Middle Seeks Developer Quals For Indian Trail Road Section

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township has declared large areas of the municipality as zones in need for redevelopment or rehabilitation.
Much of the area so designated is zoned for commercial activity. The township’s use of state redevelopment statutes is a clear outgrowth of its economic development efforts with the concept originating with the Economic Development Commission.
The township’s moves in the area of land use have been accompanied by a strong effort to keep the public informed of what is being done and why the special land use statutes can help.
The public information effort has forestalled criticism of the efforts.
Ordinance Amendment Required
One area that has produced some controversy is the designated tract of land off Indian Trail Road west of Railroad Avenue in Burleigh.
This 150-plus acre tract was initially designated as a redevelopment zone in which the township would maintain the potential use of condemnation or eminent domain.
In all other areas where redevelopment zones have been named, the township has restricted itself to non-condemnation designations. The difference in the Indian Trail zone was explained to the public as the need for the eminent domain tool in order to eventually take control of a large number of small irregular lots that, long ago, were awarded as prizes for newspaper subscribers. 
The ownership of the lots, which are not buildable under zoning rules, is unknown and difficult to trace.
A lawsuit ensued in which homeowners with structures on lots within the declared redevelopment zone pressed the township to remove any threat of eminent domain for their properties. The township agreed, and a settlement was reached. 
At the Oct. 15 Township Committee meeting, an amendment was adopted. That document specified the blocks and lots within the tract in which condemnation would be allowed. It also listed the tracts that would remain in the redevelopment zone without the eminent domain threat.
The History
The history of the large tract of land off Indian Trail Road, which links Routes 9 and 47, and is an alternate route to the Wildwoods, has long involved development projects that never materialized. 
A large portion of the redevelopment tract was mentioned in the township’s 2008 Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, a plan required under state affordable housing regulations.
In that plan, various lots in Blocks 168-205 were designated as the Tower/Carpino development area. The names referenced two proposed developers, Thomas Tower, and Frank Carpino, who according to the Fair Share Plan were expected to develop “810 residential units of various types” of which 20 percent would be set aside for low and moderate-income housing. The inclusionary zoning project was deemed a suitable location for affordable housing.
The township’s 2010 Master Plan Reexamination Report referenced a need to adopt zoning to provide for affordable housing in the “Tower/Carpino (Indian Trail) Inclusionary Development.”
By 2011, financial difficulties for Carpino’s portion of the project led the township to take title to the property that had fallen under tax liens. By September of that year a resolution canceled taxes on the list of Carpino’s properties in the tract because they were “owned by the Township of Middle.”
The complicated history of the tract designated for redevelopment leaves the township with a sizable number of lots owned by one developer, Thomas Tower. The municipality owns another sizable number of lots due to the absorption of the lots once owned by another developer Frank Carpino, and some lots owned by individual property owners who have developed the lots.
New Resolution
At the recent work session, township committee also passed a resolution that called for qualifications from firms with a potential interest in the development of that portion of the tract that was earlier in the meeting redesignated as non-condemnation. This includes the areas where residents have placed structures on the lots. It does not appear that the area covered by the resolution’s call for qualifications includes any of the lots owned by the township or Thomas Tower.
Township officials said the call for qualifications was part of a two-step process; the second step is a request for potential development projects. This first step, they explained, was being taken to ensure that developers that later make proposals have the ability to carry them through should they be accepted.
What the officials did not explain is why the call for qualifications was limited to the lots that were just removed from the condemnation designation as part of the litigation settlement.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.