Settlement near in '32-month saga' over Plainfield Road redevelopment in Edison
EDISON – Efforts to settle the long-standing dispute over the redevelopment of the former Charlie Brown's site on Plainfield Road are getting back on track.
The Township Council on Wednesday introduced an ordinance to rezone the 2-acre site as an R-C zone and establish single-family residential development within the zone. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Dec. 27.
Another ordinance calling for a zoning change for the property was rejected by council members last month.
Because the new ordinance is being enacted as part of a settlement agreement, and due to 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 says.
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.
"Today's adoption of the R-C zone to settle the case of 222 Plainfield Road and Charlie Brown's has been the culmination of about a 32-month saga and we're not fully finished yet. While we are not ecstatic about the resolution, I think that's the sign of a good compromise. No one's real happy, so it's a decent compromise," said neighborhood resident Nicholas Fagan.
Last month council members approved a settlement resolution that would allow eight single-family homes to be built on the subdivided site but rejected an ordinance for a zoning change of the property that would allow residential development.
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Council support was needed for both because the resolution authorizes the settlement agreement which resolves the litigation, and the ordinance which implements the settlement resolving the litigation.
Under the settlement, Markim Developers will be able to subdivide the property at 222 Plainfield Road, 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.
Last December 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 for a project called The Links at Edison.
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.Neighborhood residents have opposed any type of multiple-family development on the site, and instead requested single-family homes.
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: Edison NJ Plainfield Road redevelopment agreement near
