| Author | Message | ||
     Mayhewdrive |
Although everyone's minds & priorities are justifiably elsewhere, I just received the following tasteful announcement from the Coalition to Preserve South Orange about the next Planning Board meeting: Dear Neighbor, We, as a group and as individuals, want to express our most fervent hopes that all of you and your families are safe and sound. If you have been directly affected by the devastating events of this past week, please know that you are in our thoughts and in our prayers. We go forward quietly in this somber moment, aware that our work seems small right now, almost irrelevant. Almost everyone, whether directly affected or not, has found themselves so distracted and sad that it is difficult to focus on the daily business at hand. But go forward we do, knowing that we must continue the meaningful work we have done for the past 2 -1/2 years, even as our hearts wander elsewhere. And so we are sending this to let you know that Trammell Crow will be presenting before the Planning Board their plans to build 198 rental units in Kernan's Quarry this Thursday (9/20) at 7:30pm in the South Orange Middle School which is located on Ridgewood Road (next to the Duck Pond). While we know everyone is preoccupied by recent world events, it is still important for us all to continue on and stand up to be heard on issues that affect our lives. We sincerely hope we will see you at this important meeting. Thanks for all your continued support! CPSO Coalition to Preserve South Orange | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Just a reminder that this meeting WILL be held tonight. Of course, in light of last week's events and the President's address tonight it is awfully insensitive timing. However, it just proves what everyone has said from the beginning that Trammell Crow has no concern for our community and is completely insensitive to its residents. | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Got the following in my email from the Coalition to Preserve South Orange about 2 MORE Planning Board meetings tomorrow (Wednesday) and next Wednesday: We just want to remind you about the next Planning Board Meetings to discuss the proposed development of 198 rental units in Kernan's Quarry. The next TWO meetings have been scheduled for: this Wednesday October 17, 2001 at 7:30 pm & next Wednesday October 24, 2001 at 7:30 pm. Both meetings will be held at the South Orange Middle School on Ridgewood Road (at the bottom of Tillou Road & next to the duck pond). This Wednesday (10/17), we expect that Trammell Crow will continue presenting testimony by their "project engineer". We also expect to hear a cross-examination of this "witness" from our attorney, as well as comments and questions from the public. It is imperative that we continue to attend these meetings in large numbers to show this developer our unity against this threat to our entire community. We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks for all your continued support! | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Another reminder....Trammell Crow will be presenting before the Planning Board this WEDNESDAY 10/24 at 7:30pm in the South Orange Middle School. Let's have a great turnout & show these invaders once and for all that we have no interest in them detroying our Village. | ||
| Edmay |
What is Trammell Crow? | ||
| Edmay |
I just read they want to build 198 rental units in the quarry. Why is that bad? | ||
| Thoughtful |
Ed, Go up to the quarry some time and see what they want to destroy. If that doesn't answer your question, go up to the quarry during the afternoon rush hour in So. Orange and ask yourself what traffic would be like with 200 more units in So. Orange. Then ask what it would be like with 200 MORE units, since the development by the Village Mews hasn't even opened yet. Then ask yourself what your tax bill will be like if even half of these proposed units send children to the SO/M schools, since the developers are being granted payment in lieu of taxes by South Orange. | ||
| Edmay |
Thoughtful You have made me think. I will visit the quarry but exactly where is it? And where is the Village Mews? (I am familiar with muse but what is a mews?) And are you saying that access and egress is only thru SO Avenue? Can you expand upon "the developers are being granted payment in lieu of taxes". | ||
| Soda |
Edmay: It would probably be instructive for you, and far less repetitious for longer-term S.O. posters, if you would simply use the KeyWord Search here to look for answers to such basic questions as you've posed above. That way, you will (1) find out what the background issues and arguments surrounding the Quarry are, and (2) thereby acquire a more informed profile when posting on this board. Not knowing what/who Trammell Crow is/are is one thing, but if you continue to ask such basic questions here without attempting the easiest of knowledgebuilding efforts, you may be (God Forbid!)dropped from the Cool List. | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Edmay, To save you some searching: the Quarry is located at the Western end of Tillou Road. If you stand in front of SO Middle School (by the duck pond) and head up Tillou Road until it ends, you will run into a gate that is the entrance to the quarry. You can find much more history & pictures of the property on the website of the Coalition to Preserve South Orange at : http://members.aol.com/preserveso P.S. There was another packed room of residents opposed to this project at the South Orange Middle School last night. The next meeting before the Planning Board will be Nov 20th at the Baird Community Center on Mead St. | ||
| Tracks |
