Harrison Township will continue to allow warehouse development despite vocal opposition from some Gloucester County residents and legal action aimed at preventing future mega warehouses, local officials say.
Township officials were considering a total ban on warehouses after a proposed 2.1 million-square-foot mega warehouse project on vacant land near a daycare drew ire from some residents.
But, Mayor Lou Manzo and the Harrison Township Committee have decided to “stay the course” and continue to allow warehousing in the areas where zoning permits it, according to a March 1 email.
In the community update, officials said their decision was based on the results of a warehouse development tax implication study, which showed warehouse development could help keep down property tax increases in the 19-square-mile township over the next five years.
The study projected resident’s total tax bills could increase between 30% and 35% over the next five years if Harrison Township changed its zoning to ban all warehouse development. The study forecasted a substantially lower 7.5% increase over the same time period if warehouses are permitted, according to township officials.
“We understand the impact that accompanies a warehouse project, especially for those property owners closest to the project. We acknowledge that some members of our community would be willing to pay the substantially higher tax rate defined above and ban all warehousing in our town,” officials said.
“However, we also know that a tax increase of the magnitude represented here would cause a financial hardship for many residents in our community and likely price some families out of being able to live here any longer,” township officials said.
The study — first announced in late January — reviewed audited budget data, staffing projections and zoning histories, according to officials. It was circulated among members of the Harrison Township Committee and administrators for comments and suggested edits before being sent to the town solicitor for final review.
The tax implication study is being questioned by some warehouse opponents, who accused town leaders of failing to solicit feedback and ignoring concerns about the negative impacts of warehousing.
“It is concerning that Mayor Manzo continues to ignore direct feedback from his constituents regarding the negative impact of warehouses in our community. Furthermore, there is a frightening lack of transparency that stands to jeopardize the future of Harrison Township as we know it,” the Casella Farms Homeowner’s Association said in a statement.
The association’s residents live near the mega warehouse proposed last fall on nearby farmland.
“To read today’s email from the Mayor — after he assured taxpayers they would be properly consulted — further deepens the divide between him and the community he claims to serve,” the homeowner’s association continued.
“It also reflects the same lack of effort and vision he has demonstrated up until this point to manage our community’s funds and develop revenue-generating projects that actually benefit our community. Instead, he grasped at low-hanging fruit, then put the blame on residents for his shortcomings as a leader,” the local homeowner’s association said.
In response, Manzo told NJ Advance Media in a statement that officials, “did not expect this decision to be received well by those residents who stand in opposition to warehousing. But we are elected to make decisions for the greater good of the entire community and, as we said in the announcement, there are no perfect solutions, only tradeoffs.”
The rural Gloucester County community has been a major battleground for the warehouse development debate since its residents became aware of a mega-warehouse proposed last fall on vacant farmland along Route 322 in Mullica Hill, an unincorporated community within Harrison Township.
Russo Development was behind the 2.1-million-square-foot proposal planned in the King’s Landing Redevelopment area, a redevelopment zone created by Harrison Township in April 2022 specifically for warehouse and distribution facilities.
The warehouse complex proposed by Russo would have been equivalent in size to about 2/3 of the sprawling American Dream mall in East Rutherford — or about the size of 38 White Houses. It was going to be located across the road from the Casella Farms neighborhood and would have been adjacent to Holding Hands daycare facility.
However, following a wave of opposition, the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board unanimously rejected the controversial proposal.
The vote was supported by warehouse opponents in town, but it did not entirely quell dissension.
Critics still want the township to invalidate its King’s Landing Redevelopment Plan to prevent other mega-warehouse proposals from being proposed in the future.
Both the Casella Farms Homeowners Association and Holding Hands Daycare filed a lawsuit against Manzo, the township committee and WH Development Urban Renewal (a subsidiary of Russo Development).
Casella Farms and Holding Hands initially filed separate civil lawsuits against Harrison Township but all parties consented earlier this month to consolidate the cases, according to court records.
The plaintiffs argued that Harrison Township officials violated the township’s master plan when they approved the King’s Landing Redevelopment Plan in early April 2022 allowing warehouses in the are. The master plan aims to “provide for the preservation of the township’s natural character,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also claims residents were not provided with enough information on the King’s Landing Redevelopment Plan and its potential impacts before adoption.
Residents only became fully aware of its implications when the Joint Land Use Board held a public hearing for the warehouse proposed by Russo Development, the lawsuit argues.
The township denies any wrongdoing and is fighting both lawsuits, said attorney James Maley, who is representing the mayor and township council.
The next court date in the case is scheduled for April 3, records show.
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Jackie Roman may be reached at [email protected].
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