JMF Properties Is Showing Proposed Plan For Post Office Site Tonight

JMF Properties will present their Post Office proposal tonight, Wednesday May 6th.  The meeting is in Town Hall and starts at 7:30pm.

This is the first public presentation JMF is making, and the plan is the one that he hopes to obtain approval for.  The presentation is happening as part of a Maplewood Village Alliance meeting, which, as always, is open to the public.

This is the first, and a very valuable, opportunity for community members to understand the proposal and make their views known.  We've spent years debating the pros and cons of what might be built, all without the benefit of quality renderings and detailed measurements.   Well, tonight is the night!  Or at least the first night!

Whatever your views are, please come and participate.

More project information is available on the Town website (email us for directions), and on the "OH NO 60" Facebook page and onhno60.info website.

Also, Village Green has info here:

http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/maplewood-post-house-design-plan-agenda-may-6-meeting/


We hope to see you there!

Engage-Maplewood and
the OHNO60 project Team


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The Maplewood Village Alliance monitors and supports the general welfare of the Village area.   It is a board of individuals

(neighbors, store owners, landlords, etc) that volunteer their time in support of our Town.  In their role they are charged with

considering design elements of the structure AND the way the project overall fits in to the Village.


The applicant (JMF) will describe his project, the Design Sub-committee of the Village Alliance will present a report based on the

review they have done, and the Village Alliance board will deliberate on the merits of the project.   The public will be allowed to

question all speakers and also provide comments directly to the Board.



I'm so glad someone started a new thread about this.

You never can have too many.


davehelmkamp said:
This is the first public presentation JMF is making, and the plan is the one that he hopes to obtain approval for.  The presentation is happening as part of a Maplewood Village Alliance meeting, which, as always, is open to the public.
This is the first, and a very valuable, opportunity for community members to understand the proposal and make their views known.  We've spent years debating the pros and cons of what might be built, all without the benefit of quality renderings and detailed measurements.   Well, tonight is the night!  Or at least the first night!

Well, to be fair, the concept, use and size of the proposed building has evolved over those years.  That was due to public input from open meetings, Township Committee meetings, comments and communications, etc., as this very public process went on.  Hope it's a good and informative meeting, and for myself I thank the Maplewood Village Alliance volunteers for all of the time and effort they have put into this.

Posted by davehelkamp..."all without the benefit of quality renderings and detailed measurements"... Well, obviously...otherwise how else could you still be calling your organization 'Oh No 60'?

I think what will happen this evening is the single most complete presentation will be given to the public.

Probably also it will be an opportune time to ask relevant questions.

All those attending will be frisked at the door for hidden tennis balls.


Will there be a formal vote by the MVA?


Since there's a new thread about this, does anyone have any plans for adaptive reuse of the prior threads?



ice said:

Posted by davehelkamp..."all without the benefit of quality renderings and detailed measurements"... Well, obviously...otherwise how else could you still be calling your organization 'Oh No 60'?

And they've spent "years" doing it, apparently. They've just kept it to themselves until very recently. 


The 60  figure refers to a statement from the builder at  one point that he envisioned the building to be 59 feet plus in height.

That was dropped by   a huge 5 feet after he said he could not do it but somehow a few days later could.

At that point since it was obvious the proposed final height of the building was still in flux.  No point in renaming anything since the builder him self had not offered an absolutely positively final height..

There was also a comment in today's Village Green by some one unknown to me.  He voiced concern how the light would

be changed in the Village by this mushroom.     Since the TC Apologists think the subject is humorous they can reference it

themselves.




author said:

There was also a comment in today's Village Green by some one unknown to me.  He voiced concern how the light would

be changed in the Village by this mushroom.   


 Probably by about the same amount as the other four buildings this size on that block.


It was approved. Can we all stop debating this now and get on with our lives?


Village Green article:


http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/post-office-development-moves-forward-planning-board-review/


Pretty funny................one of the objections yet to be resolved is that Kings Supermarket is concerned that their trucks will

no longer be able to use the area to make the swing needed for delivery.   Township response in effect is 'dont worry, be happy'

Secondary consideration is that the Township mandated a "Shadow Study" to see how much the building blocks sunlight

and changes the lighting in the area.  Where have i heard that complaint before?

Long standing fact is that this builder will dig out a sub floor parking area for over 20 cars.

First builder claimed this could not be done because of the close  proximity of the RR tracks.   Have the tracks been moved?


Get on with our lives?   You could always confine your reading and comments to the lost dogs and cats area.

No controversy there.




So for all the talk of hundreds of lawn signs representing the majority of "right thinking" township residents, ohno60 doesn't represent a majority of the MVA?


The vote was 12-2, with Fred Profeta as one of the two. Seems like the people have spoken.


Certainly the local business people have spoken. I have to say that when I read the ominous posts about the fat lady not having sung, I thought the village keepers knew something we didn't about how the MVA vote was going to go. Also given what a couple of people have posted on MOL, I hope VK doesn't have a lawsuit up their collective sleeve. 


mapleman said:

 Also given what a couple of people have posted on MOL, I hope VK doesn't have a lawsuit up their collective sleeve. 

