Congratulations Graduates
It is a very special day for many of our Livingston families. Today, Thursday, June 22, students from Livingston High School’s Class of 2023 are attending their graduation ceremony and receiving their diplomas.
For many, high school graduation marks the transition to secondary education, with students taking what they have learned in Livingston and applying it in the greater world. High school graduations are a bridge from one part of life to the next, whether it is to college, directly to the workforce, to military service, or a gap year. We wish our seniors luck in wherever their respective bridges take them. We eagerly look forward to seeing all that this class will accomplish.
So, a heartfelt congratulations, once again, to Livingston High School’s Class of 2023! We hope everyone takes time to enjoy our special graduation section in the June 29 edition of the Tribune. It is one of our favorite special sections to present each year, featuring photos, well-wishes, and more.
And graduates, don’t forget to smile today, because there is a good chance you will make it into the paper next week when we share candid photos from the graduation ceremony!
Throw those caps high, Class of 2023, you did it!
Northfield Center
While it appears unlikely that an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for the property at the intersection of East Northfield Road and South Livingston Avenue will have a second hearing at next Monday’s Township Council meeting, it will almost certainly still be a topic of public comment.
The area in question covers 531 South Livingston Avenue, 25 East Northfield Road, and 521 South Livingston Avenue at Northfield Center. Prior to being knocked down in 2021 for an approved housing complex, the site was home to the Northfield Baptist Church and small businesses, but the area has been left in disarray since those buildings were demolished. The owner has not built what he sought approval for, citing unanticipated cost issues.
The Council authorized the preparation of a redevelopment plan for the area in November of 2022 and received it in April. While the ordinance to adopt it was introduced on May 30, a related resolution to forward the redevelopment plan to the Planning Board did not have the votes to proceed at that meeting. As a result, it is not yet known if a second hearing will be held at the next Council meeting on Monday, June 26. Even if it does end up on the agenda, it may not have enough Council votes to pass.
During the May 30 regular meeting and the June 8 conference meeting, as well as in letters featured in recent editions of the Tribune and on social media, several residents, including members of the Livingston’s Zoning and Planning Boards, spoke out against granting the developer of the property a tax abatement in the form of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).
It should be noted that if the ordinance passes, other conversations and votes would need to take place for a PILOT to be approved; this ordinance alone does not permit one, though the redevelopment plan would be a necessary step for it to happen.
There are a few reasons that granting a PILOT makes some sense. Namely, if it finally gets the builder to build, we will no longer have an ugly vacant lot in the center of town. And, it is worth mentioning that a PILOT is a payment of some sort, money that would benefit the town that it is currently not receiving.
But there is certainly a compelling case to not grant that PILOT. It is abundantly clear that there is little to no public appetite for the town to give in to the developer’s demands and grant him a tax break to build what he already sought and was granted approval to construct years earlier. Many residents have rightly noted that this could set a bad precedent for future prospective builders: hold us hostage and we will negotiate with you.
The Council is supposed to represent the community, and residents who have spoken and written publicly – some of whom are members of Livingston’s other governing bodies – have been steadfast in not wanting to reward this developer for his poor business acumen and subsequent attempts to receive a tax abatement for his troubles. Perhaps this decision is that simple.
If the developer does not receive his PILOT and just leaves the lot vacant instead of selling it to another builder, as he has threatened to do, then the town should enforce every applicable code to ensure proper upkeep of the property (in a surely related turn of events, a tattered fence partially concealing the lot was just taken down this week, as the owner was told by town officials to clean up the area). Eventually, we suspect the developer will either find a way to build the housing complex he promised without the PILOT, or simply sell it to someone who will.
