Township Committee Introduces Ordinance on Post Office Plan

The Maplewood Township Committee (TC) voted 5-0 Tuesday to introduce an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for the Post Office site.

The TC will cast the final vote on the plan after a public hearing at its July 16 meeting. (TC meetings during the summer are held at the Police and Courts Building at 1618 Springfield Avenue, instead of at Town Hall). 

The plan calls for a mixed-use building with retail on the ground floor and apartments above.

The ordinance can be found in this link to the meeting's agenda. The entire plan can be found on the Township website.

Several citizens commented on the plan before the vote. John Dilley, owner of the Bee & Thistle in Maplewood Village asked how the town would mitigate the impact of construction on local businesses. Mayor Vic DeLuca said officials would ask leaders in other towns how they have handled similar construction projects. 

Norman Scrivener, owner of Scrivener’s Toys, asked what would happen if Kings did not move into the building. DeLuca said the plan allowed for one large store or several smaller stores and that the town’s business recruiter was working to identify businesses interested in relocating to Maplewood. 

Scrivener and local architect Inda Sechzer asked if the town had analyzed how various scenarios for the development would impact ratables and the overall tax burden on residents. DeLuca said the town as a whole would benefit from the sale of the land, and from the property taxes paid by the new tenants. (The Post Office pays a rental fee but no property taxes.) 

Sechzer noted the sale of the former police station at 125 Dunnell Road had not seemed to result in a reduction in property taxes as officials had originally said. “Whatever money was gleaned from that site must have gone into buying the Woman’s Club,” she said. 

Sechzer continued, “I still do not understand why you are in such a hurry to sell and develop one of the most important sites in town.” She asked officials to consider holding onto the site as “a precious public land” and expanding Ricalton Square into a larger green space. Sechzer also asked the TC to consider a public referendum on the development. 

In a separate vote, the TC agreed to allow the consumption of alcohol at 60 Woodland Road, the building formerly known as the Woman’s Club.