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The West Windsor Town Council meeting last night was, well, hard to describe. Aside from the expected turnout of disgruntled residents, with their signs and speeches, there was a brief distraction when the zoom call was hacked. The hackers shared horrifying soundbites and pornographic images, it seems, to disrupt the public comment segment of the meeting, according to numerous recounts from zoom attendees. The hackers failed to derail the determined hometown folk from being heard. If anything, it added a sort of calm to the room once resolved. It felt like a thread of solidarity had sewn us together, both sides, as we "recovered" from the disturbance. Thank you to the hackers for bringing us together. You reminded us that despite our opposing views, we are all there for the same reason; we have a vision for West Windsor that we are passionate about, and we were there to move towards realization.
All public participants had opposing views to share and some had even harsh words for the mayor, Hemant Marathe, but no one was out of hand as we started to see at other meetings.
This author is not giving a pass to the Town Council for voting unanimously to approve of the addition of warehouses to the ordinance that allows for Bridge Point 8 to happen. Five people should not have such colossal power, over this and neighboring communities, without interwoven contribution from the impacted masses. The same applies to the Planning Board of 9. Tens of thousands of people and countless small businesses will be negatively impacted along with exacerbating the climate crises, an increase in traffic accidents and yes, mortalities, some even on our own front lawns. Who are they to hand down this sentence? If you wonder when it's time to reduce government power, it's now. I will argue that it is a Democratic principle to reduce the power of our local officials, and not what the Republican mantra of smaller government claims to be. This is truly the unifying center line between the parties, if ever I saw one. Mandated coordination, per state guidance, will put such power in check, if signed into law.
The State has handed down warehouse siting guidance that is accepted as best practice. This applicant and board have not met the very basic standards outlined in the documents. The residents implore the local powers-that-be, specifically Mayor Marathe, to not only re-open public comment for this project, but to re-open questioning of the applicant first, with the expectation that every single item, written into said guidance, will be adhered to. These documents are long, and worth reading. It is a recipe for success. West Windsor and surrounding towns are a wealth of human resources. If they had integrated the people's voice into the planning of the development of these 640+ acres, as now expected by the state, we would have a magnificent, life enhancing, property value enhancing, climate crisis abating, money-making, something-for-everyone, win-for-all development that we could all look forward to and work together to make happen.
As long as we remain divided, this parcel is likely to sit as it is - undeveloped, and we will be forced to stay engaged in this fight when we could be enjoying our time together as West Winsdorians should. As long as even one warehouse is on the plan, we will be out in numbers putting forth every resource we can scrounge to stop it. No matter what the conditions, the trucks cannot be stopped and that is a legal matter of fact. If they build it, trucks will come. If you never want water, don't install a spigot! Know that one warehouse is an open door to many more and the future will look like this battle as long as we live here. There will be a next owner, likely after phase 1, then more PB meetings. The deliberations will never end until we remove the warehouse approval from the ordinance and craft a new settlement agreement.
Dear Mr. Mayor and Planning Board of West Windsor. Raise the bar. At a minimum, hold the applicant to the state's most basic guidelines, and follow the well-designed plan for a win for all development. Re-open the hearings and fulfill your obligations to your constituents. The devil's in the details and the details will defunct the warehouse part of the plan. Then we can create that win-for-all that we so deserve.
The NJ State Warehouse Guidance demonstrates that the BP8 traffic calculations are grossly underestimated, and nowhere near as broad as they should be. It shows that no protocols were followed regarding full disclosure and consideration within your community and surrounding towns. It shows that the environmental impacts were not studied to the basic minimum requirements. We know the stormwater calculations and solutions are designed to mitigate storms of the past not the future. Using outdated flood maps to design a plan for tomorrow is an invitation for more tax dollar-infused solutions that WW residents do not approve of. Re-open the hearings. Let the truth unfold.
Regarding the mayor's "State of the Township" address, the streamlined focus on warehouses versus housing was the dominant theme. Mr. Mayor, we all know that you know your business well. Being in the warehouse business yourself must lend to your thought process. What your solution lacks is creativity. There are not only 2 accepted plans for that site. There are 42. You painted a picture of student suffering without warehouses. You painted a picture of scarcity.
Thanks in great part to Dr. David Aderhold, Superintendent of WW-Plainsboro Regional School District, we remain the best of the best; we are one of the most desirable places in the nation to raise children. To suggest that school children will suffer without warehouses is an affront to his leadership and to the fine teachers and administrators that have devoted their work lives to the blossoming of our children. We were great without warehouses and we will remain great, unless the trucks come barreling past our schools and homes.
It is also known that school enrollment is down, and we just invested in an expansion of our schools. Why are we so afraid of more children? Children are going to grow up to run the world, and where better to prepare them than West Windsor? I personally do not want to live in an elitist community, devoid of the real-life variety and growth experiences that stem from a mixed and beautiful integration of people and socio-economic classes. I don't fear the apartment tax revenue if there is a future leader waiting to be sculpted, whose family can only afford to live in an apartment. That should be who we are, welcoming and equitable, NOT industrial.
In short, your speech, Mr. Mayor, though well-planned, cohesive and well presented, only shone an even brighter light on why this deal is not done. It is undercooked and your job is just beginning with this developer. I fully expect you to reopen the hearings, armed with the NJ State Warehouse Siting Guidance documents as your guide, as basic standards of best practice should be the minimum that we expect of your administration.
Residents of Mercer County at large, please make the time to read through the documents to fully understand what is about to happen to this region if we do not all engage and insist on better leadership through this lifestyle changing proposal that is Bridge Point 8; the largest warehouse development planned in all of NJ.
(scroll down to "Warehouse Guidance")
