Planning board recommends adding Lot 6 to Sunny Landfill redevelopment area

The Hillsborough Township Planning Board voted to recommend that Block 182, Lot 6 be added to the Sunny Landfill Redevelopment Area following a preliminary investigation presented at the meeting.

"The study area block 182 lot 6 has remained vacant and underutilized for more than 50 plus years," Planning Director David Kois told the board as he presented findings prepared under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (NJSA 4A:12A‑1 et seq.). Kois said the parcel’s 0.00% improvement ratio and its physical relationship to the closed municipal landfill on Lot 7.02 justify inclusion as part of a coordinated redevelopment strategy, but he emphasized that "the planning board is not being asked to approve a development project, approve or select a developer, amend zoning, or authorize condemnation or eminent domain" at this stage.

During questioning, board members sought historical and environmental context. Kois said the landfill ceased operations in 1985, a post‑closure plan was prepared around 2001, and studies in the early 2000s examined closure capping and costs. The township installed monitoring mechanisms, including passive methane venting, before the landfill parcel was sold. Kois said the township’s records show no evidence that Lot 6 is contaminated, but he added that "we won't know for sure until [testing]" and that developers typically complete site testing and any needed remediation as part of the redevelopment process.

In public comment, resident Maria Janusk asked who purchased the landfill parcel and when. Kois said the township sold the landfill parcel to Sunnyme Ventures LLC and provided the sale date as June 27, 2023. When Janusk asked how much the parcel sold for, Kois replied, "I do not have that information," and said the sale price is public record and can be requested from township administration.

Staff gave acreage figures: the landfill parcel is 10.7 acres and Lot 6 is 4.37 acres. Kois and other staff explained that, if the board’s recommendation is adopted by the township committee, the next step would be preparing a redevelopment plan that sets permitted uses, design standards and any development controls; that plan would require further public hearings and an ordinance adopted by the township committee.

After closing the public hearing, the board moved to recommend designation of Lot 6 as part of the Sunny Landfill Redevelopment Area. The recommendation passed on a roll‑call vote of the members present. Staff said the board’s action would be memorialized by resolution and forwarded to the township committee for final designation; only after that ordinance process would specific development applications, traffic studies and permits proceed.

The planning director and staff repeatedly framed the evening’s action as procedural and limited to statutory findings required by NJSA 4A:12A‑5; they did not endorse any specific development program or developer for Lot 6 during the meeting.