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Mayor reads timeline and defends city’s handling of Academy Hill redevelopment amid legal challenge
Summary
At the Lambertville City Council meeting the mayor read a detailed statement defending his actions and the city’s legal filings regarding the Academy Hill redevelopment, noting the developer’s recent court challenge and ongoing DEP environmental inquiries.
Mayor Nell opened the council meeting by reading a detailed statement aimed at correcting what he described as misleading public accounts of the city’s handling of the Academy Hill redevelopment project. He said the city received notice that the conditional redeveloper (identified in council materials as Kogania/Kanian) had filed or intended to file a court challenge and that the city had responded through counsel to protect its interests.
The mayor said he took office in January 2022 with the redevelopment area already established and that council and city professionals worked on amendments introduced May 16, 2024. He said the planning board twice found the plan inconsistent with the master plan and that, after public opposition and planning‑board concerns including stormwater and safety, the council temporarily tabled the ordinance. The mayor described subsequent negotiations that reduced the proposed number of units and the provision of a phase‑one environmental study by the redeveloper; he said he directed the city attorney to submit a legal brief opposing the redeveloper’s requested relief when litigation followed in February 2025.
The statement sought to rebut public assertions that the city omitted environmental concerns from its court brief. “The court and the court adjudicator were made well aware of ongoing PAS issues on Common Hill since they were first discovered in June 2024,” the mayor said, adding that the city lacked property access to perform its own testing. He told residents that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is conducting a source investigation and that DEP sampling and lab results will be shared with the city.
Why it matters: The mayor’s account frames the procedural record ahead of a scheduled second reading and public hearing on the redevelopment ordinance (Sept. 18), and it signals that litigation and DEP work are active constraints on any near‑term development. Residents who spoke during public comment asked for fuller records of closed‑session statements and criticized the timeline compiled by the mayor, while others urged greater transparency about environmental testing and alternative redevelopment sites.
What’s next: The council will hold the ordinance’s public hearing and second reading on Sept. 18. City attorneys and staff said they will post the DEP reports and related documents to the city website and continue coordinating with state investigators.