Edmay, village mews are the condominiums on third street just west of the train tracks. The entrance to the quarry is on Tillou (as far up Tillou as you can go). To get a full history you would actually have to see if you can get past issues of the news-record dating back to the mid 1980's. The on-again off-again development has been in and out of the news for the last 15 years. Right now a developer (Trammel-Crow) has been meeting with the Planning Board to try and get approval of a project with 198 units. | ||
| Slinc |
I think the addition of rental units is a great idea. Right now the quarry is used predominantly by teenagers as a spot to drink in the evenings. Since South Orange currently does not accomodate parking where I live, perhaps the new rental units will come with a spot. | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Slinc, If you are interested in additional housing, why don't you investigate the 200 rental units already being built on 3rd street, the units already being built on Church Street, the planned units on top of the new "Village Market", the planned units on top of the "Oriental Rug" place or the existing units around town? Have you ever VISITED the quarry? If so, I think you'd agree there are an infinite number of better things to have there besides 198 rental units. | ||
| Slinc |
MHDRIVE, I've been a resident of South Orange for the last 29 years and have seen a lot change. Maybe I'm a bit confused, but why didn't the coalition or the people up the hill create a fuss when the mews were built on 3rd street. Or when the new units across from them were proposed? | ||
| Edmay |
Thanx to Mayhewdrive and Tracks for the information about a subject of concern to you, and which apparently could impact me. I will check it out.I was suprised by Soda's answer but gratified to get yours. | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Slinc, Real simple....we asked the people in the vicinity of 3rd Street if they wanted our help to oppose the development. They didn't. The people in the neighborhood weren't opposed to it, so we couldn't fight a battle they didn't want fought. The development of the quarry is opposed by people in the immediate neighborhood, as well as by MANY people in ALL other neighborhoods around town. Even the Trustees claim "proposed quarry development - we are against it". | ||
| Soda |
EdMay: Sorry. Just feelin' grumpy for the moment. No lecture intended. That lecture belongs below, and it's not pointed at you, Ed: When I first heard anybody complaining about this latest version of the Quarry development, my kneejerk sentiments were to be righteously pissed off. Once I attended one of the first public meetings on the subject, however, I learned about the history of the owner and prior attempts to develop the site, and how the Village tried to fight it, and how the court-appointed Master decided what was to be acceptable density, and so on... It came down to a case of perceived public good versus private property law. Guess who'll win that one... When the Coalition was finally formed, I decided it was really not much more than a S.O. version of NIMBY. I became further alienated from the Cause when a very tacky and divisive political campaign grew out of what should have remained an effort to gain positive public opinion. However, Pat Joyce, the most articulate and yet reasoned leader of the Coalition, still got my vote. Good for him, and his efforts on the side of the angels. Shame on anyone (especially those West of Wyoming Avenue) who now castigates private citizens or public officials for a lack of concern about the Quarry's potential effects on density, class size, traffic, pollution, noise, or whatever, unless they themselves have been continuously kicking and screaming since the Village Green and The Mews projects came off the drawing boards! BTW, Slinc: Remember - Gaslight Commons is being built on what was an eyesore car dealership, no open space sorta deal like the Quarry. As for the Mews, I forget what it replaced, but I don't recall any great public outcry at the time. I Do remember that I took my daughter to see the model apartments when they opened, and enjoyed some great chocolate and whipped cream-dipped strawberries under a tent in the parking lot. I guess that makes me a shill for overdevelopment. | ||
| Villagenative |
Mayhewdrive, Can you tell me who you asked, please? I'm a resident in the area, and I know my neighbors, and there was no contact from the Coalition. We were quite vocal about it at trustee meetings; I personally lost my fighting spirit when it was so obviously unwinnable. I'm curious as to who was approached. | ||
| Galileo |
Believe it or not, The Mews was built on a quarry - not a very pretty one. | ||
| Mayhewdrive |
Soda, As for Village Green and the Mews, they pre-date my residence in South Orange, so I was not around to be "kicking and screaming" about those projects. Frankly, I would guess that the vast majority of people in the neighborhood "west of Wyoming" (as you refer to it) have moved here since the Village Green and the Mews have been built. At this point, we all KNOW those developments have NOT stabilized or reduced our tax burden, so the fundamental question that must be asked, is: what benefit would 198 rental units bring to South Orange? I contend it would only benefit the developer and we all will be left with the financial burden of 100 additional schoolchildren. However, you can be assured that the Quarry issue is NOT a NIMBY issue. There are people from as far away from the property, as Centre St or Prospect St that are as actively involved as people who live on Tillou or Harding. Village Native - are you referring to Church St or 3rd Street? I do remember some dissent over Church Street, but I do not recall any for 3rd Street. As I recall, the Planning Board gave that project preliminary AND final approval in one night. |
