Moorestown Council Considering Affordable Housing At Miles Site

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Council has begun to move forward with plans for an affordable housing complex at the former Miles Technology Site at the corner of Route 38 and Pleasant Valley Avenue on Monday, July 8, at town hall.

Council approved a proposed ordinance on introduction to establish new zoning on the site after a superior court judge ruled that Pennrose couldn't move forward with its affordable housing proposal off Route 38.

The vote was 4-1, with Councilman Mike Locatell providing the dissenting vote. The public hearing and final vote is scheduled for Aug. 19.

Locatell said he voted against the proposal because he is uncomfortable with the setbacks laid out in the proposal. He said he thinks the owner make the setbacks too tight, and the end result won’t be an inviting place to live.

He said the plans call for a buffer five feet between the parking lots, which is indicative of an urbanized high rise setting.

“I don’t want it to feel like an ‘other side of the tracks’ experience,” Locatell said. “A high rise building will stick out on the corner of two main roads.”

Mayor Lisa Petriello said the plans actually call for buffers of “no less than 10 feet,” but they could be reduced to five.

The site was designated by the township as an alternative to the Pennrose site during litigation earlier this year. Read more here: Moorestown Identifies Alternative Site To Pennrose Proposal

Pennrose had filed a lawsuit to have a restrictive covenant invalidated so it can begin work on what was to be a 75-unit affordable housing project, but after Moorestown identified the alternative site, Judge Ronald Bookbinder ruled Pennrose couldn’t move forward with its proposed site.

The site proposed for the Miles Site would also be home to a total of 76 units, 75 of which would be low- and moderate-income housing.

Locatell said the process for moving forward with the Miles Site is going much faster. He also said there were public hearings for the Pennrose Site, and there have been none for the Miles Site.

“We had a big presentation on the settlement, not on the individual projects,” Petriello said.

She also said both the Miles Site and the possibility for development on a site owned by the Diocese of Trenton have both been in the public spotlight for a few months.

“There were a lot of things that were supposed to happen last fall that didn’t, and now we’re under the gun,” Deputy Mayor Nicole Gillespie said.

Locatell said the previous council was also under the gun on timelines, but made sure to include details about the individual projects in the presentation about the settlement.

Township Solicitor Kevin Aberant said council needed to introduce the proposal before the next compliance hearing. No date had been set for the next compliance hearing as of July 8.

A developer has been identified, but is not officially signed on for the project, he said. Locatell said he would like for members of the public to be able to see renderings of the proposal. Without an official developer, there are no renderings for the public to see, Aberant said.

Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano suggested the issue be discussed during a workshop session before the public hearing. The planning board would also hold a consistency hearing that will be open to the public before the proposal goes back to council.