Highland Park holds borough council meeting, provides updates on ongoing events in town

On Tuesday, the Highland Park Borough Council hosted its regular meeting to discuss a new grocery store opening downtown, home zoning rules, redevelopment plans and other local business occurring in the borough.

After the roll call of the mayor, six council members and the borough administrator, the meeting began with a brief review of council reports.

Philip George, councilperson and chair of the public safety committee, said town residents should be aware of the general increase in package thefts during the holiday season.

Matthew Hale, councilperson and chair of the economic development and planning committee, said that the recently announced SuperFresh supermarket for the town is projected to open next year.

Hale also highlighted two proposed ordinances: a change in zoning rules to streamline building construction on non-conforming plots of land and another redefinition to allow additional housing space in the downtown area.

"The idea that there will be more housing on Raritan Avenue — this is an attempt to do that with existing buildings," Hale said. "It doesn't change height requirements, (and) it doesn't change parking requirements — all of those are still in force."

Later in the meeting, the council voted on and approved both ordinances.

Matthew Hersh, council president and chair of the public works and utilities committee, said there have been continuing project developments for the Highland Park River Greenway, a planned connector trail between Donaldson Park and Johnson Park.

Additionally, Hersh said there will be further discussions on an ordinance related to state-funded road improvement projects.

During public comments, Francesca Maresca, a Highland Park resident, asked when annual payments that the borough received from a new apartment complex under the New Jersey PILOT program would be allocated to the public school system.

Teri Jover, the redevelopment director and council's borough administrator, said there is a draft agreement in place for retroactive payments next year, in which the borough's pledge to the public schools will be incorporated.

Jacob Moffatt, another resident, questioned why council negotiations with property developers are not disclosed to the public.

Jover said council discussions about developers are pursued in closed sessions to retain privileged information from the developers rather than the general public.

"There's going to be financial agreements, potentially," Jover said. "There will certainly be a developer agreement — all of which will be subject to public review and discussion. When that happens, we would certainly be open to hearing (public input) well before we entered into those contracts."

Resident Josh Pruzansky said that he was concerned about the possibility of conflict due to a local IfNotNow group gathering scheduled to occur following the community menorah candle lighting for Hanukkah at the same public location.

Elsie Foster, mayor of Highland Park, said that all groups reserve the right to peacefully gather in public spaces, and there will be a police presence to ensure the safety of residents.