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Andover to reconsider 600-home plan
Thursday, March 1, 2007
By Bruce A. Scruton
Herald Staff Writer

ANDOVER BOROUGH — The Andover Borough council has scheduled five days of public hearings as it seeks to revoke permission granted nearly 20 years ago for a major development which would more than triple the number of homes in town.

The hearings at the firehouse on Route 206 begin at 7 p.m. Monday and continue, as needed, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday with continuation dates of March 21, 26 and 29.

The plan was put together back in 1989 by the borough and developer George Syngelides, who later sold the development rights to Beazer.

Last year the council, by a 4-0 vote, revoked the plan, but Beazer went to court and the vote was overturned by Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis who did say the village could try again if it provided adequate legal notice to Beazer.

The plan, which Beazer put before the borough in December 2005, calls for 590 residential units and about 200,000 square feet of commercial space on some 233 acres of land west of Route 206 and stretching almost the entire length of the village, from Limecrest Road in the northwest to Route 517 to the south.

The 233 acres is roughly a quarter of the 1.5 square miles of the borough and the number of people estimated to move into the development would triple the borough's population of just over 660 people. The nearly 600 housing units being proposed, which includes a mix of senior, townhouse and single family homes, is more than twice the number of existing homes.

There is very little case law for the borough and Beazer to follow, noted Kevin Kelly, one of the attorneys representing the developer. He said the borough will present its case first and "they have to demonstrate cause,'' he said. "This is not a referendum, so public opinion should not be a reason for cause."

Among points of dispute which both sides will argue with their own set of experts will be demographic projections on the number of school children the development will produce, traffic congestion and the strain on existing services. Experts are also expected to testify about sewer and water concerns as well as immediate and longer-range effects on the tax revenue.

But Kelly also admitted, and the five-day schedule seems to bear him out, that the two sides expect many people to speak to the issue.

Among the speakers will be Fred DiRenzo of Rockaway and a native of Andover Borough who still owns property there. He is a founder of Save Rural Andover Boro, which was formed to fight the Beazer proposal, and runs a Website.

"Our issues are quite simple,'' he said. "Beazer will come in, make its 200-300 million and leave. And those left behind won't be able to afford to live here. The borough has one employee now. Just one. How many will we need if this is built?"

While the borough has remained the same over the past two decades, much else has changed. The borough's Special Counsel Richard Cushing has said in the past there have been changes in state law since 1989 which negate some parts of the agreement and make other parts illegal.

It would now be illegal for a developer to promise a municipality a new town hall, recreation center or even a community swimming pool.

Cushing has argued that while Beazer and developers before them may have gotten extensions from the Planning Board, none were granted by the Borough Council and the project died when no preliminary plan was put forth within five years.

Kelly said he is ready to show there were approvals being sought in the background from a variety of agencies. "Things were proceeding," he said. "We were trying to get approvals for things like sewers, and COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) and transportation."

He also argued there have been changes made by the Planning Board, which shows progress, and the original agreement was for 20 years.

Council member Peter Pearson declined to talk specifics about the case, saying, "We're in the middle of a big legal battle. I guess it's best not to say anything about anything."

The borough has also declined offers of help from surrounding townships of Green, Byram and Andover which are also against the plan.

2007 The New Jersey Herald