Bennetts Lane Project

Update 01/26/08
Update 12/15/07

One of the strongly implied promises of the recall of Ellen Ritchie was that something could be done about the proposed Morris project on Rt. 27 between Bennetts Lane and Veronica Ave. Below is a picture of the proposed plan.

There are many limitations to what can be built however. The first limitation is wetlands. Below is a map created by Princeton Hydro that shows the areas that prohibit construction. A legend is to the right. TUF has superimposed the commercial site onto the map. Note that the commercial site projects well into protected space. The Home Depot (large center building) will have to move 50 feet towards Rt. 27 resulting in the lose of significant parking. The proposed PetSmart, Wachovia and restaurant are entirely in protected areas.

The housing at the high density is limited to the bright green zone. Note that the densities approved under Ritchie (15 units/acre) greatly exceed the densities at Kingsberry (bottom edge of map, 8 units/acre). There are about 25 acres available so perhaps 200 units can be built. Use this land for housing is however a waste. The Township is running out of land that can be used for office space and warehousing. When land is used in that way taxes go down because commercial property pays taxes but doesn't put kids in schools. Office buildings also would not add to traffic as much as places like Home Depot and add more jobs.

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