JACKSON – Residents concerned about a proposal to construct medical offices and retail space at the corner of Harmony and Jackson Mills roads will have to wait until October to make their concerns known to the Jackson Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The residents were prepared to speak during the zoning board’s June 7 meeting, but the application for the office and retail plan was carried to Aug. 2. The residents returned to the municipal building on Aug. 2 only to learn the application was being carried to Oct. 4.
Applicant Allen Morgan and Morgan Harmony Development are seeking a use variance from the zoning board in order to conduct retail and office uses in an R-1 residential zone where those uses are not permitted. Morgan will be represented by attorney Ray Shea.
At present, there is a home at 720 Harmony Road. Morgan wants to construct a 19,200-square-foot two-story building with retail space on the first floor and office space on the second floor.
Residents who live near the property were notified about the proposal and have been waiting for a chance to place their concerns on the record before the zoning board.
Although Morgan has not presented his case to the zoning board yet, several residents spoke outside of the meeting room and explained why they are planning to object to the application.
Fred Ohme said, “We do not want a business here, we have businesses all around us.”
He said commercial zones surround the residential zone where Morgan is proposing to construct the retail/office building.
“We are right in the middle of it all and we are happy like that, we like it like that. We can go outside (the residential zone to a commercial zone) and we have a quiet area to live in. We do not need a commercial zone right here,” Ohme said.
Ohme expressed concern about a possible increase in traffic at what he described as a busy intersection.
The intersection of Jackson Mills and Harmony roads “is already a hazardous corner and there have been a number of accidents there. We do not think it is going to be safe for us” if a retail/office building is constructed, he said.
Ohme said he is concerned that if the zoning board grants a use variance for Morgan’s application, that will set a precedent for future applicants who may propose business uses in a residential zone.
“If someone says, ‘If (Morgan) can get commercial, why cant I?’ that would be the end of our whole residential neighborhood,” Ohme said.
Marianne Campbell said, “Where we are situated, around the corner, we are going to be sandwiched here. I do not know if there are going to be road improvements or whether they are going to take property from the front of my house.
“Our lot frontage already does not conform because they took property away (for other improvements), one side of our house has an easement where we cannot put a driveway … and this (proposed) project will be right next to our driveway,” Campbell said.
In other business, board members announced that Joseph Schulman has resigned from the panel.
In his letter of resignation, Schulman said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my years of service to the board, to the mayor and Township Council, and to the citizens of Jackson. I also want to thank the mayor and council for their confidence in appointing me and allowing me to serve the township over the past eight years. Finally, I wish all of my fellow board members good luck and most especially, good health.”
