Isn’t this Apartment Project merely an idea at this point—just a gleam in the eye of a developer that might not even happen? Seems they are just now beginning to study some of Drew’s property for potential redevelopment, and I heard that nothing specific has been agreed…

No! This project is far along, despite the procedural posture of just beginning the redevelopment designation process. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Note that the “proposed” lot already has ingress and egress points baked into it and is shaped suspiciously like the schematic that was leaked to the press (see page 2). Although some very important details might change and aspects of that schematic might be, as Mayor Conley once noted, just a “developer’s dream”, the Borough has agreed with Drew, blessed by the court, to undertake this whole process, including doing a redevelopment study first and leading inevitably to amending the Master Plan so that a big apartment complex (specifically, 193-units) can be put on this parcel, in part to further the Borough’s affordable housing goals. Nobody got any real notice of that and the press articles obscured what was happening as “saving the Drew Forest,” but it was apparently a lot more than that and so will be very difficult, if not impossible, to stop entirely. And because of that, if the Borough does too much to pushback at this point, they could get sued by Drew or the Developer—they’ve tied their own hands.

So why bother if it is already a fait accompli?

Details still really matter. Taking the mayor at his word, we can still have an impact on the shape and look of the project. It won’t be insignificant to push the building(s) back toward Ranger Field to at least save the sledding hill and some good green space sight lines and make sure this development is safe and causes the least amount of traffic disruption possible. Those are real issues and legitimate zoning inquiries. Get active now!

How can they do this? I’ve been using this parcel for sledding for decades and I know of several people who have done so for 30+ years? Can’t we get “adverse possession” or a “prescriptive easement” or something similar?

Ironically, it turns out that those theories are pretty hard to pursue as individuals in NJ when many others in the community also benefited, even where the statutory period for prescriptive easements (20 years) and even adverse possession (30 years) has easily been met. But that’s where the Planning Board and the Borough need to step in and protect us. Those spaces have been really good for the community (where else can you hear children squealing?) and they can take that into account in considering various alternatives for the layout of that development that either protect those aspects or don’t.

I have other questions. What do I do?

As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you have a good question or an answer, let us know (see Stay in Touch) and we’ll consider adding it. This whole website will be a work in progress so check back frequently. But also look at our very important disclaimers page. At the end of the day, you’ll need to come to your own decision and conclusions and not rely on us to be a citizen for you.