Residents Fear Being “Pushed Out” Of Neighborhood

The front door of 41 Mill Pond in the Whispering Hills section in Jackson features several stop work orders issued by township code enforcement officials. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)

  JACKSON – Despite a number of brightly colored stop work orders stuck to the front door of 41 Mill Pond in the Whispering Hills section of the township, work is continuing, according to those who spoke out during a recent Township Council meeting.

  During the public comment period of that meeting, residents who live in the Whispering Hills development came out calling for action to be taken concerning two properties within that neighborhood that they said were undergoing interior work that is in violation of township code.

41 Mill Pond

  Cedarview Avenue resident Kori Sargent lives in the Whispering Hills neighborhood and noted the people who were sitting behind him at the meeting were his neighbors “who are just trying to live a comfortable life. I am here to raise awareness about a situation that is happening in our neighborhood.”

  He said the situation was in reference to township code being broken “and nothing done about it. There are two residences in the Whispering Hills neighborhood that have recently changed hands of ownership and my understanding is that one is being designated as a house of worship and another is being prepared to be a school.”

  “I believe in some cases police officers were notified of codes being violated. In some cases code enforcement forces were notified of codes being broken and the neighbors there see no action. Most of us feel the neighborhood is changing. It is changing rapidly. Buildings are being used against township ordinances and against homeowners’ association ordinances. We would like the township to know about them and to take more of an action to address it,” Sargent said.

Mayor Says Reach Out

  Mayor Michael Reina reminded residents that his office “is open five days a week for issues such as this. Whether we want to hear it or not it is our responsibility to hear it. We get things in dribs and drabs – you kind of want to hear it from the source.”

  The mayor said while he can not authorize the police to take action. He can let the department know about issues presented to him by the public. “If you make an appointment, normally you will find me here at 4 o’clock but don’t let that stop you. The Business Administrator (Terence Wall) is here from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. He is the entity that runs the town during the day.”

  The mayor added that many cases like this are pending a court hearing and the court is backed up due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “You are being heard. Unfortunately it is at a snail’s pace because of the court system.”

  Regarding the building department Mayor Reina said “as fast as we try to hire people they leave. You have code enforcement officers who are out with COVID. We are going through litigation which prevents us from doing other things.”

  Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin presented an update on 41 Mill Pond and 16 Short Hills Boulevard, both of which have had reported violations of code. “They have been referred to my office by code enforcement and the construction department for review with the documents that have been provided which is where we are.”

Whispering Hills Roaring With Sound

  Joseph Rucci, who lives on 24 Short Hills Boulevard said, “this week has been horrendous. Saws at 2 o’clock in the morning. I don’t like to hear a saw at 2 o’clock in the morning. There were chainsaws the other day. We just need to fix it. What I see in Jackson right now is not asking for permission – it is asking for forgiveness.”

  “We came here five years ago for tranquility,” local resident Angel Ferrer said. “Whispering Hills, there is nothing like it but it is changing. One of the buildings is like a hotel because we see transients in and out. The cars are never the same. I have a six-year-old and it just doesn’t feel safe. The traffic is in and out. Trees that were being cut and woke me up at 6 in the morning on my day off.”

  Ferrer said people were stopping him while he walks his dog in interest of purchasing his house. “Nobody wants to say what it is but we all know what it is and sooner or later, we’re already thinking about leaving. Things are going to change in this town and not for the better and it has nothing to do with religion – it has to do with keeping up with the laws.”

  Councilman Alex Sauickie said this was the same development that had a home that hosted a 100-plus party last year that had to be shut down by Jackson Police and a number of other law enforcement agencies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Ferrer said yes and “those are tactics. You guys have the law, they have tactics and their tactics are winning. They are pushing everyone else out. They don’t want us there. They have made that abundantly clear.”

  “Realtors are approaching you?” Sauickie asked Ferrer.

Residents expressed concerns about rumors that this home on 41 Mill Pond Road in the neighborhood of Whispering Hills is being converted into a school with trees recently being cleared in front and behind the property. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)

  “Yes, I’ll be walking my dog and they’ll stop me looking for houses. I feel like we are being chased out of our neighborhood. That is what it feels like. The houses are dropping like dominos and they aren’t listing the houses either. A realtor told me ‘don’t list the house’ which means you are going to have an exclusive community in there,” Ferrer added.

No Knock Ordinance In Place

  Council President Andrew Kern noted that the township has a no-knock ordinance “so if there are realtors that are violating that please report that.”

  Residents Glenn Martin, Joe Krakowski and Janine Nazina also shared their observations of the situation in the Whispering Hills neighborhood.

  In response to a question by Sauickie, McGuckin said that contractors and anyone working on the project “can be issued a violation notice and fined” for doing work when there are stop work orders.

  “The bottom line is the actual quality of life is changing and it is not changing in the right direction,” Martin said.

Violations

  Krakowski said in reference to 41 Mill Pond, “they cut just about every tree down on the property. How were they issued a permit to cut trees when they already had four stop work orders like five or six weeks ago? Supposedly they got the tree permit recently.”

  McGuckin said “if they were issued the permit beforehand, it would obviously not apply. If they meet the criteria for the permit, it would be arbitrary to deny the issuance of the permit.”

  “What I don’t know is if the township has an ordinance regarding if there is an existing violation should any further permit be issued. I would have to check that. If not, that is an ordinance the township could consider,” McGuckin added.

Swimming Pool Rentals

  Nazina told the Mayor and Council that “swimming pools are being rented on Cedarview. I counted at least 20 women come on the hour. Come, leave, and use the pool at another particular house on Cedarview. That is another issue that is going on in this neighborhood.”

  She added, “my house backs up to 41 Mill Pond. This morning at 6:45 they are cutting down trees. When I came home at 5 o’clock they were still cutting down trees. At 6:45 in the morning I don’t think they should be cutting down trees and wood chipping and whatever else. I am one of the first owners in that neighborhood. I’ve lived there for 21 years and raised my children here and it is upsetting.”

  “The other house in Short Hills is being used for gentlemen to come and stay there for the weekend. It is different people all weekend long. We pay an association fee to maintain a lake there and we have strangers walking around in and out of homes in the neighborhood and you have to worry about your children. Allegedly a family owns that home but they are certainly not there,” she added.

  As to 41 Mill Pond, Nazina noted she saw four violation notices on the door and yet “six contractors were working on the house today. It is not acceptable.”