During the Monday, February 24, meeting, the Livingston Township Council introduced several ordinances, including one to adopt a redevelopment plan for the Livingston Mall.
During the meeting, five new members of the Livingston Police Department were also sworn in by Chief Gary Marshuetz. Officers Ryan Levine, Matthew Riegert, Conner Marston, Christian Pimentel, and Ryan Sheppard will be featured in next week’s edition of the Tribune.
Closed Session
At the start of the conference meeting, the Council went into a closed executive session for 45 minutes to discuss redevelopment of the Livingston Mall, litigation involving Livingston Police Sgt.
Kevin Mullaney, and 576-586 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue. Closed session discussion on 576-586 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue continued following the conclusion of the conference and regular meetings.
Stop Sign Ordinance Passes
An ordinance was passed to install stop signs on Chetwynd Terrace (at the Westmount Drive intersection), SandalwoodDrive (Scarsdale Drive), and Marbeme Terrace (Bear Brook Lane).
Mall Redevelopment
Prior to the introduction of a redevelopment ordinance related to the Livingston Mall, township attorney Jarrid Kantor explained some of the background that led into the decision. He reiterated that Fair Share Housing had compelled the township to overlay the entirety of the mall (roughly 60 acres) for housing, and the town negotiated a settlement agreement.
“We set aprecedent inNew Jersey that no other town was able to do,” Kantor said.
As part of that agreement, 376 units (75 of which are affordable, and to be counted as surplus credits in the fourth round of Fair Share Housing) will be built solely on the Transformco-owned portion of the mall, which was formerly the site of Sears. Additionally, 45 percent of the market rate units must be one bedroom apartments, while the other 5 5 percent would permit a maximum of two bedrooms.
“We are trying to keep the impact of schools at a minimum,” Kantor (Continued on Page A-6) said. “We think this is the best way to accomplish that.”
As part of an agreement the Livingston Township Council reached with Fair Share Housing Center, 75 affordable units (and 376 total units) will be built on the Transformco-owned portion of the Livingston Mall, which was formerly the site of Sears, above. Shown below is the interior of the mall, nearly vacant, on Tuesday afternoon, February 25. ROC Photos
Aside from that area of the property, the remainder of the acreage will remain under the township’s control; Livingston will not be forced to use any more of the space for housing.
“I want to be clear; we are not doing this because we are being forced to do it. We are doing this because it was part of a settlement that was beneficial to the township and we want to do this,” Kantor said. “This allows the township to maintain control of the mall and limit residential to the Sears site as far as what we are being forced to do.”
Mayor Ed Meinhardt noted that there would be a series of meetings during the week of March 17 – during various hours of the day on multiple days, so more people can attend – where residents may share their thoughts on what the town should do in regard to the mall property.
Later in the meeting, the ordinance was introduced to adopt a redevelopment plan for block 6002, lots 1 and 1.01 on the township’s tax maps. The area, located on Eisenhower Parkway, is more commonly known as the Livingston Mall. This ordinance had been pulled from the previous meeting’s agenda following a closed session discussion.
Topology prepared the redevelopment plan for the site, which, according to the ordinance, is designed to provide a planning and policy framework for redevelopment, under the provisions of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. The plan would also permit the Council to engage with property owners and prospective redevelopers of the properties. The plan would also be in compliance with a settlement agreement between the township and Fair Share Housing Center, which permits a number of units to be built on the former site of the Sears building on the property.
The property received a redevelopment designation in late 2024, which allows the use of condemnation powers and long-term tax incentives.
The second hearing on this will be held during the March 24 meeting.
Film Ready
An ordinance was introduced to amend the township’s “Film Ready” standards for motion picture filming in Livingston. The changes would now permit filming on Sunday, allow start times an hour earlier at 7 a.m., and end an hour later at 9 p.m. with crew wrap at 10 p.m. Additionally, a “major motion picture,” previously defined as a film with a budget of at least $5 million, now must have a budget of at least $20 million.
The second hearing on this will be held during the March 12 meeting.
Bond Ordinance
An ordinance was introduced to approve the appropriation of $2,035,000 in bonds for various improvements. This includes the issuance of $1,938,093 in bonds for the township to finance part of the appropriation.
The second hearing on this will be held during the March 24 meeting.
Cap Bank
An ordinance was introduced for the township to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and establish a cap bank. Per local government cap law, a municipality shall limit any increase in the budget up to 2.5 percent, unless authorized by ordinance to increase it to 3.5 percent over the previous year’s final appropriations.
TheTownship Council determined that a 3.5 percent increase in the budget, amounting to $423,428.50 in excess of the increase in final appropriations otherwise permitted by cap law, was necessary. The total amount of the 3.5 percent increase year over year would be $1,481,999.76.
The second hearing on this will be held during the March 12 meeting.
Next Meeting
The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, at Town Hall. The conference meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the regular meeting to follow at 7:30 p.m. The meeting was originally set to be held on March 10, but was rescheduled.
