Petition updatePostpone Movement on this Proposed DevelopmentMeeting's this Week
Robin FinkelsteinShort Hills, NJ, United States
Dec 1, 2015
This is an update from the meeting last night. This project comes as a surprise to many residents, as it has not been covered in the local press until the past week. The current proposal calls for the Mack-Cali site on JFK Parkway (next door to the Short Hills Mall) to be redeveloped into a complex with a 250 room hotel and 4 apartment buildings with 50 units each. There will be roughly 200 units total, with each unit being 1-3 bedrooms. Any elementary aged children living in this complex would be zoned to attend Hartshorn School - some discussion tonight estimated that to be 300-400 additional students. As a point of reference, the current enrollment at Hartshorn is roughly 500 students. Given the scope of this project, a massive re-districting would likely be needed, and would potentially affect children at all 5 elementary schools in our district. In addition to the potentially huge impact to our school system, there is also concern that Canoe Brook Road would be re-opened to through traffic - opening the Poets neighborhood and adjacent areas to mall traffic/traffic from JFK Parkway. It is my understanding that Canoe Brook was open 30 years ago, and it was such a safety concern for Short Hills that it was eventually closed off. Although the current proposal does not include re-opening Canoe Brook Road, any residential development at the Mack Cali site would force the issue to be re-visited as residents moved into the new apartments. If you are concerned about this issue, I suggest you do the following: 1. Email and Call the Township Committee and Planning Board. 3. Attend the meetings happening tomorrow and Wednesday! Demand a delay in the approval process. • Tuesday 12/1 at 7:30pm. This is a general meeting at Millburn Town Hall where residents are being urged to attend in large numbers to speak out against this proposal. • Wednesdays 12/2 at 7:30pm. This is the Planning Meeting at Millburn Town Hall where the plan could be potentially approved.
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