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Resident urges Franklin Township to adopt BI‑zone criteria to curb new warehouses
Summary
A resident told the township council the BI re‑examination committee’s recommendations should be adopted promptly to prevent more warehouse development near residential areas; the mayor and manager responded that variance rights stem from state land‑use law and staff are reviewing next steps.
Dave Robinson, a resident of 349 Builtmore Lane and a member of the BI re‑examination committee, told the township council at its Dec. 9 work session that the committee’s recommendations must be adopted quickly to prevent further warehouse proliferation in the BI zone.
Robinson said the 2023 ordinance that removed warehouses as a permitted use still allows developers to seek use variances from the zoning board and described several properties he believes are at risk, including sites on Davidson and Executive Drive, a recently approved subdivided 50‑acre parcel he called the Catalin Ardena site, and a vacant 18‑acre lot at Pierce and Elizabeth. “Without the BI committee criteria in place, these applications would have to be evaluated based on current requirements that would make it easier to obtain the required use variance,” Robinson said, urging the council to “act on this and adopt the criteria contained in the draft ordinance.”
Mayor Kramer responded that the ability to seek a use variance is a feature of New Jersey land‑use law and not the result of an omitted clause in the township ordinance. He said the issue is “being taken seriously” and acknowledged residents’ frustrations about the pace of implementation. The town manager later clarified that adopting a local ordinance cannot change rights created by state land‑use law and said staff will continue work on implementation and timetables.
Why it matters: Robinson argued the township’s road network and adjacent neighborhoods cannot absorb additional truck traffic from new warehouses and that delaying adoption would render the committee’s work and the township’s consultant efforts ineffective. Council members did not take a final vote on ordinance language at the meeting; Robinson’s request was recorded as public comment and mayoral and managerial replies noted next steps would be handled administratively.
What happens next: Council members and staff acknowledged the issue and discussed moving implementation forward; the transcript records no formal motion to adopt ordinance language during the Dec. 9 session.
