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Is the proposed Millburn Downtown Redevelopment Plan
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Many residents agree that downtown Millburn could benefit from some improvements. The question is whether the proposed Redevelopment Plan is the right plan to enhance our community. At the current time there are too many unanswered questions — most important, how will it affect taxes — and a loosely defined mission statement for this plan. WeLoveMillburn appreciates the attempt and believes that the Downtown needs improvements, but we cannot support this plan until many more of the answers to questions and plan details are provided. The June 26th editorial in The Item also supports slowing down the process and it now appears that the Mayor wants a Township Committee vote put off until after the summer regardless of whether the Planning Board votes on it this summer or also delays their vote. In a community such as ours, where we are all stakeholders in the viability and future of our town, it is imperative that we understand the full implications of any actions taken on the part of our elected governmental bodies — especially when these actions may dramatically change the character, dynamics and finances of the community. |
Among the issues raised:
The proposal is not a comprehensive plan designed to stimulate commerce throughout the entire downtown area. The close to $100 million plan only addresses the redevelopment of a portion of downtown Millburn, approximately 13 acres, most of which is owned by the Township. The plan does not address any of the needs of the rest of the downtown area and our existing businesses.
The proposed Redevelopment Plan violates the precepts of the current Master Plan. The scale of the buildings in the proposed plan will be too big for the downtown area. The buildings at the heart of the redevelopment area are 4 and 5 stories tall or as stated by the planner, 60 feet high "but with a mansard roof on the top floor to appear lower". In addition, the plan calls for demolition of the current Town Hall, a building with historical significance. Just these two changes alone could urbanize Millburn and change its character.
The planning firm, Wallace, Roberts and Todd has stated, on numerous occasions, that the final plan can be changed or modified by the developers. We have not been told what guidelines of the proposed Redevelopment Plan are fixed and which are flexible. How much leeway will the developers be given? Who will determine the final number of residences to be built? How large will they be? How much retail space will be in the final plan? How large will the retail spaces be and what types of businesses will be targeted? Will the community, the Planning Board, the Township Committee, or the developer be making the ultimate key decisions on the future of Millburn?
To implement a plan that will attract more people to downtown Millburn, there needs to be provisions for improvements to roads and other existing infrastructure to effectively manage this potential inflow. The planners acknowledge that yet another traffic study will be necessary to address traffic and safety issues as they are not addressed in this proposed Redevelopment Plan. This study should first be completed and then incorporated into any final Redevelopment Plan.
What, if any, research was performed that demonstrates a need for more retail space and condos in the downtown? No details of any of this type of analysis has been provided. What of the difficulty in attracting retail that does not conflict with the Mall at Short Hills or the Livingston Mall. Given the general state of the economy, is this the best time to undertake a project with this mix of uses?
Importantly, the proposed Redevelopment Plan will be costly for taxpayers in the initial building phase as the Town will most likely need to finance the first phase with short term notes of at least $14 to $15 million dollars — $10 million for the new town hall, $3 million for a parking deck, and $1–2 million "estimated" to move the Department of Public Works.
Almost everyone would agree that having the Township Department of Public Works and Recycling Center located downtown is not a good use of valuable downtown real estate area. It eliminates potential ratables and causes heavy traffic. But there is currently no plan for the move of the Department of Public Works/Recycling Center to make way for a new Town Hall and two level parking facility. We are being asked to take on faith that an acceptable new location can be found and developed at a reasonable cost. The relocation of the Department of Public Works needs to be part of the proposed Redevelopment Plan and considered before any final decision on the plan can be made. Residents should be notified up front if the movement of these facilities would cause any new fees or costs to taxpayers.
The planners estimate the proposed Redevelopment Plan will include an additional 50,000 square feet of retail that will result in 192 new jobs. These employees and the residents from the 176 residences will take up a large percentage of the new parking spaces. The plan has the potential to make our parking issues in the downtown significantly worse, while decreasing parking revenues for the Township. If we add all of this retail and residential development, it will certainly increase traffic on Main Street, Millburn Avenue and Essex Streets, not to mention Short Hills Avenue.
The proposed Redevelopment Plan assumes that only 20 additional students will be enrolled in the Millburn school system as a result of the new residential construction. This number seems extremely low for 176 new residences in the center of one of the highest ranked school systems in the State. The planners admit that they have not adjusted the standardized per capita estimates used for their student population modeling in consideration of Millburn?s special attributes. We suspect the number of school children could be significantly higher because of the quality of our schools, the state required low cost housing and the fact that the proposed new condos would be in close proximity to both the Middle and High School.
WeLoveMillburn is concerned that the proposed downtown Redevelopment Plan:
The Planning Board first stated that it would be voting on this proposal in July when many people will be on vacation. Technically it is still scheduled to be voted on July 16th. Were they thinking they could get this approved before being properly vetted by the community? What?s the rush? Especially now that the Mayor has stated they will not vote on it as a Township Committee until after the summer.
A recent article in The Star Ledger stated that Livingston's redevelopment plan took nine years to gain approval during which time there were 15 public hearings held as part of the redevelopment process. Shouldn?t we have the opportunity to participate in additional public forums in which more residents and business owners can make their views known?
The Millburn tax rate has just increased 6.3% from 1.58 in 2007 to 1.68 per $1,000 assessed value in 2008. This rate represents the current economic picture without inclusion of any new costs associated with the current school construction at the Middle and High School, such as staffing, heating, and air conditioning or the cost of the purchase of the Paper Mill Playhouse. What impact would the proposed Redevelopment Plan have on our property taxes? Will our taxes continue to increase or will this plan really be revenue neutral as the Planning Board has stated? As of now, the Town has been too vague in its answers to this question, giving us reason to question our representatives? judgment and sense of accountability to the public.
The word "redevelopment" sounds great — it sounds like improvement. Who wouldn't be for improvement? However, the current proposal may not make the kinds of improvements that our community really wants or needs. This plan would change the face of Millburn as we know it.
Feel free to contact info@WeLoveMillburn.com if you have comments or thoughts you would like to share with our group. There will be future reports on this important subject.
© Copyright 2005 – WeLoveMillburn.com
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