After Being Challenged for Having No Plan on Overdevelopment, Branchburg Proposes A $70K “No Action, What If” Study

New Branchburg Democrats’ Video Ad Uses Township Committee Own Words On Unformed, Incomplete, Unfunded Plan to “Study” Development Monday Night

Branchburg, NJ – Following Township Committee candidate Nathan Rudy’s criticism of more than fifteen years of reactive, no-strategy efforts to block development in town, Branchburg’s Township Committee announced a “study” of possible development options the leadership admits is unformed, unfunded, and will result in “no action”.

Rudy distributed the media release and video Monday morning, and thought the message got through when the video of the meeting was released online. Instead, disappointment.

“After fifteen years of being reactive to developers’ plans, the Branchburg ‘action plan’ is to announce a redevelopment study that is not planned out, has no funding, likely won’t start until 2024, and will result in no action,” said Rudy. “If you think I’m being overly harsh, this is how Branchburg’s ‘leaders’ described the plan at their Township Committee meeting Monday night.”

The proposal is slated to cost taxpayers $70,000, but there is no money in the current budget so implementation will be “punted” to 2024. The cost is for the professional planner to “study” possible redevelopment options for the Route 22, Route 28, Route 202 corridor in northern Branchburg to determine what is possible. The area includes two properties purchased earlier this summer for $28 million for which the Township Committee has no strategy, plan, or partners to recoup the taxpayers’ money.

“The Branchburg Township Committee is telling us that for at least the past 15 years they have just reacted to developers’ proposals and plans rather than taking actual leadership for the future of our hometown Branchburg,” said Rudy. “Given their admitted record of passivity, they should not be trusted with another 15 years without new voices and new ideas. I will be glad to work with them and bring some energy and urgency to Branchburg’s government.”

See quotes from Branchburg’s leadership at the September 25, 2023 Township Committee Meeting regarding the “redevelopment plan” below or hear them in their own words in the Branchburg Democrats’ new video ad:

“STUDY” WILL RESULT IN “NO ACTION” WITH A RESULT OF SAYING, “WHAT IF?”
22:47 Administrator Greg Bonin: “There’s no action being taken, there’s no new zoning changes happening, this is just a study to say, ‘What if …’.”

ADMITTING THE PAST 15+ YEARS OF HOPING FOR DEVELOPERS TO COME TO BRANCHBURG WAS A FAILURE
23:16 Committeeman Tom Young: “They’re (developers) not going to come here just by happenchance “

ADMITTING THAT THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN “REACTIVE” FOR 15+ YEARS
23:40 Committeeman Tom Young: “The only agenda here is we’re pivoting from a reactive approach to a proactive approach …”

“STUDY” WANT DEVELOPERS VISION FIRST, NOT THE RESIDENTS
25:34 Committeeman Tom Young: “We’ll engage the public at the appropriate time, for public input on this. But this really means we’re open for developers to come and talk to us about what they see for Branchburg.”

THE ENTIRE $70K “STUDY” IS AN EXERCISE, WITH NO PLAN COMING OUT OF IT
28:18 Committeeman Jim Schworn: “This is a planning exercise, not a redevelopment plan.”

32:10 Administrator; “I think it makes sense to give it a good look at now and start planning for the future as opposed to being reactive.”

NO VOTE ON THE “STUDY” BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T BUDGET FOR IT
32:36: Committeeman Schworn: “Are we going to want a resolution on this?”

32:40: Administrator Greg Bonin: “Not right now, because quite candidly we don’t have the, the money’s not budgeted right now.”

BECAUSE IT WASN’T BUDGETED, “STUDY” WON’T EVEN START UNTIL 2024
33:12: Committeeman Tom Young “This is possible this gets punted to January if we can’t figure the budget out.”

Watch the new Branchburg Democrat’s Video Ad

ABOUT NATHAN RUDY
Nathan Rudy lives in Neshanic Station with his wife, daughter, and three rescue dogs. Nathan has more than 30 years of management and executive experience in the corporate, non-profit, and government sectors including as CEO of the Tri-County Red Cross and Edison Chamber of Commerce, media relations manager for Lucent Technologies, and Senior Public Information Officer for NJ TRANSIT. As a volunteer, Nathan has coached youth soccer and softball, cleaned the South Branch of the Raritan River with Raritan Headwaters, raised funds for childhood cancer research by shaving his head for St. Baldricks, and served on the Somerset County Community Development Block Grant committee. He holds a BA in English and has been trained by Homeland Security in crisis communications and the Incident Command System at Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX).

BRANCHBURG DEMOCRATS
Learn more about the Branchburg Democrats at https://branchburgdemocrats.org.