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Candidates Balance Commercial Development, Taxes And The Environment
By Lauren Puglisi
Jackson is known for being one of the only townships in Ocean County to have stayed somewhat true to its rural roots.
The candidates running for officein this year's Jackson Township Council election - two slates of three each vying for fouryear terms on the council - have expressed differing outlooks on putting a halt on overdevelopment while trying their best to preserve Jackson's environment.
Michael Reina and Michael Kafton, who are running with Bobbie Rivere under the slate "The Right Team for Jackson," say their past record serving on the planning board shows that when it comes to development, they are firmly against clear-cutting.
Reina, who is a former chairman of the planning board, said one way he helped stop overdevelopment was by never giving away variances and eliminating "EZ Pass for builders."
"We stopped development that was unnecessary and we put in a checks and balance system," Reina said, "and we didn't allow clear cutting anymore. People could only clear cut what was necessary to build a home and put the infrastructure in. I took great pride in that because during that tenure we were Tree City USA, which we lost in 2006."
Their opponents make similar claims. Todd Porter is the current vice chairman of the planning board. He is running with Charles Garofano and incumbent Councilwoman Emily Ingram under the banner "Working Together for Jackson's Future." Porter said since serving on the planning board, he holds developers more accountable and looks out for what is in the best interest of Jackson when reviewing their applications.
"Overdevelopment is an obvious concern of every resident of Jackson Township. It is the root of everything that happens. It is what municipal taxes are based on," Porter said. "In past years, it seems that everyone got a free pass because they were trying to avoid an appeal. Before I got on the board, there were thousands of homes approved and since I've been on the board, we approved only 74 single family homes."
On the other side, Kafton said when he served on the planning board, builders weren't happy because they were no longer handed approvals on everything that they wanted.
"At that time, builders weren't happy but our allegiance wasn't to builders, it was to Jackson taxpayers," Kafton said. "The fact that our opponents or anybody else could ever attack our administration or the planning board for being pro-development is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard. We were very strong into maintaining the rural quality of Jackson Township."
Ingram said as a member of the current planning board, she believes the town needs to be fiscally responsible when dealing with development.
"There needs to be a balance between residential and commercial development and at the same time preserving and respecting our environment," Ingram said in a written statement. "We cannot destroy the countrified beauty that Jackson offers, which has also attracted so many residents. By redoing the master plan, there will be a balance amongst residential, commercial and maintaining a healthy environment."
Kafton: Commercial
Ratables Will Stabilize Taxes
Kafton's "The Right Team for Jackson," says bringing commercial ratables into town is one of the major focuses of their campaign. Kafton believes that his slate will look to stabilize or lower the tax rate for Jackson Township through commercial ratables. In working towards that goal, he said he would bring back the Economic Development Council, which was implemented when he was in officeto encourage commercial growth in town.
"While I was on the township committee and Mike was on the planning board, we had approved over 3 million square feet of commercial ratables, which is astonishing. In the future we hope to utilize the 195 corridor to look toward a businesses park and expand commercial by Great Adventure," Kafton said. "We would also like to bring back the Economic Development Council, which has not met since we left officebecause this administration does not appear to be pro-commercial ratables."
Reina believes when it comes to bringing commercial ratables into town, they must be smart and sensible. He also said clean commercial ratables are important because they don't impact the schools in the way residential development does. That's ultimately good for taxpayers because they generate revenue without adding to the school tax burden.
"Being sensible means knowing not to put a mega-mall like the Howell Commons in the middle of a residential community, because that's what residents fear the most. It is unfortunate that we don't have a Route 70 corridor, Route 9 or a Route 37, but what we do have is 195, which will bring people into our area but also keeps traffic to a minimum on our residential roads," Reina said.
Rivere agreed and said she believes there are only two ways to lower and stabilize taxes.
"You have to bring in commercial ratables which will help with the bills for the property owner and lower your budget line by line to make sure you aren't expending," Rivere said.
She said by bringing in businesses residents want and need, as well as trimming the township budget, taxes can be kept stable without impacting municipal services.
Ingram: Master Plan Is The Key Issue
Ingram's "Working Together for Jackson's Future" believes that everyone is for commercial ratables, but they say redoing the master plan must be a first priority. She said being a strong proponent of commercial rateable's sounds good, but the reality is that corporations spend a lot of money on market analysis, and that's what determines whether it is profitableto open in places like Jackson.
"In these past two years the planning board has approved over 285,000 square feet of clean commercial building that will actually be built and we will be collecting taxes," Ingram said in a written statement. "Proper balance is crucial when considering commercial rateables; the environment as well as how traffic will impact the quality of life that we the residents deserve."
Porter believes that the last full revision to the township master plan was in 1999, when past board members made what he called "fluff changes."
"They changed the name of one of the zones from R1 to R3. Basically, all they did was change the name of it," Porter said. "He (Kafton) goes around and tells everybody that he brought three-acre zoning to Jackson, which is the most fraudulent claim I have ever heard. If you look at the zoning maps, well over 80 percent of it was built out and approved before 2004."
He also said wanting to bring in commercial ratables is all fineand dandy, but until they (the challengers) actually do something to encourage them, it's just talk.
Garofano said a rateable that many people fail to recognize are senior communities.
"Having groups of people who only affect the infrastructure as far as your roads and stuff but won't affect your school system is probably one of you best ratables," Garofano said. "I would say a ballpark figure of the four gated communities are paying anywhere between $22 and $24 million in property taxes. That's a big rateable right there. By having these gated communities you're not building the schools so you're not paying the extra school tax."
Election Day is Tuesday, May 13. Todd Porter, Charles Garofano and Emily Ingram running against Michael Reina, Michael Kafton and Bobbie Rivere.
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