Township Buying Unused School District Land

By Bob Vosseller

JACKSON – Township officials paved the way for further land preservation with a purchase of several small parcels of land from the school district.

“I want to thank our mayor and the business administration for bringing us Ordinance 11-23. I know they’ve been working very hard for the last several months. This ordinance is collectively, approximately 114 acres. This is a win-win for all residents of Jackson,”

Councilwoman Jennifer Kuhn remarked.

“It is a great way to not only purchase land through preservation, it is a great way to help the Board of Education to weed through their budget crisis after

(Land - See Page 8)

United Skates of America was held recently. The rink’s first skating session was held a day earlier.

United Skates of America, Inc. President Karen Palermo said “we met a lot of the regular customers that had been skating here for years and years with their families. When they walked in last night, they were like… wow. The murals are all brand new and they glow under the black light. They really pop. We have a state-of-the-art light show which is brand new to roller skating.”

She said there was a sound system update and a brand-new carpet. “We have a lot of first time-job kids that are working for us, 16-17 year olds. That is when I got my start with the company. It is really great to see that next generation of kids coming in. They learn a lot.”

Trying out the rink was the Roth family. Jackson Police Officer Matthew Roth joined his young daughter Charley out onto the rink for some roller time.

Crystal Roth watched them looking at the smiles on her husband and daughter’s face but her thoughts reflected the past. “It doesn’t have the old roller-skating smell. It used to smell like stale beer but they didn’t have beer here. The carpet was crazy looking. This is much better”

“This was my booth right here,” said Tony Alfano, a former Jackson resident, pointing to the refurbished seating area. “I was here every Friday night. It was dark and dank. It is amazing what they have done.”

United Skates Chairman Jim Dvorak came out from Ohio for the event and he was equally excited to see the full refurbished entertainment attraction. He noted that during their first skate session, “we had 250 people - all families - and they were having a great time.

I spoke to some of the moms and they said this was the best place and it is so clean and so much fun with the lights.”

“The ceiling tiles are new and the lights are flat panels LEDs. We threw away hundreds and hundreds of the old lights. It was a bowling alley first and then it was converted into a roller-skating rink,” Dvorak added. He noted, “the whole building was gutted and we moved the skate port - it used to be against the wall but we moved it out about 25 feet and now we have room for about 240 seats with 24 tables. Everyone was there as they could sit in a circular table and discuss things and watch the kids.”

The Ribbon Cutting featured some special guests from the Jackson community including Mayor Michael Reina, 12th District Assemblyman Alex Sauickie who lives in Jackson, Councilwoman Jennifer Kuhn and Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Canderozzi.

They each recalled past times at the former Jackson Skating Center on County Line Road which first opened its doors in 1978. The facility closed on October 3,2022. Mayor Reina said, “this is another welcome addition to the town for children as well as families as a whole. We are excited and this is just the beginning of the many changes that are happening in Jackson. Another positive in the books for us.”

“I used to skate here when we moved to

Jackson in the 80s. This is a rejuvenation and we’re happy to see the positive changes,” the mayor added.

“As much as I have great memories of the old rink as a kid, they really did a phenomenal job. It is absolutely beautiful. They shortened the skating area a little bit but they added a nice sitting area that never existed before,” Sauickie said, Councilwoman Kuhn noticed, “they switched where you got your skates, the lockers have always been here. The place looks really cool. We didn’t have the skate mates when we were kids that prevent you from falling. I used to hit that wall a lot when I was a kid.”

Canderozzi said, “I love the fact that they are keeping it open. It has been here forever and it is a great place for kids to come and have some good clean safe fun. It looks tremendous.” agreement on the federal level.

While numerous members of the township’s Orthodox Jewish community came out to voice their support of the ordinance, residents Jennifer Cusanelli and Hope Drew had questions about what the ordinance would actually involve.

Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin responded to many of the questions posed by the two women during the lengthy session.

For years the Township Council has had residents come before the dais to express concerns and complaints regarding homes in residentially zoned areas that were being used as houses of worship or “prayer homes” that were causing traffic and parking problems within those neighborhoods.

According to McGuckin and officials, this would regulate such uses but Drew and Cusanelli said putting houses of worship of any faith, in the middle of neighborhoods, is a disruptive practice and wasn’t a practical idea.

Ordinance 14-23 entitled, “Churches and Places of Worship” shall be repealed and replaced by Churches and Houses of Worship. Cusanelli asked McGuckin what the definition of a house of worship was during the meeting. That subject has been brought up and debated before.

