Hello! 

I hope everyone who celebrates has enjoyed a happy holiday among family and friends. While the year draws to a close, the last month within Bernards Township has proven to be dynamic, as we considered two significant ordinances with impact on the future development within the community. 

Ordinance #2567 was introduced at the November 26th meeting to amend, revise and supplement the code of the Township of Bernards, Chapter 21, “Land Development” regarding uses permitted in the E-2 and E-4 Office Zones.  This ordinance amendment removes “light manufacturing” from the list of uses permitted in the E-2 Office Zone, and removes “storage and maintenance of vehicles operated by or as a business” from the list of uses permitted in the E-4 Office Zone, while continuing to permit various other uses including, among others, professional office buildings, scientific or research laboratories, data processing centers, banks and other financial institutions.

The vote on the zoning amendment was eliminated until the Monday, December 23rd meeting as there was an issue raised from an objecting party that the township’s legal notice for the public hearing was “fatally defective”.  John Belardo, township attorney, felt that the legal notice was sufficient however recommended delaying the vote to ensure the proposal would withstand a lawsuit.  The Ordinance was approved at our Monday December 23rd meeting.

The Township Committee meeting of December 10th included the introduction of Ordinance #2568, amending, revising and supplementing the Code of the Township of Bernards, Chapter 21, “Revised Land use Ordinances”, to create a film studio and community campus overlay zone within the R-1 zone.

As background, the film industry is competitive in NJ due to tax incentives introduced in 2018.  Prior to the tax incentives being put in place, the average state income from the film industry was $62-$68 million. Now with the incentives in place, there has been a much stronger realization of revenue.  In 2023, revenue increased to nearly $600 million, and in 2022, when there were no labor actions, the state brought in $700 million. 

At Somerset County, under Economic Development, a film liaison has been appointed to attract business. The County liaison reached out to Bernards Township to see if there was potential land available for a potential film studio in light of our unique positioning within the “studio zone”, also known as the thirty-mile zone (TMZ), an area defined by a 30-mile (48 km) radius of “Hollywood” used by the American entertainment industry to determine employee benefits for work performed inside and outside of it.

A parcel of land was identified and an Overlay Zone was proposed and on the agenda for introduction. Note that an “introduction” is not an approval. It begins the process to have an ordinance reviewed at the Planning board to review its consistency with the Master Plan. After this review the decision of the Planning Board returns to the Township Committee. The Township Committee would then approve/not approve the Ordinance. This could be done whether or not the Ordinance is found to be inconsistent with the Master Plan, however each Township Committeeperson voting to approve the Ordinance would also need to state why they believe the Overlay Zone is consistent with the Master Plan.

Segueing back to the December 10th meeting, I joined Mayor Asay and Committeeman Baumann in voting to support of the introduction of the Ordinance. I voted yes as I was supportive of the ordinance in concept, and was eager to continue conducting the due diligence, and have Bernards at the table for this unique opportunity.

I defined “opportunity” as a new and consistent tax ratable; revenue opportunities for ancillary businesses such as hotels, restaurants, dry cleaning; and providing a location for local students to engage in skills- based learning and experiential education which can lead job creation. In introducing the ordinance, I also wanted the to hear and understand public sentiment, including the scheduled public hearing on December 23rd.

As many of you may know, the Ordinance then moved to the Planning Board for review on December 17th. At that meeting, after significant discussion,  the Planning Board voted 5-4 to  table the Ordinance.  The Ordinance was then removed from the Monday, December 23rd Resolution #2024-0473 Township Committee meeting agenda and would need to be reintroduced in the coming year.

While there was no formal Public Hearing on the Ordinance, there has been significant public concern expressed from residents at Public Comment and through social media, whose homes are adjacent to the Overlay Zone, and likewise, a strong drumbeat of support from the community of families with children of all ages with intellectual and developmental needs. A take away for me is that while the Ordinance may or may not be introduced in the coming year, we have an opportunity to consider innovative ways to address the compelling needs of our growing community of individuals with special needs so that they and their families can thrive in Bernards Township.

Okay—that was a lot! However, I wanted to make sure those who read this article felt informed about the events of the past month. Along those lines, you may have missed that we passed Resolution #2024-0473 at the December 23rd meeting to make Bernards Township a NJ Rev250 municipality. As background, I had participated in a session, at the league of municipalities regarding the upcoming 250th Anniversary. NJ, in light of being a site of Revolutionary War battles and activity, has created an initiative, RevNJ to provide a framework for the upcoming anniversary.  Likewise, Somerset County is also engaged to promote the sites and history within the County, encouraging an opportunity to better communicate programs, highlight our history, and provide funding through grants for programs and activities focusing on the revolutionary history.

Kaitlin Bundy, Manager of the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission, is leading the RevNJ county strategy. Kaitlin shared with me that participating as a RevNJ municipality will enable Bernards Township to have our programming promoted throughout the County, and position us for grant money from the County. In addition, our programs and activities would be promoted on County and Statewide calendars and social media which would hopefully bring more attendance and “tourists” to our town and businesses.  The County is interested, for example, in promoting programs that might occur at Farmstead and Lord Stirling Park.  I will be the Township Committee lead for the upcoming 265th Bernards Township Anniversary (2025) and our nation’s 250th (2026). If you are interested in becoming involved in the planning and or event volunteering, please let me know.

I will close with a thank you to those who have been involved with our Township Committees and boards, have attended the meetings, and also been active within the Bernards Township Democratic Committee, in particular our Executive Committee, and our Campaign Candidates, Chair and committee.  Your voices matter – and I look forward to your continued insights, suggestions and participation in the coming year.

You can contact me with Township questions/thoughts/comments at (201) 306-0178, or via email at amccarthy@bernards.org. Please note that any correspondence sent to me will be visible to the full Township Committee and Clerk. 

–Ana