Honeywell Hearings Begin, Residents Still Concerned

The redevelopment process continues to move along on Wednesday, when residents can attend the first of three public hearings to comment on the zoning ordinance .

After more than two years of public hearings and draft changes to the mixed-use development plans on the company's corporate campus, some residents feel the process is now moving too quickly.

The two public hearing dates scheduled for Wednesday and Aug. 8 were set within a month of the time the ordinance was introduced. The third meeting is the regular committee meeting on Aug. 15.

All meetings are held at the at 7 p.m.

Residents feel this condensed time in the summer is unfair due to short notice and vacation schedules.

"All I want is a due process that was promised to the residents of Morris Township for a full chance to have their ideas heard by the township committee and proceed on," township resident Lee Goldberg said.

"I encourage the public to come on down, for what might be the last chance to have a say in to how this large tract of land in Morris Township gets developed, and what the residents are getting out of it," he said.

Mayor Peter Mancuso said residents may have other chances after the August meetings to voice their concerns. He said he expects to continue the process until everyone is heard, which could possibly call for more meetings. The future dates won't be decided until the Aug. 15 meeting.

While some residents feel the hearing dates won't give residents enough time because some people will be on vacation, Mancuso said the August dates weren't intentional.

"This was serendipitous that the time came at this moment," Mancuso said, "but after all of this time it is imperative that we get moving on with this as reasonably, expeditiously as possible."

Linda Wilson, one of the trustees of Citizens for Better Planning in Morris Township—the group that has been following the plan closely addressing concerns over the traffic and environment costs in the redevelopment—said the group's major concern at this point is the fiscal analysis, and also the expedited process of the meetings.

"We believe that no major development, particularly this one, should go forward without a sound, fiscal analysis of the costs to the community," Wilson said, "and we do believe that it is going to be a cost to the community."

Mancuso said the fiscal analysis relating to the plan will be presented and discussed at Wednesday's meeting.