Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Development foes made their views heard, but did not appear in numbers enough to shut meeting down.
The sight of police cars outside of Town Hall as people gathered for Tuesday's Parsippany Township Council agenda meeting gave many cause for concern. A host of members of Citizens for Health, Safety and Welfare (formerly Don't Rezone Waterview) filed into the municipal building with the expectation that the controversial proposal regarding putting a mixed-use retail and residential complex on 26.6 currently undeveloped acres of Waterview Plaza might be discussed. And some hoped, as had happened during a January Planning Board hearing on the matter, that enough people opposed to the project might attend that the building's fire capacity limit—188 people—might be surpassed, forcing a shutdown of the meeting. That did not happen. Only about…
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Police officers were called more than once to escort critical residents away from the microphone at Parsippany Planning Board.
The Parsippany Planning Board Monday finally approved a concept plan that could bring Whole Foods Market, a big box retailer and a 65-unit townhouse community to Waterview Plaza. More than 600 residents came to Parsippany High School for a special hearing on the proposed Waterview development. Many stood in long lines for a turn at a microphone to comment on the proposed RD Realty development project. Most offered harsh critiques of the plan. Still, the board voted 8-1 to recommend that the Township Council draft an ordinance to turn 26.6 acres of the tract zoned for office space into an overlay zone. The lone dissenting vote came from board member Turan Ayaz. Certain conditions went along with the vote: The concept was allowed to move …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Joseph O'Neill addresses concerns raised by opponents of proposed development.
Some of the fears being expressed by opponents of a plan to put retailers including Whole Foods Market and a townhouse community on 26.6 acres of Waterview Plaza are unwarranted. That's according to one of the attorneys representing developer RD Realty in Parsippany Planning Board hearings on the concept. Right now, the Planning Board is hearing testimony to decide if it will recommend that the Township Council approve RD Realty's request to change the Waterview tract's current status as a Planned Office Development zone into an overlay zone that will permit mixed retail and residential use. Should the council ultimately agree to the overlay zone, the developer will try to win approval of its plan to place a Whole Foods Market on Waterview…
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Despite the controversy of Waterview tract proposal, natural foods retailer remains focused on bringing its store to the township.
Whole Foods Market's stated intention to bring one of its organic foods groceries to Parsippany hasn't gone over well with a lot of the township's residents. But the company said its desire and excitement to set up a Par-Troy branch is ongoing. “Since our announcement in July, Whole Foods Market remains excited to bring a store to the residents of Parsippany," spokesperson Michael Sinatra told Patch. "As our region is based in New Jersey, we’re thrilled at the opportunity to expand our offerings within the state as we’ve hoped to join the Parsippany community for a number of years." The company's goal is to open its doors in 2015. The concept now being considered by the Parsippany Planning Board, is for RD Realty to develop 26 acres of …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Parsippany's neighbor to the west took up the issue of the controversial development plan Monday.
The proposal to develop the wooded Waterview Plaza and place a Whole Foods Market and a townhome community there has sparked heated debate in Parsippany. And it appears there are concerns about the project in nearby Mountain Lakes as well. The Mountain Lakes Borough Council met Monday night in executive (closed) session to discuss a resolution concerning "possible litigation/negotiation relating to [the] development plan of [the] adjacent municipality." Borough Manager Robert Tovo told Patch that "this [was] simply a discussion," and no action was taken. Tovo would not comment further on the matter, except to say that more will be known once the discussion goes before the public. He said an open council session allowing the public to hear …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
A battle is raging at Planning Board meetings over a plan to place a mixed-use development to Waterview Plaza.
The Planning Board has endured two meetings worth of fighting over a proposed plan to put a mixed-use development including a Whole Foods Market and an upscale townhome community on the wooded lot that now makes up Waterview Plaza. Residents of the Intervale area argue that the land should stay as is. They add that any development would have a negative impact on traffic, schools, infrastructure and quality of life in general. Others argue that Parsippany needs rateables for economic development and that upscale townhomes would benefit the community. What do you think? Take the Parsippany Patch poll and expand on your views in comments.
Disputed Waterview Plaza proposal continues to be met with resistance from neighbors.
Testimony on the disputed Waterview Plaza development proposal—which would bring a Whole Foods Market to Parsippany—continued before the township Planning Board at the municipal building Monday night. Before the board is a plan for a mixed-use 26-acre development for retail stores including the high-end natural-foods market and 72 upscale three-story townhomes to appear in or near 2015 on Route 46 across from the Parsippany Police headquarters. The land in question is the last undeveloped piece of the 132-acre plot that stands between Route 46 and Iintervale Road. The Nov. 19 Planning Board meeting served as round one in what looks likely to become a long-lasting, acrimonious slugfest between developer RD Realty LLC and Intervale area …
Walter Isola
10:22 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
If Whole Foods opens in Parsippany what will happen to,Stop & Shop, Shoprite, Foodtown, Path-mark ? and the people who work there.? more ›