Politics & Government

Honeywell Impact on Environment, Traffic to be Heard

Second public hearing Wednesday on ordinance to rezone company's campus for proposed townhouse development.

The next phase of the redevelopment process will continue Wednesday, as financial, traffic and environmental experts continue to provide input with public comments to follow.

The meeting, which will start at 7 p.m. at the , is the second public hearing on the ordinance to rezone the Fortune-100 company's 147-acre campus, a plan that has been underway for more than two years.

At , David Evans, a certified accountant from the township's firm, Nisivoccia, presented his own input and analysis from Honeywell's projected fiscal impacts.

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The analysis, which is posted on the Morris Township website, lays out how the proposed redevlopment plans, which would add 235 townhomes and office and lab space, would financially impact both the municipality and school district.

If Honeywell builds out its campus to its full market projection, which Evans said is most likely out of the scenarios presented in the analysis, new tax assessments would bring the township an additional $787,900 in revenue per year, and would benefit the municipality $535,100.

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Some residents, however, argued at last week's hearing that it can't be certain Honeywell will develop 100 percent of its full market projection. Evans said the numbers are based on their best judgement from facts and from many discussions with department heads and school officials.

While the public only had the chance to ask questions relating to the financial analysis last week after the time was cut off after four hours, the second hearing will pick up from where it left off.

Mayor Peter Mancuso said Wednesday night's meeting will start with more input from Evans, and hear from the rest of the public who have questions about the fiscal impacts.

Members of Citizens for Better Planning in Morris Township are some of the residents who still have questions about the analysis.

President of the CBPMT Michele Demarest said the group is mainly concerned that the analysis did not include the cost for traffic, and that there wasn't a multi-year time frame given for phasing and the development.

Demarest said the group didn't have the chance to give its analysis yet because of scheduling conflicts of the group's experts, but hope to make it to the following meeting on Sept. 19.

Once the financial discussion is completed, traffic and environmental experts Gordon Medh and Marie Raiser will give their own analyses, with public comment and questions after each presentation.

Both experts were hired by Morris Township and are independent from Honeywell.

The township committee also has yet to hear from Townshp Planner Paul Phillips, who won't be at this public hearing, but will be at the following township committee meeting on Sept. 19.

Mancuso said more hearing dates are still possible, and will be decided on Wednesday night.

"We'll have to see how it goes," he said, "and we will make other hearings as we get to the latter part of the evening to find out where we are and how much time it looks like we'll still need."


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