800+ Summit Residents Sign Petition Against Broad St. West Development

SUMMIT, NJ — At Tuesday night's Summit Common Council meeting, a group of residents — who dub themselves "Residents For Summit" — presented a petition with over 800 signatures, imploring the council to alter their proposed design for the Broad Street West redevelopment project.

The petition, which was signed by at least 831 residents, calls for the council to reconsider the design of the Subdistrict 3 development — a five-story building that is set to include 140-units of housing, as well as retail space.

For context, 831 people signed the petition out of nearly 22,000 people who live in the city.

During the public comment section of the meeting, several signers addressed their concerns about the new development, mainly citing issues with the building's large size, a lack of parking and its deviation from the original redevelopment plan that was signed in 2019.

Broad Street West has been hotly contested at the past several Summit meetings.

Read more: Summit Debates Broad Street West Redevelopment At Council Meeting

Deborah Oliver, a resident and member of "Residents For Summit," said the council can "do better" by listening to residents and making changes to the redevelopment proposal.

"The genesis of this group really came from the shock when we all met at the town hall meeting on February 9," Oliver said. "It was the first time we had seen complete visuals of something that has been very thoroughly documented with words on the website."

Later in the meeting, Council President Marjorie Fox countered this point, arguing that visuals were presented in a Zoom meeting in May of 2021. Fox said the building was presented in its current form.

"To say that we didn't listen and we didn't respond is not a fair statement," Fox said.

However, Oliver said because the meeting was held during the pandemic, it was poorly attended by the public.

Oliver argued that the proposed building is "simply too large, too dense and too long." She said because the building will eliminate parking spots in the city, the development will only exacerbate existing traffic problems.

Amy Disibio, another petition signer, agreed that the building proposed is too big and compared it to the Bassett building in Summit — a five-story building and office space rental agency on Springfield Avenue. This is currently one of the largest buildings in downtown Summit.

In comparison, Disibio said the Broad Street West development would be 7 feet taller in height, quadruple the length and 65 feet longer in depth. She argued that Subdistrict 3 should be scaled back.

"I think it sets a new bar for Summit," Disibio said. "If we put a building in this big, it becomes something that is precedent-setting."

Resident Jim Bennett spoke about the potential impact on the public schools due to the proposed 140-unit housing complex. Bennett said Phil Abramson of Topology, Summit's planning firm for the project, projected on Feb. 9 that 27 school-age children would live in the development. Abramson said this estimate was "conservative."

Bennett compared this estimate to the Upton in Short Hills — a luxury apartment complex that was recently built near the Short Hills Mall. He said according to Millburn's Board of Education, they were told the project would add about 15 school-age children. But in the end, Bennet said the project actually added 41 children to the school system out of a total of 80 children living in the complex.

By these numbers, Bennett believes with 140 units, there is a possibility that up to 62 school-age children may end up living in the Broad Street West development.

"Since the school district is the largest component of the property tax bill, an inordinate effect on our school would raise taxes inordinately," Bennett said.

Guy Haselmann expressed frustration that the proposed building has strayed significantly from the original zoning plan, which outlined the building only having 72 units.

"By passing such a gargantuan, non-conforming project, it sets a new baseline," Haselmann said. "That alone actually terrifies me."

Resident Vivian Hardy focused on the issue of parking at the development. Last month, a traffic expert spoke at a Summit council meeting and said there will be 196 parking spaces provided to tenants. Hardy, as well as other residents at Tuesday's meeting, argued that this is not sufficient parking for the whole building, which could ultimately increase traffic in the city.

Read more: How Will Broad St. West Impact Traffic In Summit? Experts Explain

Oliver later read the cover letter for the petition to the council, explaining that Residents For Summit believes the Subdistrict 3 area needs to be redeveloped, but the design needs to be altered and the plan should not be rushed through.

President Fox reiterated that this process has been ongoing since 2018 and that the council is listening to residents' concerns. She said that the council will not vote on the passage of the building without having another town hall meeting.

She also added that the council is still figuring out how to address the issue of parking for the development.

"We are not signing this until we feel like this project is adequately parked," Fox said.

Residents For Summit is hosting their own town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Teresa's Memorial Hall. Disibio said the community is invited to attend, and a planner that the group hired will be there to discuss details about the redevelopment.

More information about Broad Street West can be found on Summit's website.

The full April 19 council meeting can be viewed on YouTube below:

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