Dear Editor,
The August 2nd Hopewell Township Zoning Board vote which gave approval to the hotel application, granted a zoning variance changing the property use from residential to commercial, resulting in a disastrous blow to the residents of Hopewell Township. The precedent this hotel variance approval sets is horrific! Now anyone in the Township with a residence can apply and be granted a use variance changing their property to commercial use. Since they have now approved changing a residence in the middle of our Mountain Resource Conservation District into a commercial hotel complex, the Zoning Board might as well zone the entire township Commercial and do away with the application process and their Board altogether. There is no longer any need to have neither zoning nor a Zoning Board in Hopewell Township at all.
Since Zoning Board members, Ms. Sandom, Ms. Rogers, Mr. Cane, Mr. Kolodziej and Mr. Verdino voted to approve this hotel application changing a residence into a commercial complex, now every sort of commercial development in our township will follow. These Zoning Board members and the Township Committee members including Mayor Ruger and Mr. Kuchinski who appointed them, have sold out all the residents of our township. Their approval of this hotel application includes approval of a restaurant, bar, 24/7 store and much more. They have voted to allow the development of this commercial complex in the middle of a Mountain Resource Conservation District, thus destroying the wildlife habitat, ecological systems and environment of the surrounding area. The hotel complex they have voted to approve will use thousands of gallons of water every day which will be taken from the aquifer supplying our wells and from the water of our adjoining taxpayer purchased open space land.
Despite the over 625 people who signed a petition opposing this hotel and the outcry against this residential to commercial use variance by 90% of the local residents, Ms. Sandom, Ms. Rogers, Mr. Cane, Mr. Kolodziej and Mr. Verdino voted to approve this out of state developer’s commercial application, against the wishes and well-being of the residents of our township. The vote of approval by these Board members for the commercial development of this hotel complex will result in depletion of our natural resources, ruin of our environment, deprivations for all that try to live in the area, loss of our precious peace and quiet and reduction in the quality of life of the residents of our township.
Debra Hodge,
Titusville, NJ
