Donohue: Hotel Issues Deserve Full Vetting of Zoning Board

I fully support the concept of a first-class hotel chain investing and building in Middle Township. Both the Middle Township Chamber and our Economic Development Council have endorsed this position.
The responsible development of a hotel site would attract visitors and new business, as well as encourage folks to stay and spend in Middle Township.
The question before Middle Township Committee is whether to approve a change in the zoning for the proposed hotel site, based on a formal recommendation from the Planning Board. This step would be a deviation from the traditional Zoning Board approval process.
While this path might hold some value in making a minor, less impactful change, the proposed reclassification of the parcel in question would represent a significant change to the current zoning, in a residential neighborhood, outside the sewer service area and close to protected wetlands.
As our preliminary research has shown, there is no precedent in recent Middle Township history of committee approving a major zoning change, based solely on the recommendation of the Planning Board.
For all these reasons, I believe this complicated case warrants a fully noticed, thorough and complete review by the Zoning Board and its experienced professionals.
This precedent was set a few years ago when committee chose to take no action on a previous Planning Board recommendation for the same parcel.
In the bigger picture, the potential zoning change on this parcel should be considered more broadly, as part of work to review and update the master plan, as required, over the next year.
On issues, large and small, we should always err on the side openness, fairness, transparency, and due process.
Shortcutting the best practices of the Zoning Board, regardless of the merits of an application, would set a poor precedent, taint the project moving forward and tarnish the trust we have worked so hard to earn from our residents.