HOWELL – Residents rallied to let their voices be heard before the Town Council voted on whether to grant a 30-year tax break to a developer proposing 360 apartments in a dozen buildings on Route 9.
The tax break that was originally a part of the initial proposed ordinance is known as a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT).
In a PILOT, the developer, who wants to develop a certain plot of land, agrees to pay the town a fixed annual payment over a set period of time, rather than paying normal property taxes.
The full development proposition includes plans to construct 360 rental apartments. 168 of these apartments would be one bedroom apartments, while 168 more would be two bedroom apartments, with the rest (24) being three bedroom apartments. The development plans also call for an over 4,000 square foot clubhouse and a 5,000 square foot playground.
The proposed developer for the plot of land off Route 9 goes by the name of Howell 360 LLC. Little is known about this LLC other than the fact that they are based in Lakewood off Route 9 and that they are involved in Howell’s low-income housing efforts.
One of the main concerns that the residents had with the PILOT was that much of the payment would not go into supporting the town, and that the town’s resources would suffer a catastrophic blow if the development was not forced to pay proper taxes. The PILOT plan means that the development would not give any property taxes to the schools, to the county, Howell’s emergency services. Instead, that bill, according to the beliefs of the residents, would be shifted to the other residents of Howell.
Ira Thor, a longtime resident of Howell and a three-term member of the board of education, said the board of education has been handling business well financially despite unpredictable and mounting costs. Uncontrollable factors like mounting energy costs have pushed the board’s budget to its limit.
He pointed out the fact that the kids who live in this development will still need resources to attend school, and to not have revenue from the development to help pay for their schooling is unfair to Howell taxpayers.
Another point that was echoed by the residents who showed up for the meeting was that they are not doing it for themselves, that they are speaking out on behalf of their children who will reside in the town long after they will. They believed that the passing of the PILOT ordinance would leave those who call Howell home in a very precarious situation many years down the line, mostly because they won’t have the resources coming in from the development to sustain it.
The council ultimately agreed to table the decision despite a heavy push from the township professionals to accept it. Since this was the last town council meeting of the year, the council was advised that the ordinance would be cancelled and will need to be restarted in the new year. This tabeling would provide a chance for renegotiations with the developer.
The date and time for the next Howell Township Council meeting is yet to be announced.
