By Frank Mustac, Contributor
The Planning Board approved an amendment to the township’s Master Plan affecting properties on the east side of Scotch Road, where Capital Health Medical Center and a group of office buildings known collectively as the Merrill Lynch complex are located.
The amendment passed on Dec. 8 allows for “a new continuing-care facility, including skilled nursing care, hospice services and memory care, adjacent to Capital Health,” reads part of a Planning Board document describing the amendment.
Residential apartments will also be permitted in accordance with a housing plan to be prepared by the Planning Board, most likely sometime next year.
The Planning Board has designated a new zoning district called “office park 1” for the properties. The district, abbreviated as OP-1 and described as a “live/work mixed use zone,” will include the new uses stated above, as well as uses already permitted under a previous developer agreement and subsequent court settlements.
Those previously permitted uses are “a hotel, affordable housing, and small-scale retail and service uses (including fitness centers, drugstores, barbers and beauty salons) intended primarily to serve the local community with no individual retail unit exceeding 15,000 square feet.”
“Public purpose uses and community facilities” are the other previously permitted uses. They include a “municipal senior center, community center or similar public-serving uses.”
Since the properties in question are part of an existing office park (OP) zoning district, the uses permitted under that designation also apply. The OP district already permits offices, research facilities, restaurants, hospitals, veterinary hospitals and farms.
According to Frank Banisch, Hopewell Township’s professional planner, “This new (OP-1) zone is helping the transition from what was built to be a single-user campus to what will become, has become, a multi-user environment by trying to fortify the vitality and the viability of these uses for the long term, both helping the office complex remain well-rented, become fully rented, and remain one of the most attractive office locations in Mercer County, and make sure that the hospital and complimentary uses to that hospital can grow that node in a way that is beneficial to the community, to the portion of the town that it is located in and to the general public.”
The action taken by the Planning Board only changes the Master Plan. Now it is up to the Township Committee to approve a land-use ordinance to create the new OP-1 zoning.
In addition to documents describing the Master Plan amendment, the Planning Board also prepared a Q&A sheet to answer some of the questions board members have been asked by residents in person, or that board members have seen posted online via social media.
One of the questions on the sheet: While Hopewell Township’s affordable housing obligations are still being litigated, why do anything?
Hopewell Township is currently in Superior Court to determine the number of low- and moderate-income housing units that should be built to meet the municipality’s legal obligations.
Late last year, the township told the court it could make available about 890 affordable units.
However, the Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit affordable housing advocacy organization,determined the prospective need for affordable housing in Hopewell Township to be a minimum of 1,200 units.
“Hopewell Township is committed to meeting its constitutional obligation for affordable housing,” reads the Planning Board’s response to the question. “While our specific affordable housing obligations are still being litigated and we do not have a final number, we continue to make good faith efforts towards fulfilling our constitutional obligation.”
“Importantly, the recent court decision in South Brunswick suggests that municipalities that do not proactively take steps to meet their affordable housing obligations are at‐risk of unfavorable court decisions, revocation of their immunity and builders remedy lawsuits, and the associated unplanned development.”
During the public comment portion of the Dec. 8 Planning Board meeting, township resident Bill Piper asked about the affordable housing being considered on the east side of Scotch Road.
“Having the mixed use would create greater stress on other areas of the township to meet the affordable obligation. Am I right,” he asked, explaining that there may not be enough affordable housing units built at this location to satisfy the number of units the court ultimately decides upon, and more affordable housing would have to be constructed elsewhere in town.
Planning Board Chairwoman Karen Murphy responded.
“Some units may be the affordable type and some might not be — well, there would be a mix,” she said.
“That would be determined by our housing plan that is going to come later. How many are the affordable type will be determined by the housing plan and the developer.”
Mr. Banisch, the township’s professional planner, explained that the Planning Board has also considered other properties on which to build affordable housing along with market-rate housing units.
“We’ve looked at sites all over the south end of town, and we have a variety of possible locations,” he said. “This is only one of those and this would only be responsible for a portion of the obligation.”
Ms. Murphy added that depending on what the court’s number is, the township’s entire obligation could be met on the east side of Scotch Road.
“Or (it) could be met at other locations,” she said. “We’ve determined a number of sites. We have not allocated which sites or how many on each site yet.”
Towards the end of the Dec. 8 Planning Board meeting, Chairwoman Murphy said that passing the Master Plan amendment was only a beginning point.
“I would like to assure the members of the public, this is the first step in the process and there are a lot more stages along the way where there is going to be input and feedback and refining of this plan,” she said.
