Hillsborough just passed a 30-year tax abatement on a 54-unit low-income housing development. And that is on top of the PILOT on the OTB application.
ReplyDelete