“It is part of our legal settlement to allow for places of worship with standards in all the different zoning areas that we have in town,” Flemming responded.

“Can someone please give me the definition of what is a house of worship?” Cusanelli asked.

According to the new ordinance, “Houses of

Worship, as defined in this chapter, shall be permitted as conditional uses in the following zoning districts: R1, R2, R3, R5, R9, R15, R20, R30, RG2, RG3, PM URD, MF, MUNC, HC and NC.

It added, “the following uses shall be considered accessory to Houses of Worship: Social (Banquet) Hall: a function hall is a special purpose room, or a building, used for hosting events related and ancillary to the practice of religion.

“Mikvah: a religious bathing facility used for the purpose of ritual immersion. A mikvah may be an accessory use to a house of worship or religious facility or may be a principal use in a freestanding building,” the ordinance states.

It also states that a Parsonage is a house or dwelling unit provided by a church, synagogue, temple, mosque or other such facility or congregation thereof as a residence for its clergy. Residency in a parsonage shall be limited to the group of religious officials (such as priests, ministers, and rabbis) specially prepared and authorized to lead religious services, their immediate family (parents, spouse, and children) and housekeeping staff, if any.

McGuckin noted that building standards were included within the ordinance. Bulk standards and design criteria for Houses of Worship located in the R9 or R15 district must have the primary frontage on a local road or a road of a higher order, as defined by the Residential Site Improvement Standards. Houses of worship shall not be located mid-block and shall be situated on a corner lot.

The required minimum area of the lot or tract is the minimum lot area for the zoning district or 20,000 square feet, whichever is greater, and the maximum building height of any principal structure shall not exceed 35’. Bulk Standards include a minimum lot width of 80’ or the requirement of the zone, whichever is greater

The minimum lot depth is 120’ or the requirement of the zone, whichever is greater while the minimum front yard is 30’, minimum side yard (each) is 10’with a minimum rear yard being set at 30’. Maximum building coverage: 35% of the gross lot area and the maximum lot coverage is 70% of the gross lot area.

Cusanelli asked about the parking regulations which according to the ordinance “shall be permitted in the front yard provided parking is set back 15’ from the public street right-of-way. Parking located within a front yard shall be screened from the adjacent right-of-way with a hedgerow or closely grouped cluster of plantings that shall be maintained at a height of no less than 20” and no greater 30”. In no event shall screening interfere with sight triangles.”

A decorative, solid six-foot fence and and/or natural vegetative buffer of a minimum width of 5’shall be provided along all parking, circulation drives and structures adjacent to a residential use or zone.

Several residents said they felt this ordinance moved the township forward and set a different tone from a prior meeting years ago where an ordinance was introduced to regulate a religious device called Eruv and to limit areas where synagogues could be built.

“It seems very evident to me that certain people knew exactly what was going on with this ordinance. I don’t care what you worship or where you pray. When you become a hinderance on a development and the people who live around you, there comes a time when we have to say we have respect for our neighbors. You guys have essentially given away the town,” Cusanelli said. “There are many houses of worship in this town that have not had site approval, site plans in fact here’s one that has been advertised 146 New Prospect Road which still does not have site approval. What exactly makes this a house of worship?” Cusanelli asked.

McGuckin said he wasn’t familiar with that particular property.

“How long can a house of worship operate before it receives site approval?” Cusanelli asked. “Are these houses of worship going to be approved because of a settlement that was settled without going through the court and is putting the rest of this town in jeopardy?”

Drew said she was looking for a compromise. “That is all we’ve ever asked for. Regulate it, let’s live together but make it for everyone to still live there. Compromise, common sense - a house of worship shouldn’t be in a residential neighborhood. It should be on a main road.”

Resident Raymond Cattonar also has strong feelings about the ordinance. He told The Jackson Times the Council “kept it hidden from the general public. Ordinance 14-23 allows houses of worship throughout the Township and will be tax exempt which could cost Jackson taxpayers millions of dollars in lost tax revenue.”

Cattonar said the ordinance would also “add commercial parking lots and commercial buildings in any residential neighborhoods at the end of the blocks with no limitation to how many can be built. Homes on corners can be knocked down or additions can be added and the adjoining lot homes can be destroyed and made a commercial parking lot.”

He urged residents to attend the April 13 Council meeting where Council members will vote on the ordinance following a public hearing. “There has to be a better solution that represents all Jackson residents. Come voice your opinion.”