Abandoned, Vacant 'Eye Sore' Lord Stirling Property Seeks Bernards Township Help

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Possibilities to improve the long-abandoned, vacant, and vandalized Lord Stirling School property in Bernards Township became a center of discussion at the recent Township Committee meeting.

Attorney Michael Silbert spoke at the July 29 meeting on behalf of Jon Rocker the new owner of the property at 99 Lord Stirling Road. The property was intially home to Lord Stirling School which ended up closing during the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Silbert shared the current conditions of the 11-acre property and what the future could possibly hold.

"We are here tonight for a simple but critical reason to bring public awareness to a vacant and abandoned property that has fallen into a condition that is entirely unacceptable in Bernards Township," said Silbert. "The site has become a magnet for trespassing, vandalism, underage drinking, and other unsafe activity. The inside of the main building has been defaced with horrendous anti-semitic, islamophobia, and other hate-filled graffiti."

Silbert noted that Rocker would like to improve the property by possibly tearing down the school and building special needs housing.

However, current zoning only allows for four to five residential homes to be built on the property. Silbert said that it "simply isn’t feasible" due to the high cost of demolition, site work, environmental remediation, and infrastructure improvements.

"My client doesn’t want to build a new school here and he does not want to build a high-density residential project. Instead, he wants to create a residential project that fits seamlessly into the neighborhood, does not burden the school district, generates minimal traffic, and provides real benefits to the township - special needs housing," said Silbert.

Rocker believes that four to possibly 10 beds could come out of this project.

In order to be able to do this plan, Silbert asked the Township Committee to blight the property and send it to the Planning Board so plans can start to be developed and conversations can start.

"I want to assure you that you are not opening the door to high-density overdevelopment. You are not rezoning the property. You are not adopting a redevelopment plan. You are not endorsing a project. You are just taking the first step towards addressing the property," said Silbert.

Several residents spoke in favor of Rocker's plans and noted how he personally spoke with them. They advocated for the Township Committee to blight the property.

Resident Bobi Commer who has a direct view of the property, called it an "eye sore."

"It saddens me to see its current condition. The buildings and storage areas have been vandalized. Windows have been broken. And the overall state of the property is deteriorating rapidly," said Commer.

"I am tired of living next to a dump," said resident Cliff Cababe.

Committeewoman Jennifer Asay said that while she does not have the details on the property, she thinks "the Township Committee needs to think very cautiously and thoughtfully review all developable land in Bernards Township to consider all residential needs, including those adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as commercial needs. We need to do that public review and we also need to have public hearings on that topic."

Committeeman David Tancredi said that he has toured the property.

"I do agree it is in disrepair. I appreciate all the residents who came out this evening and expressed their concerns about this issue in your neighborhood. I appreciate Mr. Rocker’s offer of special needs housing, and I will take all of these comments under consideration," said Tancredi.

Committeewoman Ana Duarte McCarthy also noted that she toured the property in question.

"Where I pause is, just I worry about this, what I used to call the tyranny of or. Either we develop, redevelop, designate this as redevelopment, or the buildings remain as is. And that seems like there is no other pathways," said McCarthy. "This is zoned R2. It is zoned for a single-family 2 acres. Perhaps there’s a pathway to look at it differently, but there are pathways. It is not either or. Either it is redeveloped or it will stay the way it is. At least not the way I see the world."

Deputy Mayor Andrew McNally called on the owner to clean up the property.

"The property owner has an independent obligation to maintain this property and prevent it from becoming an attractive nuisance," said McNally, who added that the despicable graffiti could easily be cured with a coat of paint.

"I would encourage the owner to take steps to secure the property and prevent it from having the problems that were presented earlier today, while this Committee decides what, if anything, to do on it," said McNally.

Mayor Janice Fields was in favor of designating the property as in need of redevelopment for the Planning Board to study and analyze.

"It is slow rolling. It's not just a decision that we would have to make on our own. So I understand your request," said Fields. "Like the Deputy Mayor said, everyone has to come together and is going to have a difference of opinions, and not everyone is going to agree. That's why there are five of us, because three is the majority, so hopefully we will discuss this and see where we go from here."

Ultimately, the Township Committee did not make any final decisions on the property.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.