Lebanon Boro In The News - Hunterdon Review

Posted by M Paradis

August 16, 2007

Lebanon keeps growing; Borough has sharp jump in population in past six years

By LINDA SADLOUSKOS, Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 8:34 PM EDT

LEBANON – Lebanon Borough has seen a lot of new faces move in during this past decade, and more growth is around the corner.

Even while 120 housing units in the Heights of Lebanon is under construction and partially occupied, the ground is being cleared for another 150 units of housing on the Pizzo and Pizzo property off Cokesbury Road. That new development is the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the builder charging that the borough lacked a state-certified affordable housing plan, even though borough officials say they had provided affordable housing without a certified plan.

And now, Mayor Mark Paradis said Lebanon wants to stop with that development, and keep its small-town feel.

“Lebanon Borough is one of the few towns in this state that still has that quaint Mayberry feel,” Paradis said. Once the Heights is built adjacent to the Lebanon train station off Railroad Avenue, and the Pizzo development is completed on former open space across from Kaybee Toys, the mayor said that as far as he is concerned the small borough will be completely “built out.”

‘Enough Is Enough

’“Enough is enough,” agrees Alex Saharic, the longtime chairman of the Lebanon Borough Planning Board. For future affordable housing units, Saharic would like to see the borough just rehabilitate what housing is here. “We don’t have any more places to grow.”

Both said that worst of all would be the prospect of losing Lebanon’s quaint homes, including Victorians, that give the small downtown its distinctive feel and the ambiance of a cozy community with historic architecture mixed in.

Officials say they have already been approached informally with plans to demolish old homes and buildings and put in either new housing or commercial space. Such a plan was discussed for the old Dobbs Florist site off Route 22, but was discouraged by borough officials, Paradis said.

Lebanon Borough reportedly had the highest percentage increase in population in Hunterdon County since the 2000 census, with an estimated 71.8 percent in population growth in six years. The latest census report is that Lebanon had 1,065 residents in 2000, which jumped to 1,830 people in 2006.

Paradis contends that figure is artificially high since he said the census takers based estimates on permits issued for the Heights of Lebanon that have not yet actually been occupied.

But he said those residents will eventually move in, and the borough’s population will climb to that level and higher.

Borough officials are anticipating that the completion of the two multi-family developments under way should bring Lebanon Borough more than up to snuff with meeting its state affordable housing obligation, as set by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). The Heights, being constructed by Kaplan Builders, will eventually include 12 COAH rentals, Saharic said.

And the Pizzo property just off the Route 78 exit will encompass 30 affordable housing units in a total development of 150 new homes, officials say.

But the town is still fighting the state as it hopes to limit future growth, and is also facing pressure from developers.

At this point, the state Office of Smart Growth (OSG), in updating its state map, has Lebanon Borough and other Hunterdon municipalities along the Route 22-78 corridor zoned for “planning area 2,” meaning it is capable of supporting suburban growth.

However, Saharic said the borough has already offered the OSG testimony seeking to stay in an environmentally sensitive planning area that discourages growth, and the county is backing that effort.

Map Incorrect

Saharic and Paradis said the state maps on which the updated state map is being based are incorrect.

One plot of land that the state OSG has marked for potential growth is actually a graveyard.

“That is unacceptable,” Paradis said.

The OSG has scheduled its public hearing on its latest proposals for the state map at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27, at the Hunterdon County Library off Route 12 in Raritan Township.

“We continue to support the municipalities,” said Sue Dziamara, director of the Hunterdon County Planning Department.

The OSG has already significantly shrunken its planning area 2 suburban designation along the highways corridor, Dziamara said, but the county would like the suburban growth area to stop at the Somerset County border.

Hunterdon County officials and the municipalities themselves “do not believe that planning area 2 is justified, not accurate and does not reflect their towns,” Dziamara said. “We believe the more accurate designation for these areas is planning area 5,” which are environmentally sensitive areas, Dziamara said.

Clinton Township Mayor Nick Corcodilos agrees that keeping Lebanon Borough out of planning area 2 is important to keeping overdevelopment out of the region, and nearby Readington Township is even more crucial.

For their part, Lebanon Borough officials are frustrated with conflicting messages from the state, which through the Highlands initiative claims to wants to protect the water in the area while other state agencies are handing out orders to build.

“Lebanon Borough has one of the best wells that feeds the Clinton area” its water, Saharic said.

Part of the reason for that is that Lebanon and Readington had the foresight to build the Readington-Lebanon Sewerage plant decades ago instead of allowing septics to leak into waterways, he said.

Now, the availability of sewers is part of the reason Lebanon is targeted by other state agencies as an acceptable area for growth, officials complain.

So Which Is It?

“The state tells us we have to protect our water system and now tells us we have to be building,” said Saharic. “We have a problem with that.”

Still, the borough is trying to leverage protections through the Highlands legislation and category one designation for area waterways, the strictest category under state Department of Environmental Protection, to fend off further growth.

Importantly, the borough is busy updating its own Master Plan to provide legal protections against development proposals that local officials would like to discourage.

Paradis said Lebanon wants development that will enhance the quality of life in the community rather than destroy it.

With the OSG hearing pending and other efforts by the town to protect itself, Paradis says, “There are so many things that are up in the air and we are trying to figure out the best direction to go in.”

With the completion of the Pizzo and Heights project, Paradis said he feels the borough will have the optimal mix of commercial and residential occupants.

However, the town is still struggling with other side effects from the rapid growth which have yet to be worked out.

Paradis said the artificially high population figures can reduce the borough’s standing when it is applying for certain grants.

Saharic said a major worry is about the school children in the Pizzo development who would have to cross Cokesbury Road and walk near an access ramp to Route 78 to reach the Lebanon Borough School in the all-walking elementary school district.

Borough planners have also expressed concern about how the noise from Route 78 will affect residents in that development. In response to the situation, Saharic said materials to be used in the housing off Cokesbury Road will be specially designed to block noise. But issues remain, particularly regarding future school children.

“We are a small town, but we have a big heart,” Paradis said.