Franklin Lakes Council Postpones Vote to Rezone Cigna Property for Mixed Use

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Franklin Lakes NJ, the borough postponed a vote to rezone the Cigna property for mixed use until August 15th . The vote was scheduled for action at the Borough Council’s July 6 meeting, but it was postponed that night until at least its July 18 session. Tuesday’s notice on the borough’s “Latest Buzz” website newsletter changed the vote date to Aug. 15.

The property is presently zoned for office building, research and laboratory use. The ordinance posted on the borough website appears to be unchanged from the borough’s preliminary vote on May 4. The ordinance proposes the following:

250 inclusionary residential units, 15% affordable if rentals, 20% affordable if units are for sale, 13% of all affordable units in each bedroom category to be made available to “very low income households.”
50,000 square feet of retail space.
495,000 square feet of warehouse space.
55 affordable housing units to be built by the borough on 3.5 acres.
Professional offices.
Municipal buildings and uses.

A major point of contention is the road restrictions , at the July 6 meeting Franklin Lakes residents questioned how the property could be zoned for warehouse use if trucks were prohibited on local roads. However the  ordinance’s “miscellaneous standards” includes a provision that the warehouses “shall be permitted to operate without restriction on their hours of operations or the size or weight of trucks.” No limits have been imposed on the types of materials that can be stored in the warehouses, raising questions by residents about safety at adjacent properties, particularly Woodside Avenue School.

Franklin Lakes Mayor Charles Kahwaty told residents on July 6 that the borough is facing an Aug. 24 court deadline by which a decision must be made with developer S. Hekemian Group on the plan’s elements.

Further challenging the Borough Council is a petition submitted by Franklin Lakes Residents for Responsible Development through attorney John Kaplan. Reportedly signed by more than 20% of residents within 200 feet of the Cigna property, the petition could force the council to approve the zoning change with a “super majority” of five votes. The council was split 3-3 on the revised plan in May, with Kahwaty casting the tie-breaking vote.

Attorney William Smith also told North Jersey Media  that the process is further complicated because the borough is also in mediation with the Fair Share Housing Center over the revised plan, which cut the number of affordable units.