Twp. Planner to Reexamine Other Zones for Car Dealership Suitability

The courtroom of the was teeming with residents last night as the Planning Board continued the public hearing on the land plan use element amendment to the Master Plan, of the township. While no official action was made on the amendment, the Board adopted the Reexamination Report put forth by Township Planner, Richard Cramer.

The Reexamination Report is a broader document that does not effect the Master Plan. The report re-examines locations throughout the entire township and determines whether or not additional uses, including commercial and recreational uses, are appropriate at those locations.

Cramer explained that the public hearing on the amendment to the Master Plan solely focused on the OP-3 Zone because the initial concept was introduced to the township by Ray Catena Auto Group who were only interested in a property in the OP-3 Zone. The OP-3 Zone is an approximately 84-acre area of Manalapan located at the intersection of Taylors Mills Road and Route 9.

“The question became, ‘is OP-3 an appropriate location for automobile dealerships?’” Cramer said. “Other locations in the township, are they appropriate? Well, they may be, but we haven’t looked at that issue.”

The idea to look at other areas in the township stemmed from a question asked by resident Andy Stevenson to Ray Catena’s Planner, Thomas Thomas, during Thomas’ cross-examination. Stevenson asked Thomas why this location, specifically, was chosen by Catena Auto Group.

Thomas said that the CMX building located at 200 Rt. 9 was selected because it is on the Rt. 9 corridor and because the OP-3 Zone is small; therefore, a change to allow dealerships in the zone would constrict dealerships to a tiny section of Manalapan.

Chief Richard Hogan, a member of the Board, acknowledged Stevenson’s question about the possibility of auto dealerships in other areas of the township - a point which has been brought up during public testimony at previous hearings on this issue.

“We may need a study for the whole community, not just this one zone, to see if possible there are other areas throughout the town where this particular use might fit in well,” Hogan said.

Gerald Sonnenblick, Ray Catena’s attorney, said that the re-examining of other areas for car dealerships is not relevant because that is not why the Catena Auto Group is in front of the Planning Board. “[Catena] could put a dealership on Rt. 33, assuming the township changes the zoning, but that is not where he is interested in going,” Sonnenblick said.

Sonnenblick confirmed that Catena recently purchased the property in question, which was previously owned by Justin Corporate Center, LLC, courtesy of the KABR group. According to the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Taxation, as of Jan. 10 of this year, the net value on that property is $4,180,000.

Ultimately, Hogan asked for support from the Board in asking the township professionals to re-examine the other zones in the township for car dealerships. 

Attorney Ron Cucchiaro, who represents the Board, said that the Reexamination Report was submitted to the Planning Board along with the Master Plan amendment and has been on file. Cucchiaro explained that the Board could adopt the report at any time, which would allow the professionals to analyze the different zones in a more comprehensive fashion in order to discover what uses are suitable in each zone, including looking specifically at the zones for prospective car dealerships.

Deputy Mayor Ryan Green made the motion to adopt the Reexamination Report, Hogan seconded, and the Board unanimously voted 'yes'.

Cramer will look at the other zones within the township and draft an addendum to the Reexamination Report. This addendum would not amend the Master Plan, but would provide the Planning Board with more information on whether or not they want to move forward with any amendment to the Master Plan.

There are no formal announcements regarding the addendum of a Reexamination Report, according to Cramer. But the topic of the addendum will be posted on the Township Web site and the topic will be listed on the agenda of the Planning Board meeting, which will also be posted on the Township Web site about two days before the scheduled meeting.

Cucchiaro said that if the Planning Board wants to move forward with bringing car dealerships anywhere into the township, a revision would be made to the draft proposed amendment to the land use element, which would be subject to public notice and part of the public hearing process.

The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. The first half-hour of the meeting will be a reorganization of the Board.