Montclair Council Approves Revised Redevelopment Plan and Clary Anderson Arena Improvements

MONTCLAIR, NJ - The first meeting of the Montclair Township Council after the mayoral and council elections got off to a late start – and without Councilor-at-Large Robert Russo and Deputy Mayor / First Ward Councilor William Hurlock. The May 23 meeting’s main attraction was a second-reading ordinance concerned with replacing and superseding the redevelopment plan for Lackawanna Plaza.

Mayor Sean Spiller and the council had passed an earlier version of the redevelopment plan, but various plaintiffs, including Montclair Residents for Responsible Development, filed legal challenges to their adoption of the plan citing possible conflicts of interest.  Mayor Spiller and the council deny any wrongdoing or liability and insist that the plan was properly considered and approved, but they sought to resolve any outstanding appearances of alleged conflict of interest and avoid unnecessary delay and costs associated with the lawsuits.

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Acting Township Attorney Paul Burr explained that the redevelopment plan had been referred to the Planning Board for consistency review.  The board found that the plan had been inconsistent with the township’s master plan, and the township reviewed and considered the board’s recommendations.  The ordinance allows for the township zoning ordinance and the township’s zoning map to be amended in order to designate the Lackawanna Plaza property as a redevelopment area.

In opening the meeting to public comment on the agenda, opposition to the plan turned out to be underwhelming.  Only former Planning Board member and Councilor-at-Large-elect Carmel Loughman voiced any real opposition to the second-reading ordinance, saying that the plan as offered was not ready to be adopted.  She said that the size of the project was out of character with the neighborhood, she feared an impact on the parking availability on adjacent streets, and she questioned the adequacy of open space that was promised by the plan.  But Councilor-elect Loughman proved to be alone among the residents in her assessment, with resident Scott Kennedy saying it was imperative to get it started after a long delay, and resident Gil Stern added that the project would bring needed benefits for the township, such as retail and workforce housing.  Resident Kevin Dyer questioned those who might have a problem with the density of the plan offered by developer David Placek, saying that less density would lead to more expensive housing.

Planning Director Janice Talley tried to flesh out the aspects of the redevelopment plan in comments to the council.  She said that the plan was regulated by law to be consistent with the master plan but that offsetting of inconsistencies would allow the plan to go forward.  Director Talley said that, as presented, the plan would provide numerous benefits to the area and to the town by encouraging potential improvements off-site and also provide significant public benefits in the form of substantial workforce housing – defined as housing for people who spend between 80 and 120 percent of their income on housing – and up to 71,700 square feet, or 20 percent of the property, of open space.  She conceded that a couple of the planned buildings are large, but she was quick to point out the scales of the buildings had been reduced and that stepbacks and setbacks in the design would make the upper floors less visible at street level, especially on Glenridge Avenue, which was of particular concern to residents.  Director Talley cited the requirements that Placek’s development company, BDP Holdings, must adhere to – namely, a full-service supermarket and a mitigation of traffic signals and wait times for red lights.

Fourth Ward Councilor David Cummings wanted to be clear on how the process would continue should the redevelopment plan ordinance pass.  Director Talley said there would be a site plan review before the Planning Board that would officially designate the developer and produce a redevelopment agreement. Interim Township Manager Michael Lapolla said that he planned to get negotiations on a financial agreement underway, but not after Mayor-elect Renée Baskerville and the new councilors are sworn in.

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Councilor Cummings, however, was not convinced that efforts to revise the plan had gone far enough.  The council passed the redevelopment ordinance by a vote of 4-1, with Councilor Cummings voting against it.

The first-reading ordinance on the agenda that got the most attention was an ordinance providing for capital improvements to the Clary Anderson Arena, appropriating an aggregate amount of $6 million, and authorizing the issuance of $5.7 million in bonds.  Resident Reginald Jenkins, a proponent of restoring the ice-skating arena, spoke to thank the council for bringing this ordinance to the fore.  Mayor Spiller was especially enthusiastic about the ordinance, recognizing the value of the skating rink for the youth hockey team and also for skaters of every stripe and endorsing Jenkins’ efforts to help get more donations to the Clary Anderson Arena, which will be key to the project’s success.  Second Ward Councilor Robin Schlager said that she hoped the arena would become a gathering place for teenagers, and she remembered how the arena had hosted pet shows and antique shows when the rink was not operational.

To that effect, Councilor Cummings hoped to see the facility sufficiently renovated to include non-skating events to make it a fully year-round public amenity.  But he had one other query: Where will the youth hockey team play during the coming winter season if the arena is not available?  Manager Lapolla said he was looking into different possibilities, including a pop-up tent arena with a rink inside, but a temporary substitute has not yet been determined.  This time Councilor Cummings voted along with the rest of the council to authorize the money for capital improvements to the arena.

Among other things, the council also passed a revised second-reading ordinance that allows the township to suspend a cannabis distribution license after six months if a cannabis business has not been active in that time.  The ordinance was amended to clarify the regulations by starting that an inactive cannabis proprietor would be given thirty days’ notice of having his or her license suspended for inactivity during the first year after opening while suspending a license after six months of inactivity in the years after.  The wording was changed to address concerns that a startup cannabis business still in the development phase after six months could lose its license for not being open to the public yet.

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