Cranford Planning Board Denies 750 Walnut Ave. Rezone

CRANFORD, NJ - More than a year of testimony, outcry and applications came to an end on Wednesday when the Cranford Planning Board summarily rejected the Hartz company request rezone its property to multi-unit residential.

The vote was unanimous.

"Last night, the Planning Board unanimously rejected the application to rezone the property at 750 Walnut," Mayor Patrick Giblin said. "The Planning Board will vote on a resolution with this recommendation."

The redevelopment has been referred to as the dragon at Cranford's gates, the monstrosity and a sign of the times, but whatever it is called, the Hartz Mountain Industries applied to build 905 apartment units on the property, which is currently a commercial zone.

During presentations before the Planning Board Demographer Ross Haber and Cranford Public Schools' Superintendent Scott Rubin shared potential impact the development of 750 Walnut Ave.

Haber said that approximately 353 school-aged children would be brought into the Cranford Schools. Haber said 35 would be high school age, 71 would be in grades 6-8 and 247 would be K-5. Haber said that currently the schools are "fully-utilized" and therefore to accommodate the new students a new school would have to be built or the current ones expanded.

According to Dawn Beresford, one of the founding members of Cranford Residents Against Overdevelopment (CRAO) her group had numerous concerns, specifically about the infrastructure of the town being overwhelmed by having so many new residents. Beresford said that the group began as a group of residents who live in the vicinity of 750 Walnut Ave. who were concerned about 905 apartments being built at that site.

Giblin said that he expected the governing bodsy to consider and vote on the matter during their Aug. 13 meeting, due to the summer schedule.

"Thank you to the Planning Board members for their attentiveness sitting through hours of testimony on this application," he said.

For her part, Beresford had told Patch locally the CRAO goal was simple.

"Our main goal is to stop the Planning Board from rezoning 750 Walnut Ave," Beresford said.

Mission accomplished.

Those interested can view TV35's stream of the meeting below:

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