Take two: Twp. Council rezones Pulda farm again
Move made as precaution in light of legal challenge
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

It happened all over again. Despite a debate that lasted until midnight on Monday, the Township Council again rezoned the Pulda farm off Old Georges Road for the development of an age-restricted community.

Council members voted 4-1 in favor of changing the 70-acre tract’s designation from residential (R-1) to planned adult community (PAC) after reintroducing an ordinance it passed with a 4-2 vote in August.

Councilman Sal Paladino did not vote on the matter this week, as he left the meeting early. Councilman Robert Corbin voted against the measure again. He and former Councilman Adam Weiss were the dissenters last time.

The council reintroduced the PAC ordinance after it became subject to litigation in September, when North Brunswick Residents Against High Density Housing (NBR), a grassroots organization aiming to stop development on the Pulda farm, sued the council and Planning Board over it.

“I urged the council to bring the matter back before the governing body because the lawsuit alleged procedural defects,” Township Attorney Ron Gordon said. “In the interest of good government, if people think they didn’t have the opportunity to be heard, they’re getting it with the reintroduction.”

NBR’s lawsuit alleges procedural defects with regard to how the council and board advertised the PAC ordinance the first time.

The suit aims to negate the PAC ordinance and the rezoning of the land. If township officials cannot find a way to prevent any development on the farm, NBR members want the land’s zoning to remain R-1 for the development of single-family homes on 20,000-square-foot lots.

The R-1 zoning would allow for the construction of approximately 90 homes, whereas the PAC ordinance allots for the development of a housing community consisting of a mix of 340 units, including single-family homes, townhouses and condominium flats for those age 55 and over.

Citing continuing traffic concerns along Route 130, environmental issues concerning the farm and its border on Farrington Lake, a potable drinking source for North Brunswick and nearby municipalities, lack of open space in the township, and overall aesthetics — residents and other concerned citizens came out again this week to speak out about developing the township’s last large tract of open space.

NBR member Ben Galioto said despite the ordinance’s readoption, the group plans to continue to challenge the rezoning in state Superior Court.

Michele Donato, NBR’s attorney, said she expects to file an amended complaint this month challenging the PAC ordinance’s density bonuses.

Under the provisions of the ordinance, a developer gains additional density by contributing funding to the development of township senior center, offering township residents first refusal of any units built on the farm, and keeping some of the units small to ensure affordability.

“The bonuses are just not legal,” Galioto said.

Womack defended the density bonuses and called them a “creative” and legal way to give township residents the option of moving into the PAC.

Residents like Maureen Little urged the council to consider eminent domain as away of obtaining the property if the Pulda family would not consider selling their land to the township.

Other residents, like Morris Enyeart, expressed their disdain for condemnation.

“I don’t believe eminent domain is an appropriate action,” Enyeart said. “I don’t think it’s an action the courts would uphold because the township has already met its needs for open space.”

The mayor agreed with Enyeart, and said condemnation would be costly and difficult to pursue.

“The Planning Board made the decision to rezone the property because adult housing is currently not a stock we provide for our residents in the township,” Womack said. “I still support the board’s and the council’s actions. They’re right with regard to zoning for the PAC.”

Developer Jack Morris of Piscataway-based Edgewood Properties currently has the Pulda farm under contract. In March he went to the board with preliminary plans to build 96 single-family homes on the property.

In June, Morris’ representatives pitched a plan to build a 345-unit PAC if officials rezoned the property, but said Edgewood Properties would prefer to build single-family homes on the farm.

In October, Edgewood Properties sided with NBR and intervened in their lawsuit against the township.

Doug Wolfson, an attorney for Edgewood Properties, said Morris still prefers to build single-family homes on the land.

Beyond the procedural errors, the lawsuit contends the township engaged in spot-zoning the Pulda Farm.

“It’s being treated differently from other properties similarly situated,” Donato said. “The property is not being treated from a sound planning point of view. The zoning change also fails to protect the environmentally sensitive Farrington Lake.”

NBR continues to work on its lawsuit and still seeks donations to ensure that the group can see it all the way through, Galioto said.

Barbara K. Lewinson, an East Brunswick lawyer working with Donato pro-bono on the matter, said the suit remains a fight to retain the Pulda farm as open space.

“The only reason NBR has not filed the complaint in pursuit of this is because they are not allowed to file for open space pursuant to the laws of the state of New Jersey,” Lewinson said. “However, NBR believes they will be successful in retaining the farm as the last pristine piece of open space in North Brunswick.”

Lewinson said a vast majority of residents remain “drastically opposed” to the PAC.

Approximately 900 people signed a petition against any development on the Pulda farm in August, which NBR members presented to the council before implementing the rezone.

“The only reason the Township Council unanimously voted for this is because they received tremendous sums of money from the Middlesex County Democratic Organization who Mr. Morris funds with various businesses,” Lewinson said.

Lewinson urged the council to offer the Pulda family fair market value for the farm.

“The Pulda farm should be taken through eminent domain and purchased by the township for fair market value, which is under $10 million,” Lewinson said.