Planners say yes to redevelopment proposal

FRANKLIN — An aerial photograph and map of Area E — the strip of land covering parts of both the east and west sides of Route 23 and totaling approximately 100 acres — stood in front of the dais in the courtroom. About 50 chairs were set up for residents, all of which were filled. Many of those in attendance were property owners who would be affected by the changes proposed in the “area in need of redevelopment,” commonly referred to the Route 23 corridor.

Planning board committee chair John Cholminski began the May 21 meeting by assuaging the fears of some of the concerned citizens: “I’ve been involved with the planning board for 22 years and I’ve never heard that eminent domain was wanted to be used.”

He added that the only time the controversial practice has ever even been brought up was to say that Franklin wouldn’t want to use it “because we wouldn’t want it to happen to us.”

The confusion came about, he said, because of the strict notification process required by the state's redevelopment law. Property owners in areas under consideration for redevelopment changes must receive notification that includes the fact that eminent domain could be used to redevelop a property.

But, said the borough planning board attorney David Brady: In Franklin’s case, “Eminent domain is not in the works or talked about being put in the works.” He further qualified his statement. “The town couldn’t even afford it (if it wanted),” Brady said.

What is the plan? With that out of the way, it fell to Cholminski to explain what redevelopment would mean to Franklin and, more urgently, Area E.

Redevelopment “creates flexibility for the landowner, town and possible developer,” Cholminski said. Whether or not a landowner wishes to participate is up to them, it was explained, but the board and professionals at the public hearing agreed that being designated an “area in need of redevelopment” would be a win/win for everyone involved.

Brady claimed that “savvy property owners may actually benefit from being in an area in need of redevelopment,” because a change in the zoning of their property could potentially raise that property’s value. He went on to say that he has "actually had cases where property owners wanted to be in the area of redevelopment.”

Public comment Backing up Brady’s point, the first of 10 members of the public who would speak over the course of the night was Josh Zielinski, a lawyer representing Group 5 Development — owners of the largest parcel of land included in the proposal. Zielinski started the public portion by announcing that Group 5 Development is in total support of the board, declaring the land as an area in need of redevelopment.

The next speaker, Hardyston School Superintendent Glenn Sumpman, had a differing opinion. The Hardyston School is located in the designated area. Sumpman brought up concerns that the reason for the school’s inclusion in the report was that “the building is becoming increasingly obsolete.” He said that the average public school in this area is about 50 years old — making Hardyston Elementary an average school. Why then, he asked, is his school becoming obsolete? “We do take some exception,” he said.

Planning board planner Ken Nelson, owner of Nelson Consulting Group and author of the report that describes why the areas are in need of redevelopment, responded: “That is one phrase I’d maybe like to take back,” he said, about the school increasingly becoming obsolete. He added that his other reasoning still holds true: “(The school is on) prime commercial acreage.” And he explained how the land could be making the borough of Franklin more in taxes if it wasn’t a school, therefore justifying his conclusion. Here, Chairman Cholminski reiterated the fact that the borough has “no jurisdiction over the state-owned properties or school.” If the school does not want to sell its building, the fact that it was included in the report becomes moot, Cholminski indicated.

Five out of the 10 speakers from the public were against the redevelopment project; one — Pat Rowett — asked to be removed from the area list, but the board did not accede to that request.

After hearing from the 10 speakers and discussing the matter themselves, Franklin's planners put the issue to a vote to decide whether to send the plan on to the mayor on council. It passed by a 4-3 vote, with John Christiano, Kevin Lermond and Robert Olesky voting against the plan. Supporters of the plan were Chairman Cholminski, Thomas Kulsar, Wes Suckey and Mayor Paul Crowley.