Happy New Year!

I’ll echo Jerry’s comments wishing everyone a Happy New Year! [ link to video coming soon ]

 

I also agree that we’ve heard quite a bit of testimony on the proposed dealerships.

 

I disagree with everything else he said.

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I’ve pointed out Jerry’s dismissive attitude towards the concerns of the residents.  He said its not a traffic issue.  Yes it is.   He said its not a noise issue.   Yes it is.    Its also a safety issue, and a quality of life and economics issue.

A dealership is an undesirable element for current and future homeowners.  Fact.

The revenue of this and the other dealerships is likely less than a Starbucks beverage on a per household basis.   I’ve asked board members for this number.    I will ask the board at the next meeting to produce that one simple number.

We have doubled the amount of people at each meeting over the past several months.  These people are genuinely upset.  This will impact our lives.  , Jerry dismisses the fact that other people are joining there cause.  News flash, this affects our whole town.     If this passes, anything can pass.

Jerry says this is whats best for the township.  I beg to differ.  This is whats best for Jerry and Mr Catena.  Mr Catena is a businessman who is entitled to ask for whatever he wants, but it is the duty of the board to protect the interest of its residents, by not changing the master plan on a whim.     I get that you have to review the plan.. that does not require you to change it….. especially in this case.

There has been a lot of discussion on the boards last action of a fact finding excercise to look for suitable sites on route 33.

 

To be clear, my stance is,  was and remains.

– 200 route 9 north is not suitable.  This is obvious despite the Catena teams dismissive comments,  selective data, and suspension of belief of common sense.

– The master plan should not be changed.  Otherwise for the purpose of future elections and interactions with the planning board /town council that everything is up for grabs.  This is clearly not in the best interest of the town, its being fast tracked for unknown reasons (a resident cited a compliant usage that took much longer)

-The fact search on 33 is a good thing.  It was a departure fixating on 200 route 9 north.  Before that moment, I thought I was in a bizarro nightmare of us battling towards a very bad outcome, of the board ignoring the will of the people.    If they don’t find a suitable site on a sparsely populated business district (like route 9), then the 200 Route 9 site is certainly not suitable.  There may be a completely suitable site on Route 33 that no one would object to.  The fact that Mr Catena may not want to do business there is beside the point.  The planning report  states that poor decisions were made on Route 9, and they pledge not to make it on Route 33.  It will be interesting to see the criteria they apply to deciding if Route 33 is acceptable.   Hint:  That same criteria needs to be applied to 200 Route 9 North.  that being  said, Manalapan does not need dealerships.. there are plenty on route 9.  Its a running joke.  The more they look elsewhere, the clearer it will be that this is unsuitable.

-The board needs to take to heart what its residents are telling them. If this was a referendum, with all the FACTS outlined, it would be struck down.

Finally,  to address an editorial by a reporter that proposed that residents paying  reduced taxes via reduced property value  is a good thing.  Yes, someone actually wrote that.  No really, they did.  The absurdity of that actually has me speechless.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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