Ten-point plan introduced for revitalizing downtown Township to address parking and extension of county Greenway BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer Woodbridge Township officials presented a tentative 10-point plan for New Brunswick Avenue in Fords and Hopelawn that officials hope will revitalize the downtown. "We do feel that probably most of the 10-point plan would work, but we will continue to work to finalize the plan," said Mayor John E. McCormac. The mayor along with other township officials held the second visioning meeting for the Fords and Hopelawn sections of the township at the Our Lady of Peace Annex on New Brunswick Avenue on July 26. The first meeting was held April 9. More than 50 residents and business owners came to both meetings, voicing concerns including inadequate parking, traffic, garbage and sidewalks. The community "visioning" meetings are part of a $60,000 initiative to explore the township's business districts and the surrounding residential areas for changes to the township's master plan. Fords and Hopelawn are the second sections of the township that the municipality is looking at. Township officials held three visioning meetings on the Iselin section of the township over the past few months. McCormac introduced a 10-point strategy plan for the area in January as a result of the visioning meetings. Fords is the fifth most populated section of Woodbridge, with 15,032 residents in 2.6 square miles, behind Iselin, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Hopelawn is an unincorporated area within the township. Susan S. Gruel, a principal in the New Brunswick planning firm Heyer, Gruel & Associates, moderated the meeting. Ward 2 Councilman Richard Dalina said the visioning meeting was a way to help the downtown businesses. "We are trying to keep businesses rather than have a ghost town like Iselin once was," he said. Gruel said there would be no one quick fix. "There will be different strategies that we will work together to make New Brunswick Avenue a vibrant area," she said. One of the points of the plan involves creating public parking. Township officials presented the possibility of creating more public parking on the senior housing property and between William Street and Lillian Street. In June, letters were sent to several business owners who own businesses along New Brunswick Avenue. "There was a clear issue of parking at the first meeting," said McCormac. "The purpose of the letters was to look at possible areas that the township could acquire; however, the letters in no way meant we would acquire the land for parking. If the business owners were interested, we would talk; but if they did not, we would move on." However, David Kearny, who owns Dave's Auto and Towing, and Kenneth Jagodowski, who owns the building Kearny's business is in, said they are disappointed in the way the township handled the letters and asked why the township would want to take away a viable business. "I grew up in this town and have owned a business in this town for some time now," said Kearny. "It's embarrassing when we work hard and bring in money into this town. The township could have handled this in a more professional way." "It's just not fair. We pay taxes and we pay rent," he said. John Hansen added that he has been a business and building owner on New Brunswick Avenue for 23 years, and said he plans to retire from his business on New Brunswick Avenue. "There are plenty of empty stores," he said. "Why target businesses?" The second point of the 10-point strategy plan includes amending the B-2 central business zone standards in Fords. "Currently, there is no requirement for parking on site," said Gruel. "This will require parking for the central business zone." The mayor added that amending the B-2 zone would also make it harder for people to change the use of a business. The third point involves investigating for the "area in need of redevelopment" designation in Fords and Hopelawn. Township officials described redevelopment as a place not utilized to its fullest. The fourth point involves revitalizing the special improvement district [SID]. "We have a SID in Fords, but it is not active," said Dalina. "We want to revitalize the SID like the SIDs in Iselin and Woodbridge [where the business owners help with improvements to the downtown area]." The fifth, sixth and seventh points involve hiring a marketing manager, considering use of tax abatement as incentive, and establishing a façade improvement program. The eighth point involves extending the Middlesex Greenway. "This has been talked about for several years," said Dalina. "This is the old Lehigh Valley railroad track that runs from Crows Mill Road to Williams Street, and we hope we can extend it to Hopelawn." The Middlesex Greenway is an abandoned railroad corridor that runs from Middlesex Avenue in Metuchen to just east of Crows Mill Road in Fords. It has been identified as a future segment of the larger East Coast Greenway, which runs from Maine to Florida. The ninth point involves promoting the appropriate use of the Fords Theatre site. "There are currently four stores on the former Fords Theatre site," said McCormac. "We're looking at the possibility of culture as an element." The 10th point involves establishing "gateways," such as with signs that read "Welcome to New Brunswick Avenue." "This way we could give each corridor an identity of its own," said Gruel. Township officials said they would hold an additional visioning meeting on Fords and Hopelawn in the near future. Residents can e-mail Susan Gruel and Fred Heyer with more suggestions at mail@hgapa.com. Updates will be posted on the township Web site at www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us.