Franklin Planning Board adopts fourth‑round housing addendum and master plan re‑examination

The Franklin Township Planning Board voted Feb. 18 to adopt the housing element and fair‑share plan addendum for the fourth round (2025–2035) and to approve a decennial re‑examination of the township master plan, actions officials said will settle outstanding compliance issues and guide planning priorities for the coming decade.

Mark Dancy, a board presenter, told members the affordable‑housing fee ordinance before the board is largely editorial: “It’s really just an editorial restructuring of the ordinance, but no substantive changes,” he said, adding that fees remain a percentage of equalized assessed value and the percentages are unchanged. The board approved that ordinance earlier in the meeting.

The housing element addendum was the meeting’s substantive item. A staff member explained the township had faced challenges to its plan and that, following review, a judge “insisted that we include this one site,” identified in the record as the Dunar (Dumbar) home site near Hemstead Gardens. The plan proposes density for that site at eight units per acre with a 20% affordable set‑aside. The board opened the statutorily required hearing, received no public comments, and then voted to adopt the housing element and fair‑share addendum as part of the master plan.

Board members said the adoption completes the township’s response to the fourth‑round compliance process and positions the plan for final action by the governing body. Chairman Orsini and members recorded affirmative roll‑call votes for the adoption.

On the master plan re‑examination, Dancy summarized the required 10‑year review under the municipal land use law and said the draft before the board incorporated comments from two recent work sessions. He said staff will remove items already accomplished, deliver a matrix showing remaining tasks classified by complexity and priority, and present that matrix for the board to set a schedule. “If you get us that kind of breakdown, a half hour on March 4 should be enough to decide which ones to tackle first,” he said. The board voted to adopt the re‑examination document.

The meeting also approved several routine resolutions and actions by roll‑call vote: an initial resolution for a small warehouse (Davidson Properties, PLN230000007), an extension of time for 50 Atrium Drive LLC, and a resolution removing a prior parking condition for the Macedonian Church of God in Christ. The board approved the minutes from its Jan. 7 meeting. No members of the public spoke during the public‑comment portions of the hearing.

What happens next: The housing element and fair‑share addendum, adopted as part of the master plan element, proceeds to the governing body for any further required readings and final adoption steps. Staff will prepare the master plan re‑examination matrix and return recommended priorities to the board at or before the Mar. 4 meeting.

Votes at a glance: Davidson Properties (PLN230000007) — initial resolution approved (affirmative roll call); 50 Atrium Drive LLC — extension of time approved (several members ineligible/recused for that item; remaining eligible members voted yes); Macedonian Church of God in Christ — removal of parking condition approved (affirmative roll call); Affordable‑housing fees ordinance — approved as consistent with the master plan; Housing element and fair‑share addendum (fourth round, 2025–2035) — adopted as part of the master plan (affirmative roll call); Master plan re‑examination — adopted (affirmative roll call).

Board members recorded in the roll calls included Councilman Barson, Theodore Chase, Robert Leort, Mark Dancy, Jennifer Ragnau, Mahir Rafi, Charles Brown, Robert Thomas and Chairman Orsini. Several motions recorded who could not vote on certain items and that is noted in the meeting record.