Make no mistake, Phillipsburg officials say: The town is still on board with an ambitious mixed-use redevelopment in and around Union Square along the Delaware River.
But downriver, past the railroad bridges and Delaware River Park and the Phillipsburg Pistol Club, town officials now say they want to see an expansion of the town’s industrial base.
Town council last week voted 3-2 to direct the Phillipsburg Planning Board to draw up a rezoning from residential to industrial for the wooded, undeveloped land between the industrial uses on Howard Street and the Delaware River. Councilman Harry Wyant Jr., raising concerns about truck traffic downtown, voted no along with Councilwoman Danielle DeGerolamo.
“The idea is that we redevelop this portion of land, which hasn’t been used in years, as a ratable -- a tax ratable -- where the monies would go to the Town of Phillipsburg,” Council Vice President Bobby Fulper said alongside council President Frank McVey in a Facebook Live the day after the vote.
“Much needed money,” McVey said.
“And jobs created,” added Fulper, who supported the rezoning move with McVey and Councilman Randy Piazza Jr.
Known as District 5 in Phillipsburg’s redevelopment plan, the land had been zoned industrial before being changed for residential, the two councilmen said. It used to be home to Tippett & Wood and is the property where developer Michael Perrucci proposed his Riverview at Delaware Station townhouse project backed by the town in 2006 and again in 2016 but which hasn’t been built.
Fulper and McVey took to Facebook on Wednesday in response to criticism of the proposed rezoning aired at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
They stressed how far removed the land is from Union Square, where council last October gave the green light to Stateliner United LLC to pursue an estimated $75 million to $80 million of Delaware River-side property into a 90-room hotel, American Microbrewery Hall of Fame, 20,000-square-foot municipal building, residential and retail components and a 400-space parking structure with rooftop public park.
Tuesday’s council meeting drew questions from Harmony Township resident Theresa Bender Chapman, who has been critical of Jaindl Land Co.’s massive warehouse proposal in White Township through the grassroots group Citizens for Sustainable Development. Chapman also ran for Warren County commissioner last year.
Chapman wanted to know why industrial uses were being pursued, calling them seemingly at odds with the rest of the riverfront redevelopment.
Phillipsburg resident David Morrisette also questioned the change, pressing council on whether it was to pave the way for a marijuana-growing company. New Jersey lawmakers are trying to approve a framework for legalized recreational use of marijuana by adults, as approved by voters in November, in addition to the state’s medical cannabis program.
“I hope there is, but not to my knowledge,” Piazza, who with McVey comprises council’s redevelopment subcommittee, told Morrisette. “If a marijuana-grow facility wants to come in and open up ... outside a school zone in an industrial area, so be it.”
Permitted principal uses in Phillipsburg’s light industrial zone are manufacturing, research, office, warehouses and storage yards, and wholesale and retail businesses. The town’s heavy industrial zone adds trucking terminals and lumberyards.
The planning board was already reviewing the redevelopment plan for the Union Square area, according to McVey. Council’s vote “directing the Phillipsburg Planning Board to prepare an amendment to the Riverfront Redevelopment Plan in order to include industrial uses (District 5)” builds on that ongoing effort, McVey said.
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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
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Phillipsburg eyes industrial uses along Delaware River, instead of homes - lehighvalleylive.com
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