Ford Ave. testimony will start in December
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MILLTOWN - A major step has been taken toward the proposed redevelopment of Ford Avenue.

The Planning Board deemed the site plan application from the borough's chosen redeveloper, Boraie Development, of New Brunswick, as complete and ready to proceed.

"They can now move forward to the next phase of the project," said Anthony Zarillo, chairman of the Ford Avenue Redevelopment Agency. "I feel very comfortable with the Planning Board and their ability to deal with the complex issues dealing with the proposal, and I know that at the end of the day, they will do what is best for the borough and for the residents of Milltown."

The redevelopment plan calls for 276 age-restricted townhouses and condominiums, and 25,800 square feet of commercial space. The plan, which has been a controversial topic of discussion at borough meetings for several years, would replace the former Michelin Tire Co. buildings between Ford Avenue and the Mill Pond.

The borough still must acquire the property, either through negotiations or condemnation. Also, contamination on the property, which is still being evaluated, will have to be cleaned up in a project overseen by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In Boraie's application, there were a series of submissions that were incomplete. The main one dealt with the cataloging of existing trees on the site. A waiver will be required because of the difficulty of gaining access to certain parts of the property to catalog trees there. Many are located on the slope between one of the buildings and Mill Pond.

An alternative method for cataloging the trees will be used, in which one portion of the land's trees will be counted, then this count will be used as an average to apply to the remainder of the land parcel. The borough's ordinance requires a certain amount of tree replacement, corresponding to the number and size of trees removed.

Part of the reason the developer needed the other waivers was because it was filing for preliminary and final site plan approval at the same time. There were permits needed from other agencies that could not be obtained until the Planning Board grants final approval.

Another issue was the requirement that a map be submitted showing where utilities are built on the site, which was not possible because they will be constructed as part of the project.

"It's a chicken-before-the-egg situation," said Borough Planner Raymond Liotta.

The project is on the agenda again for the Dec. 5 Planning Board meeting, when the developer's representatives will begin giving testimony for the plans, Liotta said.