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Planning board finds Roosevelt/Highland rezoning consistent with master plan amid residents' safety concerns
Summary
The Planning Board concluded the council's proposed rezoning for Roosevelt & Highland Avenue is consistent with the master plan (a step tied to state affordable-housing obligations). Residents testified about traffic, school safety, parking and lot-size concerns; the board will send a resolution to council and staff will coordinate with the school district on traffic issues.
The Piscataway Planning Board voted to find a proposed rezoning for parcels at Roosevelt and Highland avenues consistent with the township master plan, a procedural determination that advances the governing body's work to meet state-mandated 4th-round affordable housing obligations.
Staff explained the board's narrow legal role under the Municipal Land Use Law: the planning board is to advise the governing body whether the zoning change is consistent with the town's master plan, not to decide details of future site plans. "The planning board's charge is to say is this consistent with the master plan," staff said. Counsel and staff warned that failing to adopt required zoning could expose the township to builder's-remedy litigation that would curtail local control over density.
Dawn Corcoran, the township professional, said the site's earlier maximum figure of 83 units had been reduced during municipal planning to roughly 50 units and noted that the town has identified 14 sites in its 4th-round plan to meet a prospective need of 539 units.
Multiple residents urged the board to reconsider the site or seek alternatives. Syed Ahmed of 399 Highland Avenue said weekday and Sunday parking already congest the neighborhood and said the 50-unit proposal would add an estimated 100 additional cars, creating safety risks near two nearby elementary schools. "50 units on about 1.7 acres still does not fit over here," Ahmed said, citing school drop-off congestion and emergency-vehicle access concerns.
Andrew Morris and Doretta Gray echoed safety and parking worries. Gray noted the ordinance's minimum lot-area requirement and said the site's roughly 1.37 acres would be tight for a 50-unit garden-apartment style development and urged caution about changing rules to accommodate the developer.
Board members repeatedly stressed they were not being asked to design the project. Councilwoman Cahill moved that the rezoning is consistent with the master plan and Reverend Kenny seconded; the board voted to find the ordinance consistent and to submit a recommendation and resolution to the township council for its next steps.
Following the vote, a board member urged staff and legal counsel to draft a strongly worded letter to the school superintendent and board asking the district to address traffic patterns and pickup/dropoff flow at several local elementary schools, including Kanakamak, King, MLK, Shore and Eisenhower.
The action now goes back to the governing body for its legislative consideration; if the council adopts the zoning change it will allow future site-plan applications for development to come back before the planning board for detailed review.
