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Monroe Council adopts rezoning along Butcher Road, trims residential height limit
Summary
On Oct. 6 the Monroe Township Council adopted Ordinance O082025-21 to rezone land along Butcher Road formerly designated for the Federal Business Center to residential uses and to change Highway Development (HD) district standards. Council members also approved an amendment lowering the maximum residential building height from 50 feet to 45 feet.
Monroe Township Council on Oct. 6 adopted Ordinance O082025-21, rezoning a parcel along Butcher Road and amending standards in the Highway Development (HD) district to make warehouse uses conditional where properties do not have direct access to Route 33.
The change passed after the council approved an amendment to the ordinance reducing the proposed maximum residential building height in the affected area from 50 feet to 45 feet. The amendment passed on a roll call of five yes votes. The final adoption passed on a roll call vote with four yes votes and one no vote (see vote tallies below).
The ordinance removes warehouse as a by-right option for the site known as the Federal Business Center and rezones the former warehouse parcel to residential. Attorney Anne Studholme, of Post Pollock, representing Center Square at Monroe LLC and Monroe Gateway LLC, told the council her clients would be “happy to do housing” and said her client might seek housing rather than pursuing a warehouse use.
Planner Kreig Rahnkamp described the site as "a just under 7-acre property" that, after surrounding parcels were rezoned, would remain a small business-zoned remnant surrounded by residential development and said that status “doesn’t make a lot of sense in the long run.” Several nearby residents raised concerns about wetlands and access, asking whether wetlands would be filled and stressing that any large warehouse development should have direct ingress and egress on Route 33 rather than through residential streets.
Township officials told residents the town has authorized acquisition of part of the Federal Business Center parcel and that the ordinance work is connected with Monroe’s Round 4 affordable-housing compliance; the administration said rezoning the parcel removes the previously proposed warehouse and makes residential development the expected use. A municipal staff speaker also told the council the administration is not seeking additional high-density residential projects beyond what is needed for the township’s Round 4 affordable-housing obligations.
The council opened a public hearing on the ordinance and heard multiple residents and the property owner’s attorney and planner before adopting the amendment and then the ordinance. Speakers pressed for clarity about the acreage, wetlands, and whether wetlands would be filled; township officials stated the town would not fill preserved wetlands and described plans to acquire and preserve significant acreage near the site.
Implementation details, including any site-specific development applications or approvals (variances, site plans) and any conditions tied to deed restrictions or conservation easements, were not specified at the meeting.
Votes at a glance
- Amendment to lower residential maximum height from 50 feet to 45 feet: roll call — Councilman Charles de Piro: Yes; Councilman Michael Markell: Yes; Councilwoman Rupa P. Siegel: Yes; Council Vice President Terrence Van Zorro: Yes; Council President Miriam Cohen: Yes. Outcome: approved.
- Adoption of Ordinance O082025-21 (rezoning/HD standards change): roll call — Councilman Charles de Piro: No; Councilman Michael Markell: Yes; Councilwoman Rupa P. Siegel: Yes; Council Vice President Terrence Van Zorro: Yes; Council President Miriam Cohen: Yes. Outcome: approved.
Why it matters
The ordinance removes by-right warehouse uses from the parcel along Butcher Road and changes HD-district rules countywide in the ordinance text, seeking to ensure heavy industrial or large distribution sites would have direct Route 33 access as a condition for warehouses. The measure affects land-use expectations for residents near Butcher Road and the Federal Business Center and is tied to the township’s affordable-housing compliance planning for the Round 4 cycle.
What comes next
Rezoning changes the allowable uses on the land but does not itself approve any site-specific development or building permits. Developers or property owners seeking a different use, variances, or a site plan will still need to file the appropriate applications with the township planning/zoning boards; any new application may be subject to review of wetlands approvals, access to Route 33, and other technical conditions noted in public comments and staff reports.
