Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks?
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 8:20 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

If I understand correctly, raising taxes sometimes makes sense if we are thinking of how future development might affect us.
What is the difference between buying farmland - small and large parcels- to prevent development and buying the PNC bank property that is in the heart of our town? Seems like there will be one home built there...what happens if they build five in the future?
Heard that the PNC property sold for $800,000. We just spent more than that on a swamp/farmland in Cranbury.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 8:47 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

- they could not build 5 homes on the PNC property. The town zoning does not allow for that. They will get one home.
- buying PNC would have taken a ratebale away and led to a continued cost for maintenance. Look how much Sweetwater is doing to make it usable (that is excluding the home).
- the property you reference Reinhhardt has been on the town's desirable list for many years, will be largely funded by outside sources as opposed to PNC which would have been 100% town
- the property we did acquire will prevent anywhere from 1-6 homes on the site so that prevents a certain tax impact.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:23 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

- I think buying the PNC property would have been beneficial. The parking problem is only getting worse on Main Street and the side roads. I wish we would have thought more about parking.

- The ratables help but if there is no parking then the the existing businesses downtown will be hurt.

- I also agree that buying the swamp land will stop a developer from putting in more homes and stressing out the town services and school.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:28 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Stores like Gil and Berts and Cranbury Pizza have shown that if you have a product people want they will come to town. The problem is not parking, it is that there are only a few stores that draw people- Gil and Berts, Teddy's, Hot Wok and Cranbury Pizza. If we as a town work to draw people in who have a decent business then the others will be helped.

When there was PNC parking businesses still failed- Hannah and Masons, the Home Decor store, the Pharmacy, Hardware Store, Deli, etc.... When I drive to town there are always a ton of spots on S. Main St. I park there sometimes and sit by the lake. The walk is about 2-5 minutes down town depending on where you're going or pace.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:44 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

1- Re. 5 homes. 1 home now, and then in the future, perhaps - one more on Main Street next to that, and how about some on Maplewood? Downtown is also residential. zoning allows for that.
2- buyng PNC took one ratable away - $30,000.00 in taxes a year from what I undertand. Sweetwater is not an additional ratable. They were already in town, different location.
3- Reinhardts may have been on desirable list, but we are evaluating all expenses more closely now. Actually, I am not completely against purchasing farmland, but we need to know it is not free....there are also expenses associated. Both farmland purchases and the opportunity to buy any land in town fall into the planning for the future category and both are "wants not needs" as some so fondly state.
4-One to Six houses on Reinhardts - could be doubtful due to nature of the property.

[/quote]
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:50 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
1- Re. 5 homes. 1 home now, and then in the future, perhaps - one more on Main Street next to that, and how about some on Maplewood? Downtown is also residential. zoning allows for that.
2- buyng PNC took one ratable away - $30,000.00 in taxes a year from what I undertand. Sweetwater is not an additional ratable. They were already in town, different location.
3- Reinhardts may have been on desirable list, but we are evaluating all expenses more closely now. Actually, I am not completely against purchasing farmland, but we need to know it is not free....there are also expenses associated. Both farmland purchases and the opportunity to buy any land in town fall into the planning for the future category and both are "wants not needs" as some so fondly state.
4-One to Six houses on Reinhardts - could be doubtful due to nature of the property.

[/quote]


If we bought PNC the ratebale would be gone. Sweetwater will pay taxes. If we bought PNC we would have lost this revenue.

There will be no room for 5 homes on the PNC lot.

The TC went through the report at the meeting when they decided to proceed with the Reinhardt property and the independent assessments ranged from 1-6 homes.

No one is saying it is not a want vs need. But, the PNC was a different scenario.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:56 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
If I understand correctly, raising taxes sometimes makes sense if we are thinking of how future development might affect us.
What is the difference between buying farmland - small and large parcels- to prevent development and buying the PNC bank property that is in the heart of our town? Seems like there will be one home built there...what happens if they build five in the future?
Heard that the PNC property sold for $800,000. We just spent more than that on a swamp/farmland in Cranbury.


