According to a citizen's awareness group, the warehouse would increase truck traffic and pose a risk to road safety and the environment.
Patch Staff
|Updated Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 9:42 pm ET
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A group of South Brunswick residents are opposing a proposed warehouse that’s expected to be built along Ridge Road and Perrine Road. The area considered under the redevelopment plan comprises around 176 acres of land.
South Brunswick Planning Board will hear an application for a revised redevelopment plan on Wednesday. Initially, the property was included in the Affordable Housing Plan to be rezoned for inclusionary development of 1,320 residential units, including 264 affordable housing units.
But in 2022, the developer, Ridge Road Properties, and the township agreed to switch to building warehouses instead.
According to the agreement, the township would create a redevelopment overlay zone to allow for the construction of not more than 2,700,000 square feet of industrial warehouse or distribution center.
A fairness hearing was held on Dec. 16, 2024, in which the judge ruled in favor of the agreement between the township and Ridge Road Properties. The agreement also includes an $8 million contribution by the developer to the township's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
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The community is protesting the warehouse plan due to its proximity to South Brunswick High School and concerns about pollution. With a warehouse in the vicinity, truck traffic will increase which would lead to noxious fumes affecting residents living in the area.
Residents from the neighborhood have created a citizen's awareness group and are trying to get the township not to build the warehouse so close to residential properties.
“It’s unfortunate what’s happening. This is going to affect the children and residents who live in the neighborhood. They will be inhaling noxious gases from tractor-trailer traffic to the warehouse. It's literally down the road from us,” said Tarun Patel, a resident and member of the group.
The group said they have been fighting this for the past few years but to no avail. They even tried to hire an attorney, but finances proved to be an issue.
“We are very small people, trying to take on a big developer. And we are failing,” said another member of the group, who did not wish to be named. “We are trying to drum up support from the community and motivate them to speak up, but that’s not working either.”
According to members of the group, many residents in town are unaware of this development and hence have not joined them in this fight.
The group said it has not received any response – favorable or otherwise – from local leaders, including Sen. Andrew Zwicker (NJ-16) who is a resident of South Brunswick.
The group has been emailing flyers to residents, requesting them to show up during Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting and speaking against the proposal.
The Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 7 p.m. at the South Brunswick Municipal Building, 540 Ridge Road. Here’s the agenda.
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