Height Limits Placed On Future Downtown Developments In Morristown

MORRISTOWN, NJ — New developments around Morristown's downtown area will now have new rules to comply with.

On Tuesday, Aug. 8, the Morristown Council voted unanimously to amend the town's Land Use Regulations for the first time in several years.

The measure comes one month after the council agreed to reintroduce an ordinance that limits the height of new construction on Blachley Place and portions of Speedwell Avenue, as well as South, Washington, Market, and Bank streets.

The council's approved ordinance contradicted a recommendation from the Morristown Planning Board, which had proposed a four-story maximum for certain streets.

Last month, the administration also proposed its own ordinance to keep Blachley and a stretch of Washington zoned for four stories, changes that were approved by the planning board.

However, the council's version was placed first on the agenda, and the second version of the ordinance was withdrawn.

Prior to the final vote on the ordinance, Frank Vitolo, a real estate lawyer representing two development companies that own properties in Morristown, expressed his thoughts on the matter.

"I'll cut right to the chase; I'm here to talk about Blachley. It is slated to be downzoned from four to three stories under the ordinance that you're going to adopt this evening. To be blunt, it makes no sense," Vitolo said.

He questioned the rationale behind downzoning Blachley Place when the council had approved a five-story redevelopment plan for the Morristown Train Station across the street.

Earlier in the meeting, Chris Colley, a principal of municipal planner Topology, spoke to the council and the public about the redevelopment project that was first approved in December 2018.

If the proposal is approved by the town, 89 residential units, including 13 affordable units, would be built within a five-story structure on the two acres surrounding the current train station.

"It really is not consistent with what the re-exam or what the master plan says," Vitolo said.

Vitolo also spoke on behalf of the development company Olnick and Fisher Group, which owns Headquarters Plaza, has long discussed plans to "camouflage" the adjacent "ugly" parking garage behind a taller building.

The company would not be able to carry out its plans with the new zoning changes.

"That's going to make it very difficult for the ownership to do anything about the garage facing on Spring Street," Vitolo said.

Following public comment, Councilman Stefan Armington stated that the ordinance was the council's way to discourage the demolition of the town's existing and historic business district.

"The word historic is sort of a misnomer. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Historic Preservation Office defines a historic structure as anything greater than 50 years old. The last time the town did an assessment of our historic structures was in 2003, so pretty much everything except for the new fantastic 7-Eleven building is historic or potentially historic," Armington said.

Residents also previously spoke out in favor of the height cap, warning of increased traffic and motor congestion in town, which will be exacerbated by the introduction of new developments at M Station, according to Rich Modzeleski.

"Why support more congestion, why more parking issues, why potentially change the character of a convenient shopping and diverse neighborhood simply to satisfy desires of increased density? When will it end?" Modzeleski said.

Morristown resident John Hoyt agreed with Modzeleski, saying the town has a responsibility to preserve its historic nature.