Council to Vote to Amend Redevelopment Plan

The Township Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, April 16, to consider an amendment to a redevelopment plan for vacant land in the township's south end.

The amendment would allow Newman Development Group LLC to build 180 townhouses behind the Town Square Plaza on Cross Keys Road, in Sicklerville.

The April 16 meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. It will be held in Council chambers at the municipal building.

The vacant plot of land, known as the New Vision redevelopment area, sits behind the Lowe's end of the Town Square Plaza shopping center, abutting the Wye Oak development located to the north.

Newman Development Group LLC, which is based in Plymouth Meeting, PA, brought Town Square Plaza to Gloucester Township.

The initial New Vision redevelopment plan called for commercial or light-industrial uses on the land, but area residents stood united in their opposition to more development of that kind in their backyards, officials said.

David Newman, principal of Newman Development Group, told Council at its Dec. 5 workshop meeting that he believed the townhouse development was most suitable based on demands of nearby residents during a series of meetings last year.

"We're never going to please everyone, but I really believe that this is a result of many, many discussions," Newman said. "There were so many ideas that were thrown out, but this was the one that was universally accepted."

Ken Lechner, the township's director of community development and planning, noted the township Planning Board's role in the project, if Council ultimately approves the amendment to the redevelopment plan, will mostly be with respect to landscaping and other aesthetics.