Montclair Planning Bd Approves Church Lot Subdivision; Welcomes "New" Council Liaisons

MONTCLAIR, NJ - The Montclair Planning Board had a brief meeting on July 22 with only one application to consider – a subdivision of an existing lot belonging to a church.  It was the second time in recent memory that a Montclair church had its property subdivided to create a new lot, and, like the previous time, it involved a church of the Congregationalist (formally the United Church of Christ) denomination.  Members of the Union Congregational Church on Cooper Avenue sought to subdivide its large lot, measuring 33,000 square feet, on the odd-numbered-address side of the avenue across from the church building itself.

Timothy Crist, moderator of the church’s board of trustees, explained that the property at 169 Cooper Avenue as it is currently constituted features the pastor’s house and a broad swath of land to the left, or the west side, of the house.  The church does not have any plans to sell or develop the land that would form the new lot, unlike First Congregational Church on South Fullerton Avenue, which sold a portion of its land along Plymouth Street around the corner, which developer Stephen Plofker subsequently built two new houses on.  Rather, in the case of Union Congregational, the church would continue to own the land and leave it until later for possible development.  No plans of any sort of development are currently being considered.  Alan Trembulak, representing the church, said that the new lot would conform to size regulations and requirements and that no variances are needed.

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Carmel Loughman – a former member of the Planning Board and now Councilor-at-Large and, along with Mayor Renée Baskerville, part of the new council’s liaison to the board - asked if the pastor’s house at 169 Cooper Avenue is subject to taxation.  Crist said he did not know.  When Councilor Loughman asked about the proposed vacant lot, Trembulak said that there is a state tax exemption for up to two parsonages, or pastor’s houses, per house of worship, and Union Congregational has two for the two residential houses it owns.  The vacant lot, however, would not be subject to taxation until it was developed.  The house at 169 Cooper Avenue has an interesting history; built in 1899, it was the home of a former Montclair mayor of the 1930s, and it was moved across the avenue from its original location to make room for the construction of the church’s educational center.

Crist assured a neighbor that there would be no parking lot built on the property, and the congregation has made no decision on the fate of the property – but the interests of the neighbors would be considered. He also added that if the church sold the land to a private entity, that entity would be taxable. Without any reason to object, the board voted unanimously to approve Union Congregational Church’s application.

At this first meeting since the inauguration of the Baskerville Council, Board Chairman Keith Brodock gave a warm welcome to the board’s “new” members, Councilor Loughman and Mayor Baskerville, with obvious irony; Councilor Loughman had just stepped down from the Planning Board as a full-fledged member, and Mayor Baskerville had been a council liaison to the Planning Board before when she was Fourth Ward Councilor.  After the vote on the lot subdivision, the board looked at filling seats on different subcommittees.  Councilor Loughman reluctantly accepted a seat on the redevelopment subcommittee, though a vacancy on the zoning subcommittee remained unfilled for the time being.

Also, Planning Director Janice Talley said she is preparing a report for the council on the township’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, which must be filed to the state by Monday, June 30, 2025.  The board is planning to discuss this issue at its August 19 meeting.

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