Residents Feel Government Of Town Of Phillipsburg Violated Their Trust
Click on the image to the right to see the video of the Council and Mayor receiving 174 letters from the residents of Phillpsburg who do not want a warehouse built on the Peron Howard Street Property, in downtown Phillipsburg next to the Delaware River.
174 letters signed by 29 Phillipsburg residents were delivered to Council members and the Mayor during the April 24, 2024 Phillipsburg Town Council Meeting.
The residents wanted the members of the Phillipsburg town government to know that the rezoning of the Peron Howard Street Property to industrial and the proposed construction of a warehouse is a total violation of our trust in the government of Phillipsburg, due to the town government totally ignoring the town’s most recent 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report. These residents clearly indicated that they do not want a warehouse in downtown Phillipsburg near the residental area of the Flats, along the Delaware River.
The picture to the left shows some of the letters that signed by the residents and delivered to the members of the Phillipsburg Council and the Mayor.
There are links to two documeents that will be of interest directly below:
- 2013 Master Plan Reexaminaton Report - Link to 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report
- Ordinance 2022-30, the ordinance that rezones the Peron Howard Street propertiy from Riverside Residential to Industrial - Link to Ordinance 2022-30
The residents are requesting that the government of the Town of Phillipsburg rescind Ordinance 2022-30, the ordinance that rezones he Peron Howard Street Property from Riverside Residential to Industrial. Additionally, the residents are requesting that the Town of Phillipsburg stop wasting taxpayer dollars funding the fight against the lawsuit that is trying to overturn Ordinance 2022-30.
Read more: Residents trust in Town of Phillipsburg government violated
Rezoning The Peron Howard Street Property To Industrial Violates Town Master Plan
Ordinance 2022-30 rezones the Peron Howard Street Property from Riverside Residential to Industrial, thereby potentially paving the way for a warehouse to be built in downtown Phillipsburg along the Delaware River. Peron Constructions has already presented several warehouse configurations to the Phillipsburg Land Use Board to be constructed on the Peron Howard Street Property. Making the Peron Howard Street Property industrial zoning and building a warehouse on this property violates the Town of Phillipsburg Master Plan..
You can download Ordinance 2022-30 and the 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report by clicking on the document titles in his sentence.
The map above is for referene related to the documentation below. The three color bounded areas in the map refer to:
- Green - The section bounded by green is currently zoned residental area in the Flats of Phillipsburg. In the 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report, this section is also referred to as the old residential area. This consist of residential development between South Main Street and Cheery Alley/Mercer Street.
- Red - The section bounded by red is currently zoned light industrial area in the Flats of Phillipsburg. This was a residential area until 1961, at which time it was demolished and this strip was changed to light industrial. As can be seen in review below, the 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report recommends rezoning this property to somethng that will better compliment the existing and new residential area.
- Blue - The section bounded by blue is the area know as the Peron Howard Street Property. This property was zoned residential and Ordinance 2022-30 proposes to rezone this property to Industrial for the purpose of building a warehouse. The 2013 Master Plan Reexamination Report specifically mentions this plan as being residential and being part of the plan to enhance the residential area of town by extending the current residential and recreationaly zoning from South Main Street down to Howard Street.
Read more: Rezoning Peron Howard Street Property To Industrial Violates Town Master Plan
Who Supports A Warehouse In Downtown Phillipsburg Along The Delaware River
The residents of Phillipsburg have a right to know who supports, and does not support, a warehouse on Phillipsburg's last 32 acres of undeveloped land along the Delaware River. Below is some information regarding public comments at Phillipsburg Town Council meetings and votes taken by elected and appointed Phillipsburg town officials.
The table directly below shows, as a summary level, which Phillipsburg government officials have shown support for a warehouse in downtown Phillipsburg along the Delaware River on the Peron Howard Street property.
Total Support - voted in favor of every piece of legislation presented to move the warehouse forward | Mixed - voted in favor of some pieces of legislation to move the warehouse forward, and did not vote in favor of moving the warehouse forwared on other pieces of legislation. | Does Not Support - has consistently voted against every piece of legislation presented to move the warehouse forward | Abstain or Recusal |
David Brand |
Keith Kennedy Todd Tersigni |
Lee Clark Danielle DeGerolamo Bernard Rooney Harry Wyant (recused once properties on South Main Street became part of the site plan, voted no previously) |
William Duffy (recusal) Meliss Paulus (abstain) |
Read more: Who Supports A Warehouse In Downtown Phillipsburg Along The Delaware River
Michael Perrucci wants a warehouse because he believes nobody wants to live in the Flats of Phillipsburg
Michael Perrucci is the 100% owner of Peron Construction. Peron Construction owns 32 acres of undeveloped land along the Delaware River in the Flats of Phillipsburg.
Michael Perrucci's reasoning for building a warehouse on the last 32 acres of undeveloped land along the Delaware River is that nobody wants to live there, so he believes the best thing for Phillipsburg is to build warehouse.
Michael Perrucci reasons for believing that nobody would buy a property in the Flats is that there is a gun range at one end of Howard Street and a junk yard (small) at the other end of Howard Street. The junk yard and the gun range make the Flats of Phillipsburg an undesirable place to live. So, Michael Perrucci wants to build a warehouse nearby the residental community in the Flats of Phillipsburg.
We, the residents of Phillipsburg against a warehouse in downtown Phillipsburg along the Delaware River do not believe degradating the Flats of Phillipsburg by building a warehouse near the residental area of the Flats is a good thing for Phillipsburg, nor the Town of Phillipsburg as a whole.
Welcome to the No Warehouse In Downtown Phillipsburg, NJ website. The purpose of this website is to inform the citizens of Phillipsburg, NJ, and other concerned citizens about a warehouse that the Peron Construction company wants to build in downtown Phillipsburg, NJ along the last 32 acres along the river in Phillipsburg, NJ.
in the picture above, you can see a number of areas encircled with various colored lines:
- Encircled in RED: This is the area where Peron Construction wants to build a warehouse in downtown Phillipsburg next to the Delaware River.
- Encircled in GREEN: This is the area that is NJ State funded and encumbered Green Acres Open Space property. In Peron Constructions initial proposal, supported by Council members Robert Fulper, Frank McVey and Mark Lutz, Peron Constructions wanted to take this Green Acres land and use this land for part of a 500,000 plus square foot warehouse. The NJ State Green Acres division said that the town could not provide this land to Peron Construction.
- Encircled in BLUE: This area is a residential area known as the Flats of Phillipsburg. This residental area would be severly negatively impacted by the construction of a warehouse on the Peron Construction property, encircled in RED.
- ORANGE line: This line represents the route trucks will take to enter and exit the Peron warehouse. The trucks will travel through the residential area of the Flats of Phillipsburg. The trucks will also travel on South Main Street between the free bridge and McKeen Street. Additionally, there will be truck traffic from McKeen street along New Brunsick Avenue through Pohatcong.