Bridgewater Planning Board Member Resigns Citing Toxic Atmosphere

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater Planning Board member Evan Lerner resigned on Monday due to what he says is a "toxic atmosphere" at recent ongoing meetings over the heated Center of Excellence project.

"It has been an honor to serve on the board and perform public service. Unfortunately, the political goings on in town has made for a toxic atmosphere at Planning Board meetings," Lerner said in his letter of resignation to the board. His resignation is effective immediately.

"This, in turn, has led to abusive behavior inside and outside of meetings as well as at least one email that can be read as a physical threat. It is indeed a shame that some elected officials have not only failed to curtail these behaviors but instead have intentionally fueled the fire," Lerner continued.

Lerner says it all came to a head after Kevin Coakley, attorney for the project's applicant CIP II/AR Bridgewater Holdings LLC, wrote the Planning Board saying members of the Bridgewater community were displaying "hostile and abusive behavior" towards Coakley's staff after the meetings.

An email was then sent to some members of the township informing them to not physically confront or verbally interact with the applicant's staff. This prompted a township resident to send an email response to the entire planning board on Monday morning that Lerner says "can be read as a physical threat."

Lerner said the email from the resident stated,"If you really want everyone to feel safe, cancel the 'Thanksgiving Week' meeting." It goes on to state that homeowners and residents feel threatened by the massive development that will change Bridgewater forever.

John Kulak, who sent the email says it was not a threat.

"If you read my e-mail then you know that there is no threat. In fact just the opposite is true," Kulak says. "I acknowledged the concern of Mr. Coakley. I also offered ways to reduce the tension around these meetings. I wanted to describe the experience of the homeowners as they face off against Mayor Hayes and his Planning Board."

"Serving has, as I'm sure you can imagine, become very challenging. For me the decision to quit was easy today. All of the turmoil fueled by our elected officials led to an email addressed to me and others on the board from one of our unhappy residents with a not so veiled threat," Lerner said.

Lerner's resignation will have no effect on Tuesday night's meeting as the quorum needed is four.

The Center of Excellence project proposed for the now-vacant 100-plus acre Sanofi-Aventis property on Route 202/206 has been an extremely controversial topic in town. The project has plans of building a hotel, supermarket, fitness/wellness center, restaurants with outdoor dining, around 400 luxury apartment units and boutiques. This has been called one of the largest developments in township's history since the Bridgewater Commons mall.

Multiple three and a half hour long meetings have been held in regards to the project with heated arguments heard by the public.

Lerner's resignation comes just before Tuesday night's Planning Board meeting to continue hearing the Center of Excellence project. It will be heard at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Courtroom at 100 Commons Way in Bridgewater. (The Bridgewater Patch will Facebook Live the meeting.)

Jay Troutman, a traffic expert, will continue to be questioned at Tuesday's meeting. Troutman had previously testified about the traffic information in the application submitted by CIP II/AR Bridgewater Holdings LLC. (See Troutman's review - https://bit.ly/32VZM2i and see Advance's Traffic Impact Assessment - https://bit.ly/2MVg1XS both provided by a group of concerned residents, called Preserve Bridgewater)

After the question portion, the public will be able to finally voice their opinion on the entire project including the front and back portions of the property, before the planning board makes a final vote.

It is advised to arrive early to get a seat as previous meetings were packed. In the event of a high turnout, overflow residents will be moved into a neighboring room to watch the meeting on TVs. Previous meetings have lasted around three and a half hours ending around 10:30 p.m.

• See Related: Largest Development in Bridgewater's History Proposed
• Related: Bridgewater Approves Plan For Possibly Largest Redevelopment Plan in Township's History
• Related: Bridgewater Officials Argue Over Center Of Excellence Project
• Related: No Vote On Center Of Excellence Project, Rescheduled To Oct. 28
• Related: Controversial Video Unveiled On Bridgewater's Rt. 202/206 Project

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