This meeting is one for the Belleville history books.
The Mayor and the Council unanimously rejected the one billion dollar Northeast Redevelopment / Second River Station residential highrise project, which would have constructed several buildings up to and including 50-stories tall at the Jacobs/Kidde properties along Washington Avenue, and bring over 4000 new families into Belleville.
Then amazingly, they followed up by voting to *not* return the proposal back to the Planning Board for further study and revision, again on a 7-0 vote.
Color us incredibly surprised.
There’s no doubt, the Council saw the writing on the wall. This time, they were listening closely to the residents of this town. The people stepped up, made their voices heard, and took a stand on what they wanted for their hometown.
The resounding message is that the people of this township don’t want more residential, and they don’t want Belleville to become a city.
A stunning and truly inspiring display of the community and local government at work, in a mutual dialogue, for the betterment and preservation of Belleville and its unique suburban character.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who contributed to our largest and most important issue campaign for Belleville during these past 6 months.
Geez, I hope we’re not in danger of actually becoming a functional democracy here. How un-Jersey-like that would be!
~ Griff
Note that the video begins during the last few minutes of the pre-meeting, during discussions regarding the former School #1 property, and the possibility of bringing a Quick Chek store to the site.
Update: NorthJersey.com’s coverage of this crucial meeting was published with lightning speed:
Belleville council rejects Washington Avenue redevelopment plan
Update (4/3):
Convenience store proposed for Belleville School No. 1 site
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