Planning Board Memorializes Master Plan Amendment, No Car Dealerships

Last week, the Manalapan Township Planning Board adopted a resolution memorializing the amendment to the land use element the township’s Master Plan, which no longer includes the recommendation for car dealerships or commercial development along sections of Rt. 9.

Township Planner Richard Cramer presented the Board the official amended land use element on Feb. 23 which made the recommendations for the Township’s SED Zones and OP Zone.
, the Planning Board made the decision not include Cramer’s recommendations regarding the OP-3 Zones and OP-10 Zones, which would have allowed for car dealerships to be constructed in the OP-3 Zone and commercial establishments to be constructed within the OP-10 Zone; both of those zones border Rt. 9.

The Planning Board held five public hearings on the proposed amendment to the Master Plan and heard testimony and comments from their own consultants. Many citizens came out in protest of the possibility of car dealerships in Manalapan, an idea which stemmed from .

The Board decided against the possibility of car dealerships in a tight vote on Feb. 23 and the vote to memorialize the amendment was just as tight, with five votes in favor of memorializing the amendment, and five votes dissenting. The decision of the Planning Board was based on testimony, the draft land use element, and the 2011 periodic re-examination report, according to the resolution.

The resolution states “that the policy goals and objectives contained in the draft amendment to the land use element prepared by Richard Cramer accurately reflects the polices of the Planning Board based upon the current land use patterns as well as land use challenges which presently exist within the municipality.”

Chairman John McNaboe, Deputy Mayor Don Holland, Committeeman Ryan Green, and Glen Mendez voted against memorializing the amendment, which excludes the possibility of car dealerships in the township; Kathy Kwaak, Richard Cohen, Richard Hogan, Jack Eisner, and Charles Niebling voted in favor of memorialization.