Planning board finds Moores Hills shopping center meets criteria for redevelopment study

The Parsippany (Troy Hills) Planning Board on May 20 voted to accept a preliminary investigation finding that the Moores Hills study area, a 19.18-acre parcel at 3081 Route 46 that contains a largely vacant shopping center and a closed movie theater, meets four criteria under the state nd local redevelopment law and should be recommended to the township council as an area in need of redevelopment.

Miss Winter, the board planner, told the board the study area is a single lot (Block 411, Lot 31.1) and described steady decline in occupancy over the last five years, saying the current occupancy is 14.6% and the movie theater has been closed since 2020. "Some of the pictures show there's spray painting, broken windows, and it's been boarded up to prevent further vandalism," Winter said, adding the layout and visibility are outdated for modern retail.

Winter said the study area meets four of the statutory criteria used under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law: criterion a (substandard, unsafe or dilapidated structures), criterion b (discontinuance of use or significant vacancies for at least two years), criterion d (obsolescence and faulty arrangement or design), and criterion h (location within the State Plan rea that targets future redevelopment). She recommended the board "find as such and can recommend to the council that the Morris Hills study area be declared an area needed for redevelopment." The board voted to forward the study to the council for possible designation.

Board members asked procedural questions about what properties are included: the McDonald's was confirmed as a separate lot; the site includes the bank and the retail buildings but does not by itself set permanent uses. One board member raised concerns about potential future proposals, saying, "there's no way I would support a pilot if it's going to include apartments," and the chair and staff reiterated that decisions about permitted uses and any payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) arrangements would occur later at the redevelopment-plan stage and be decided by the township council.

The motion to forward the preliminary investigation passed in individual roll-call-style responses recorded in the transcript: DiPiero (reluctantly) yes; Councilwoman Hernandez yes; "Milly" yes; Napolitano yes; Matt yes. The board clerk will forward the study to the township council; any redevelopment plan and subsequent site plans would return to the board and council for review and approval.