Hopelawn Elementary delayed pending DEP appraisal; mayor says design unchanged and pilot funding could avoid referendum

A resident asked the council whether the Hopelawn Elementary School project remains on schedule after a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) review and whether changes to wetlands requirements had altered the plan.

Mayor John McCormick told the council and the public that “there’s no change to the design. There is a delay only because the DEP has not cleared it yet. They had to do a second appraisal for some reason, but we’re waiting for that second appraisal to come in,” and said the project must appear before the State House Commission as part of the state review process.

On the question of public approval and financing, the mayor said a recent state law allows school projects funded with PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) money not to require a public referendum, and the township intends to pay for the project and other school work with PILOT funds where applicable, which would remove a voter referendum from the process if those funds are used.

Resident speakers raised concerns about the proposed school’s size and traffic impacts in a neighborhood setting. Councilman Harris clarified factual points from the record, saying, “It’s scheduled for 400 students,” and noted that Clyde Avenue has yellow curbing and is accessible; he added the new school is intended to reduce lengthy bus rides for students who currently travel 35 to 45 minutes to other schools.

Mayor McCormick and Council President Corey Spiller described prior public outreach: neighborhood meetings at the Hopelawn Fire Department, mailings to affected residents, and submission of responses to DEP and Green Acres. Officials said questions raised now have been addressed through the project’s required public process and review steps.

No formal change to the project design or funding was recorded at the meeting; officials said they are awaiting DEP actions and state approvals before establishing a construction schedule.