A proposal to bring a new 150-unit mixed-use building to an empty plot near University Hospital in Newark’s Central Ward was delayed further as the city’s planning board rejected the site plan application for the project for the second time in less than a year. The board’s decision to reject the application from Newark developer KS Group for a rental apartment building at 66-80 South Orange Avenue comes seven months after the developer began a civil action against the board.
Documents made public by the city’s planning board show that KS 66 South Orange Ave, LP, intended to deliver a seven-story building consisting of 18 studios, 103 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom apartments. The project would have included approximately 2,308 square feet of retail space, but the plans for the proposed building have undergone several iterations over the last five years.
An order from the Essex County Superior Court dated February 13, made public by the planning board, states that the revised application will be reviewed on March 23rd.
The order reads: “Defendant Planning Board acknowledges that the amended/revised site plan is consistent with the Newark Zoning Ordinance or requests only minimal deviation to design guidelines, and shall be considered by the Planning Board consistent with Saratoga v. Borough of West Paterson…Should the Planning Board, after review of the proposed revised plan, fail to approve the application, the Plaintiff may, at its discretion, continue with the within litigation challenging the Planning Board’s denial of the original site plan application or the revised site plan application.”
A report in TAPinto Newark said that more than 30 Newark residents submitted public comments opposing the project before the board voted unanimously to reject it. The meeting lasted four hours, and although the site plan complied with city zoning and state laws, it was ultimately rejected at the board’s meeting on March 23rd. That same report said that the original application was denied on June 30 due to the need for six variances.
The lawsuit from September also referenced the initial denial but added that the board voted without discussion or explanation. It also said that the board’s resolution of denial, which was adopted July 21st, made ‘cursory statements that parroted the [Municipal Land Use Law], stating generally that relief cannot be granted without substantial detriment to the public good or impairing the intention and purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance.’
Jersey Digs reported in August 2020 that 66-80 South Orange Avenue LP submitted plans for a similar project on the same site. That plan envisioned a five-story multi-family building with 108 apartments and 75 parking spaces.
Case records show that the planning board and the limited partnership were scheduled to meet this past week for a case management conference with Judge Stephen Petrillo, who is presiding over the case. A letter from the LP also states that the board’s counsel, Dan Becht, who was the trial attorney for this case, stepped down from the board for medical reasons.
While limited partnerships have sought to redevelop this site for years, the surrounding area has become a prominent commercial corridor in Newark’s Central Ward. ShopRite of Newark anchors the 110,000-square-foot Springfield Avenue Marketplace shopping center next to the site, near University Hospital. The site also sits near several new mixed-use developments along Springfield Avenue, which will only increase the site’s value and prominence.
