WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Planning Board unanimously voted at its Sept. 7 meeting to recommend that six properties in the Central Avenue area be designated a condemnation area in need of redevelopment.
The recommendation links the parcels and allows the township eventually to adopt a plan for their redevelopment, a planning tool that offers advantages such as payment in lieu of taxes programs to developers, allowing the revitalization of underutilized properties for the financial and aesthetic benefit of a community.
The “condemnation” aspect of the redevelopment area distinction means that West Orange could use its power of eminent domain to carry out a vision, if necessary. And while unanimous decisions are not routine for the Planning Board, board member Jerry Eben said this was an easy decision, considering the poor condition of some of the buildings.
“It is an area that is visibly in distress,” Eben told the West Orange Chronicle in a Sept. 30 phone interview, referring to the region’s industrial buildings. “When you come to the end of Central Avenue — which is the beginning of West Orange — and you see these dilapidated buildings, what kind of an impression do you get of West Orange?”
Eben said he would like to see the area converted into a multi-use “transit village” consisting of residences and commercial buildings with convenient access to the nearby Highland Avenue Train Station in Orange. This, he said, could attract young people looking to settle down in a town with an easy commute to New York City. In addition, he said a Central Avenue transit village would ideally connect with the Valley district’s shops and area schools.
Councilwoman and fellow board member Susan McCartney agreed that a mixed-use area would be perfect for the Central Avenue region since residents could simply walk to nearby places such as Luna Stage, Don Juan Restaurant and Clothes Minded. Residents’ needs would therefore be met, McCartney said, while local businesses investing in West Orange would thrive. Simply put, she said, the area would be a “liveable community.”
Having the train station nearby makes the situation even better, McCartney said. In fact, the councilwoman pointed out that NJ Transit had pledged to look at refurbishing the Highland Avenue Station if the neighboring Harvard Press Redevelopment Area was ever revitalized. That project is currently on hold. But, if NJ Transit follows through on its promise once the Central Avenue area is developed, she said that would benefit the township.
“I think that would be a great asset for West Orange,” McCartney told the Chronicle in a Sept. 30 phone interview.
The Planning Board made its decision after professional planners Peter Van den Kooy and Sean Moronski of Matrix New World Engineering conducted and presented an Area in Need of Redevelopment Study that analyzed the six properties.
Those parcels include three residences at 25, 27 and 29 Mitchell St. Also included are an industrial property at 18 Central Ave., and a vacant, foreclosed-upon piece of land at 4 Tompkins St., both owned by Selecto Flash. The sixth parcel is 8-10 Central Ave., a commercial building that once sold dry cleaning supplies and was then a printing supplies warehouse; it has been vacant since 2004. The report states that unregulated outdoor storage takes place on the land.
According to the study report, Van den Kooy and Moronski made their determinations after looking at land use and building conditions. They also reviewed documents such as tax records and the West Orange Master Plan. In the end, they concluded that each of the parcels met at least one of several criteria required by the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law to qualify for inclusion in a redevelopment area.
Specifically, their report stated that the “substandard and dilapidated condition” of the Central Avenue lots meet the criterion covering substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated and obsolescent structures; and that 18 Central Ave.’s vacancy also meets the criterion that covers buildings no longer used for commercial, manufacturing or industrial uses.
A third criterion covers land that has been left vacant for at least 10 years that is also unlikely to be developed through private capital; according to the report, the Tompkins Street lot has been vacant for more than a decade. Van den Kooy and Moronski also found it to qualify since the property is located close to environmental contamination originating from 8-10 Central Ave., making it unlikely that anyone would use private capital to construct residential units on it.
Properties with dilapidated buildings, an obsolete layout, deleterious land use or any other factor that harms the safety, health, morals or welfare of the community also qualify for redevelopment The report listed the Central Avenue lots as eligible for this criterion due to their structures’ “deteriorating” and “substandard” facade materials. It also stated that the properties contain undefined or poorly defined paved parking areas without onsite circulation routes or separate ingress and egress points. Additionally, Van den Kooy and Moronski wrote that the outdoor storage taking place is in an “unorganized fashion, with no defined areas for storage of equipment or materials.”
Per the report, 8-10 Central Ave. also meets a criterion that covers improperly used properties and parcels that are stagnant and unproductive. Van den Kooy and Moronski said the site features outdoor storage of commercial vehicles, which is not permitted in the I Industry District. Additionally, they said the property owner has been reluctant to perform environmental remediation, which has “discouraged the undertaking of improvements” and resulted in a “stagnant and unproductive condition of land.”
“The lack of proper utilization and environmental remediation is detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the surrounding area and the community in general, which further demonstrates that this property satisfies the … criterion,” the report read.
Van den Kooy and Moronski also said in their report that designating all six properties as an area in need of redevelopment would be “consistent with smart growth planning principles adopted pursuant to law or regulation.”
Lastly, Section 3 of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law encompasses any properties that may not meet any of the required criteria, but should nonetheless be included in a redevelopment area for the most effective vision possible. The report found that the Mitchell Street lots fit this category because including them would align the redevelopment area with Tompkins Street and provide additional frontage along Mitchell Street. In addition, Van den Kooy and Moronski pointed out that the properties’ residential uses are not permitted in the I Industrial District, and also do not meet the minimum lot area for the district either, they said.
Overall, Van den Kooy and Moronski recommended that the six parcels should be declared a condemnation area in need of redevelopment. But not everyone who attended the Planning Board meeting agreed.
Peter Lu, who purchased 8-10 Central Ave. in May to serve as a warehouse and headquarters for his rice import business, attended the meeting with his wife to request that the parcel be excluded from the redevelopment area. In an Oct. 3 email to the Chronicle, Lu said he was concerned that being given such a designation might hurt his property value. Despite his objections, the property was included in the end.
Lu is not giving up, though, and said he is seeking the advice of his lawyer regarding whether he should take any action in response to this situation. Meanwhile, he said his lawyer sent a letter in August to the previous owner’s tenant demanding that the tenant remove the building materials stored in the parking area. He said the tenant is not being cooperative.
Additionally, Lu is pursuing the environmental remediation mentioned in the report. In fact, he said he is meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection this week to discuss moving forward with the process.
Planning Board suggests redeveloping six properties in Central Avenue area added by Sean Quinn on
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