"The only thing that's transit-oriented about this proposal is that it is being railroaded."
--Councilman Cory Storch
In an unprecedented action last week, a council majority decided to move to the July 14 agenda an ordinance submitted by the Housing Authority of Plainfield that had been listed as only a discussion item. The ordinance had to do with conveyance of city-owned land to HAP "either by sale or long-term lease," the site having been the topic of a conceptual Planning Board hearing last year regarding development of 86 apartments. At last night's regular meeting, the ordinance was passed on first reading, despite a request from HAP Director Randall Wood that it be withdrawn. The rationale given by Council President Bridget Rivers was that Wood had no authority to tell the council what to do with its agenda, just as the council has no say over HAP agendas..
Councilman William Reid said the ordinance could be amended before final passage to resolve whatever issues were outstanding. But Wood himself, in his letter asking for withdrawal, said he had only expected the "draft ordinance" to be reviewed by Corporation Counsel David Minchello. That would be the more normal process than just accepting out of the blue a prepared document from an outside entity.
In the discussion as recorded by Plainfield View's David Rutherford, one can see Deputy City Administrator Carlos Sanchez backing up Wood's request to withdraw the ordinance until such time as his concept for a project on city-owned property can be discussed with the administration, as per a Friday meeting.
Once it was clear that action was about to take place despite Wood's request, Councilman Cory Storch made a motion for it to be tabled. Rivers seconded the motion, but when the roll was called and Councilwoman Vera Greaves was clearly unsure of what was going on, Rivers told her erroneously that the vote was to "take it off the table." Greaves abstained, Storch and Rebecca Williams voted "yes," Reid, Gloria Taylor and Rivers voted "no." Short of the necessary four votes, the motion to table failed.
The motion to pass the ordinance passed 4-2, with Williams and Storch saying "no" and Reid, Greaves, Taylor and Rivers voting "yes." The next regular meeting is Aug. 18, at which time it could be passed on second reading and final passage.
Storch pointed out that the proposal for residential housing only was not in keeping with the mixed-use format for downtown development that can be seen all along the Raritan Valley Line. While construction may yield jobs for a time, commercial use is the key to adding permanent jobs, he noted.
Other points were made during this discussion. I urge the public to take 20 minutes and view the entire excerpt at the link above.
المشاركات
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق