Former Charlie Brown's site in Edison is rezoned after 3-year dispute
EDISON - The three-year controversy over the development of the former Charlie Brown's site on Plainfield Road has ended.The project, opposed by neighborhood residents, which found its way to the Township Council and Middlesex County Superior Court, was quietly resolved Wednesday with very little fanfare.
On Wednesday, Township Council members unanimously approved an ordinance to rezone the 2-acre site of the former Charlie Brown's restaurant on Plainfield Road as an R-C zone and establish a single-family residential development within the zone.
Earlier: Legal battle over Plainfield Road redevelopment in Edison may be over
"I look forward to the next steps with what this ordinance brings to the community," said Council President John Poyner, who offered the only comment about the ordinance. Poyner, Council Vice President Margot Harris and Council members Joseph Coyle and Joyce Ship-Freeman were the only council members in attendance for the meeting.
The ordinance is being enacted as part of a settlement agreement with the developer of the property at 222 Plainfield Road. The ordinance states that because of the unique characteristics of the property, the zone created is not intended to be used as justification or precedent for any variance in any other zone.
The ordinance also sets requirements for minimum lot area, width and depth, front and rear yard setbacks, side yard setbacks, floor area and ratio, and building height at 32 feet or 2.5 stories.
Council members previously approved a settlement resolution that would allow eight single-family homes to be built on the site. Council support was needed for both the resolution and ordinance because the resolution authorizes the settlement agreement which resolves the litigation, and the ordinance implements the settlement resolving the litigation.
Under the settlement, Markim Developers will be able to subdivide the property at 222 Plainfield Rd., located next to the Metuchen Golf & Country Club, into eight lots each containing a single-family home for a project called The Links at Edison.
In December 2022 Markim Developers went to Superior Court to overturn the Township Council's October 2022 overruling of the Zoning Board of Adjustment's approval to build seven duplexes with 14 age-restricted housing units at the site.
The duplex plan approved by the Zoning Board was modified from an original 2021 application to build 23 three-bedroom townhomes, a multi-family project that neighborhood residents fought.
Neighborhood resident Joel Bassoff appealed the Zoning Board's approval to the Township Council, and the governing body voted to overturn the board's duplex project approval, which Markim then appealed in court.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Former Charlie Brown's site in Edison is rezoned after 3-year dispute