What the previous posters said was it might make sense to buy farmland when the economics work that doing so prevents further development that could lead to the longer term need for more tax dollars to support school and other service expansions. None of that was applicable to the PNC site. The site is already strictly zoned and could not be more than two lots, as it originally was, with strict control over the look of what is developed there. As it stands, the net result of the company that did acquire it will be businesses that contribute to our taxes and a single residence that also pays taxes, versus a large drain to our taxes to create a redundant service to one we already have that is size-appropriate for a Township with our population.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 9:58 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
- I think buying the PNC property would have been beneficial. The parking problem is only getting worse on Main Street and the side roads. I wish we would have thought more about parking.

- The ratables help but if there is no parking then the the existing businesses downtown will be hurt.

- I also agree that buying the swamp land will stop a developer from putting in more homes and stressing out the town services and school.


There was quite a bit of discussion about the parking during the discussions about whether to buy the PNC site so I do think it was considered. No one was ever able to present any concrete data to prove we have a major parking problem or that acquiring the site for the purpose of parking would contribute to meaningful additional revenue for Township businesses or that the lack of it would result in a significant loss of businesses.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 10:01 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
Stores like Gil and Berts and Cranbury Pizza have shown that if you have a product people want they will come to town. The problem is not parking, it is that there are only a few stores that draw people- Gil and Berts, Teddy's, Hot Wok and Cranbury Pizza. If we as a town work to draw people in who have a decent business then the others will be helped.

When there was PNC parking businesses still failed- Hannah and Masons, the Home Decor store, the Pharmacy, Hardware Store, Deli, etc.... When I drive to town there are always a ton of spots on S. Main St. I park there sometimes and sit by the lake. The walk is about 2-5 minutes down town depending on where you're going or pace.


Completely agree with everything your wrote.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 11:51 am EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Can anyone explain where the Reinhardt property is loacted and why had it been on the town's "desirable" list? Thanks.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 12:44 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Halfway down Plainsboro road just after the bend. Both side of the road. It is most desireable because of the amount of acreage. Offhand I do not remember how many houses could be built on it according to our current zoning, but to venture a guess probably around 30.

Also, somebody stated that the northern Reinhardt property is mostly wetlands and therefore no one could build on it. Possibly, but I would remind you that was the Townships stance on the Haggerty property that now houses the age restricted housing. Haggerty brought in his own experts who drastically reduced the size of the wetlands.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 1:00 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

It is also on the residential side of town so it was one of the last open spaces bordering the town on this side of 130. It allows people to enter town and be surrounded by the woods and open space.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 3:11 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

PNC property could support two Main Street residences and perhaps three on Maplewood. Anyway, seem likes the Reinhardt property equals PNC property re. potential future development.[/quote]
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 3:21 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
PNC property could support two Main Street residences and perhaps three on Maplewood. Anyway, seem likes the Reinhardt property equals PNC property re. potential future development.


I am confused. You are saying 30=5?. Also, I don't believe the PNC property would be zoned for 5 houses.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 4:09 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

There is no way at all you could put 5 homes on PNC. The only reason one home can go in is because there was already a home on that site. To say PNC could have that many homes is akin to saying that a homeowner in Shadow Oaks on a 5 acre lot could put in 10 half acre homes.
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PostPosted: Sat, Jul 10 2010, 5:32 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: Vantage points other than Village Park for fireworks? Reply with quote

Guest wrote:
PNC property could support two Main Street residences and perhaps three on Maplewood. Anyway, seem likes the Reinhardt property equals PNC property re. potential future development.


Your comment makes no sense. There is already restricted zoning on the PNC lots that limited it to 2 sites, so no surprise that the result with the new owners is, gee, 2 sites. Any how does that "equal" the dozens of sites that could be parceled from the Reinhardt lot?
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