Third visioning meeting to be held in Iselin Jan. 22 BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - The third public meeting dealing with the future of the Oak Tree Road business district and surrounding areas in Iselin will be held Jan. 22 at the Iselin Middle School. "The mayor [John E. McCormac] and council, with the planning consultants, will discuss recommendations and solutions regarding the issues that were expressed at the previous two meetings," said Councilwoman Patricia Osborne. State Sen. and former interim Mayor Joseph F. Vitale (D-19) and Osborne are currently in the final drafting stages of an ordinance to address single-family rental homes. "We will present the details of the ordinance at the visioning meeting," said Osborne. The meetings are part of a $60,000 initiative to explore the township's business districts and the surrounding residential areas. Other future discussion meetings include Inman Avenue in Colonia, New Brunswick Avenue in Fords, and Main Street in Woodbridge. The township will hold public meetings on the other sections of town when they are finished with the Iselin meetings. The township held two public meetings in September and October to discuss the future of Iselin, which were moderated by Fred Heyer and Susan S. Gruel, principals in the New Brunswick planning firm Heyer, Gruel & Associates. Residents had a myriad of complaints during the first meeting on Sept. 7, which included traffic congestion, inadequate parking for the strip malls on Oak Tree Road, double parking on Oak Tree Road, the lack of cleanliness on Oak Tree Road, illegal rentals and constant development. Residents said there are traffic problems everywhere, but specifically at the intersections of Magnolia and Oak Tree roads, Correja and Harding avenues, Route 27 and Wood Avenue, Oak Tree Road and Correja Avenue, and Middlesex Essex Turnpike and Green Street. The discussion also focused on the Oak Tree Road business district, which consists mostly of South Asian food, sweets, clothing, jewelry and music stores. The South Asian stores have attracted visitors from towns all over New Jersey and other states. At their second meeting on Oct. 12, Heyer and Gruel outlined possible solutions to relieve traffic congestion. Heyer said parking problems have led to traffic congestion. He suggested increasing the availability and utility of existing parking by redesigning lots and linking lots together. "Parking is done on a case-by-case basis," he said. "People should pay for parking on the streets and leave the parking lots free. It's something to look at." He also proposed limiting the conversion of small residential lots into commercial use and reducing curb cuts on all public streets. Reducing curb cuts is another way to reduce friction because it prevents drivers from taking shortcuts. The planning consultants also suggested upgrading the parking signage to make it easier to find parking, improving lighting, signage, sidewalks and street furniture, prohibiting front-yard Dumpsters, and extending the Special Improvement District to Wood Avenue. "The upgrade to the parking signage is key," Heyer said, "because what does one do when they don't know where they are going? They continue to circle around until they find a spot, and that jams up traffic, and they make those illegal U-turns." One goal is to encourage walking, he said. In December, the Township Council approved the proposal to change one block of Marconi Avenue, which is four blocks long, in Iselin, into a one-way street. The proposal was separate from the recent township community "visioning" meetings, but is just one of the ways they hope will alleviate traffic congestion in Iselin. McCormac has said a lot of the solutions for Iselin will be long term, but short-term solutions, which involve staggering the hours for inspectors to go inspect the business district and providing a hot line for residents to report potential illegal housing and other issues, have already been happening and will continue. More than 50 letters were sent to Woodbridge residential dwellings and business properties throughout the township on Dec. 18, which were found by the township Housing Bureau to be potentially in violation of township housing ordinances. On Jan 12, McCormac announced that the township issued more than 360 violation notices to residences and businesses throughout the township over the past 60 days for failure to properly maintain property and related offenses. Township housing inspectors, in a separate review of property records and on-site inspections of residences and businesses, targeted property maintenance. The 360 violation notices included accumulated junk and debris, abandoned and unregistered vehicles, failure to cut grass or remove weeds and overgrowth, failure to maintain fences or outside structures, failure to maintain driveways and sidewalks, graffiti, and related maintenance violations that result in a property becoming a neighborhood eyesore. The crackdown on property maintenance violations is conducted as part of McCormac's Quality of Life program targeting violations that negatively impact neighborhoods and communities throughout the township. Township residents are encouraged to report property maintenance violations and other housing-related violations or problems to the Woodbridge Township Bureau of Housing at (732) 634-4500, ext. 6009. All complaints will be investigated and all information remains confidential.