CRANFORD, NJ – The township settled a lawsuit with Hartz Mountain Industries last week, resolving a dispute with the developer of 740-750 Walnut Ave.
Terms of the agreement add additional landscaping and lengthen the berm to screen the 30-acre redevelopment project, containing multi-family apartment buildings and two warehouses, from the adjoining residential neighborhoods.
The township has sought to increase the number of trees on the property, rebuild part of the berm that was removed to make way for a commercial driveway fronting Walnut Avenue, mitigate traffic in the neighborhood and manage the daily construction on site. This agreement settles all of these requests, as well as an ongoing tax appeal from Hartz. Three years of tax appeals brought by Hartz are dismissed in this settlement agreement.
Hartz has agreed to reimburse the township its legal fees of $100,000, reconstruct and build the berm where there was previously a driveway, add as much as 150 more trees along Walnut Avenue and the rear of the property abutting the residential neighborhood, make a $10,000 contribution to the Shade Tree Commission, as well as an additional contribution should Hartz fail to plant 150 trees, allow a township engineer onsite daily to monitor and address issues in real time, and pay the cost of the engineer, as well as dismiss three years of tax appeals in a PILOT litigation brought on by Hartz.
Also, Hartz will intervene and defend any challenges to the PILOT, Redevelopment Plan or Redevelopment Agreement.
“Our guiding principles have been that a deal must benefit the residents of Cranford, make financial sense for the township, resolve our concerns around the trees and berm, and increase oversight of this project,” said Mayor Brian Andrews. “This settlement addresses all of these issues. This will not be a silver bullet, but it provides us with more tools to address concerns as they arise.”
“The township is satisfied that an agreement has been reached with Hartz Mountain,” said Business Administrator and Chief Financial Officer of the township of Cranford Lavona Patterson.
In addition, a future amendment is forthcoming as a result of Hartz finding tenants to completely occupy the first building on the commercial side of the project.
Two new tenants anticipated to occupy one of the warehouses are expected to produce less truck-dependent traffic than a typical warehouse uses, resulting in the removal of truck doors, truck bays and loading areas in one warehouse, and restriping the roadway on site for car traffic to accommodate the non-warehouse uses proposed. Proposed use of the new occupants is a training facility and a repair shop.
At the Township Committee meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13, the committee unanimously approved a resolution for the settlement agreement with 750 Walnut Ave. Residential Urban Renewal LLC, 750 Walnut Development LLC and Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. Following this resolution, the township will prepare an amendment to the redevelopment plan to allow for less-truck-intensive uses on the commercial property, due to Hartz finding tenants who are outside the scope of traditional warehouse uses, and will adopt an amended and restated financial agreement.