Cleveland Ave. residents decry 'overbuilding'

Two abandoned industrial properties along Highland Park's railroad tracks are currently the subject of "builders remedy" suits, alleging that the borough is failing to provide adequate affordable housing.

The former Illuminating Experiences and Midland Ross/Honeywell sites, both near Cleveland Avenue, are proposed for residential developments that would be vetted through a judicial process rather than the local zoning and planning boards.

A letter from Mayor Stephen Nolan to the immediately adjacent residents along Cleveland Avenue explains that "under the Mount Laurel [housing] law, a builder can ask that the Court approve an affordable housing development even if the town does not agree."

A previous developer, Avalon Bay Properties, applied to the borough in 2007 for a housing complex on the Illuminating Experiences property that would have included about fifteen affordable-rate apartments. But that application was denied by the Highland Park Board of Zoning Adjustment after a protracted review.

 

The current litigants, American Properties and River Road HP, LLC, also propose to include affordable-rate apartments in their developments. Their lawsuits seek the court's permission to build the developments, bypassing the local approval process.

 

New Jersey housing law requires the parties to reach for an out-of-court settlement if possible, Nolan wrote, to which end the builders will present their concept plans to the community next Monday, September 19.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 P.M. at Highland Park Borough Hall. Mayor Nolan and borough councilman Padraic Millet, as well as the court-appointed arbiter Elizabeth McKenzie, P.P./AICP , also plan to attend for input and questions from residents.

The mayor's letter was recirculated as an unsigned flyer by the "Residents of cleveland Avenue." Citing concerns for schools overcrowding, traffic density, and strained municipal services, the flyer calls on borough residents to "help stop the overbuilding of Highland Park" by attending the builders' meeting on Monday night.