Politics & Government

New Use for Kings Highway Land to be Discussed

Open meeting with subcommittee and Kings Highway, LLC representatives to be held in early April.

Despite a denial by three township committeemen to rezone a parcel of Washington Township land that would clear space for hundreds of apartment units, a development company and the governing body are reconvening to discuss alternatives.

Kings Highway, LLC will sit down with members from the Washington Township committee and planning board on Wednesday, April 2, to discuss other ways to use the land at the bottom of Kings Highway in Washington Township, near the border of Mansfield Township.

Representing the development company will be attorney Michael Selvaggi, who will meet with Committeemen Tracy Tobin and James LiaBraaten and planning board members Lou Mont and Charles DiSalvo.

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As meetings progress, members of the Highland Committee will likely be invited to join the discussion, according to Township Administrator Andrew Coppola.

Three members of the township committee – Tobin, LiaBraaten, and newcomer Donald Babb – declined the concept plan of the proposed 208-unit apartment complex. The decision came after two years of Kings Highway, LLC presenting plans to the planning board and committee, of which it never actually became an applicant.

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Related items:
208-Unit Apartment Complex Concept Struck Down by Township
Apartment Complex in Limbo Despite Expert Analysis
Apartment Complex 'Not What Our Town Needs'
Kings Highway Apartment Complex Scrutinized by Officials, Residents

The development company brought forth traffic and market experts to support the complex’s proposal, but disagreements in the study’s car congestion and size of the proposed complex seemed to put a halt to the rezoning the land from industrial to residential.

Residents in the area took opportunities to voice their disapproval as well, coming out in dozens to tell the committee the site, formerly used by USR Optonix, should not be the location for an apartment complex.

The meeting on April 2 is open to the public and will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. with the intention of exploring other uses for the land. 


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