 Mr. Profeta's last set of comments before the vote seemed to have an allusion to that kind of action.


That kind of talk isn't likely to help his TC candidate 


I would not put it past the Fat Lady to institute a law suit.   She has a lot of money saved from all those Ball Park appearances.


The 12-2 vote confirms what I have thought about this topic all along - most folks support the development, while the small anti-progress minority are getting most of the attention. Thanks to the MVA Board and the PO Subcommittee for getting this right, and decisively so.

It was clear when Fred tried to move that the vote be postponed based on a legality, that the issue was put to rest. When questioned to show the text that said the vote couldn't happen, he stammered and had to say that yes, a vote was legal. He just didn't want to have the vote. Honestly I'm surprised that the King's issue didn't convince more board members to vote for a popstponement. I'm sure they'll work it out, but the resolution on that major issue is kind of open ended.


The Kings truck issue will be resolved, certainly no reason to postpone a vote. Last night was a time for the MVA to make its position known about the overall plan and how it fit in with the Village. The Kings issue is a technicality that will better be addressed by the Township's planning board in the next phase of the project. I can't say I'm surprised at Fred's behavior.

Well, as Mr. DeLuca pointed out, the particular piece of real estate that Kings needs for its tractor-trailers isn't being sold, and will still be Township property.  So, the Township will work that out, which seems reasonable.  It's not a building design issue.


nohero said:

mapleman said:

 Also given what a couple of people have posted on MOL, I hope VK doesn't have a lawsuit up their collective sleeve. 

 Mr. Profeta's last set of comments before the vote seemed to have an allusion to that kind of action.

 

mapleman said:

That kind of talk isn't likely to help his TC candidate 

 I don't think we can do links to specific posts here in the new MOL format, yet.  But, on this page, about two thirds down there is a comment from March 7 at 4:22 pm by Mr. Profeta, addressing points similar to those he raised last night.  His third point is:  "The TC needs to explain how its 2013 Redevelopment Plan mandate that 'there is no reason to retain any of the existing structures or vegetation' is consistent with its 1999 ordinance that 'no building within [the Village] shall be demolished without its owner demonstrating significant financial hardship.' This 1999 ordinance established a strong policy in favor of preserving Village structures, and the TC appears to have run roughshod over this policy without even noting that it existed. This may take litigation to resolve."

People can reasonably disagree with his representation of the effect of local ordinances, with respect to this redevelopment.  It suggests that the existing building shouldn't be taken down (which is different from just saying, "We need a better plan").  

And there is that phrase, "This may take litigation to resolve."


On the train yesterday I noticed lots of broken windows in the old post office building. Building seems destined to deteriorate and be vandalized now that it is empty. Do you really want that for a few years while a lawsuit is fought?


Well, Greg Lembrich is a litigation lawyer, so perhaps he and Fred can work on the suit together.

any links to the latest renderings?


Where does anyone get the idea that 'the people have spoken"? The VA has spoken..not the people ..a group chosen by the TC .

What we heard was the VA speaking affirmatively ..not one resident did . The residents who spoke voiced opposition using facts ... Like the green standard are actually fluff...green means solar panels and gel thermal features ..none of those are part of this plan ..green is not part of this plan ...... Like.the driveway of Kings lining up with the plaza intended for outside seating use ...heh 'but we can use materials to correct that ' really?Like the shadows that will be cast across the Ave....we can change shadows too !

A VA member insisting that there is no one shopping in the Village and that after  5 o'clock no restaurants are frequented ..Really ?.. So that's why we need a building that will house 20 people ...and space for 6 merchants who according to the builder have not yet been identified ..these are reasons given by VA members .

When a speaker noted that this was a "done deal " months ago (apoken according to the mayor) there was no response . And chastising a willing participant ? Kings was present to support the project ..there was no need for him to be treated that way ..none ..the same business that is the rock of their master plan treated so discourteously ...It was embarrassing 

Let's look at it this way ..the building is like taking 4 sized buildings , putting them together , wrapping them up and them plunking them into the space where the old PO was . Progress... How much did we forego in taxes to get to this point ? And this is what the VA wants .. 




icdart said:

Let's look at it this way ..the building is like taking 4 sized buildings , putting them together , wrapping them up and them plunking them into the space where the old PO was . 

Every set of buildings in Maplewood is like this and some of them stretch much longer than the length of this proposed building. That is how streets are made and defined. There are groups of buildings sandwiched together and put on a site. The only difference here is that the buildings are built all at once and share one floor slab that hides the hideous view of their cars. And the building is setback from the street, so you have a kind of "porch" to the retail. Is that tapering 6 foot plinth an unfortunate result of this? Yes. That's called compromise. 

The people have spoken because we elected people who we feel represent our values, who put processes into place that supposedly represent our values, who have appointed others into roles because they supposedly represent our values. That is how things get done in this town. Feel free to vote people out in the next election. There was a chance to do that in the last election cycle and yet everyone still voted in the current TC. That's how the people have spoken. 400 lawn signs and 700 signatures on a petition are not "the people." 


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