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Active Acquisitions appeared before the Chesterfield Township Planning Board in the first of several hearings to present professional testimony to gain Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval for the 1.3sq ft warehouse project proposed for the former OYCC property, and the neighboring property also referred to as Block 701, Lots 1.02 and 2.01. 

 This first hearing held on May 16, 2023, had the building architect and the community resource professional testify for the developer, Active Acquisitions. The planning board members had some questions of the architect regarding the color scheme for the building and there were some additional questions from the board and the public of the representative of Dovetail, the community resource professional contracted by Active Acquisitions to excavate artifacts from the site and to work with the DEP’s State Historic Preservation Office. She was providing testimony on the viability of the plan to move the historically significant 1740 Black House elsewhere on the property and or neighboring property. The representative from Dovetail testified to the site excavating process in detail, sharing approximate numbers of artifacts found including artifacts from the Leni Lenape people such as tools and arrowheads but was unable to testify as to the structure moving process or answer any questions to the moving process, siting that she was not a structural engineer. Additionally, she testified that SHPO had been provided all needed documentation from the project, that moving the structure would not affect its historical significance or eligibility to be registered on the National and State Registers of Historical Places and did not foresee any issues with SHPO's approval of the structure move. 

 Contrary to the Dovetail representative’s testimony, an update on the project from SHPO states Dovetail has not provided all requested additional documentation on the plans for moving the structure, which is needed to make a determination of eligibility for the National and State Registers of Historic Places. SHPO also needs this information to make an evaluation of how a move would affect the significance of the building. At the time of the hearing on May 16th, 2023, there had been no determination by SHPO on moving the historically significant structure known as the 1740 Black House. Additionally, Active Acquisitions had originally told the DEP that no permits were necessary, however, Active Acquisitions has recently changed that determination and has now told the DEP that it will permits.  

During the hearing, Mayor Denise Koetas-Dale had addressed a concern that a scheduled visit to the 1740 Black House by township officials, and members of the HPC to determine if it has been properly maintained and winterized was cancelled by Active Acquisitions. An attorney representing Active Acquisitions represented that AA is under no obligation to allow such a visit and even had the Dovetail representative confirm that the developer had a legal right to demolish the structure instead of preserving and relocating it on the property. However, according to the Redeveloper Agreement, Active Acquisitions is indeed under an obligation to allow township officials access to the property. 

 
The process for these hearings includes testimony by Active Acquisition’s professionals, questions by the members of the planning board and then the hearing is open to the public for questions on the testimony only. Public comment will be open at the conclusion of the meetings. Residents are encouraged to attend the meetings and ask questions of the sworn-in professionals regarding the project. Questions and responses will be part of the hearing record. Attendance is available in person and virtually, however there was concern that the virtual component had some site plan viewing and audio issues. 

Many of the documents pertaining to the project including the redevelopment plan and the redeveloper agreement are posted on the Chesterfield Township website under the Economic Development tab and then clicking on the OYCC document tab. Additionally, the work site plans are available to review at the township building by making an appointment with the township or they are available via the Open Public Records Act and can be downloaded to a zip drive for a minimal cost. 

 
The next hearing will be held on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at 7:00pm at the Chesterfield Township Municipal Building, 295 Bordentown-Chesterfield Road. The planning board expects that these hearings will extend into at least 2 more meetings. In addition to asking questions at the Planning Board hearings, residents have the privilege and are encouraged to submit comments to the SHPO office overseeing this application. Jesse West- Rosenthal is the SHPO contact person assigned to oversee any archeological and preservation issues that pertain to the project. Comments can be sent via the email submittal form available at https://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/4sustain/EFORM_v202004 to NJHPO@dep.nj.govActive